A bumpy start before Brunei, the Pacific Island Countries Challenge has begun

As featured in the Guam Daily Post —a story featuring JC Santa Teresa (MM1883, DA3285, HF17343)

• Matt Weiss | The Guam Daily Post
• Jan 19, 2025 Updated Jan 20, 2025

As part of a cultural tourism endeavor, a dozen runners from the United States, Canada and Poland have embarked on a quest of a lifetime – to run five marathons throughout Asia-Pacific in 15 days.

Throughout the nearly two-week-long event, named the Pacific Island Countries Challenge, athlete-tourists will set out to complete marathons in Brunei (Jan. 18), Taiwan (Jan. 23), Saipan (Jan. 27), Guam (Jan. 29) and finish in the Philippines (Feb. 1).

JC Santa Teresa, from the Globetrotter Running Club, who is also a Guinness World Record holder for having completed the most consecutive days running an ultramarathon, and owner of Sta Teresa Adventure Runcation, told The Guam Daily Post that he chose the locations to give the athletes a chance to experience places “that many people might not have had the chance to visit otherwise.”

“While we all love to run, this was also an opportunity to immerse participants in different cultures and unique experiences,” he said. 

He told the Post that the majority of the runners are either retired or nearing retirement.

“My runners may be past their prime in competitive racing, but they’re driven by a different kind of goal – they run to check off countries and experience the world,” Santa Teresa said. “That’s actually one of the reasons the race spans 15 days: It gives participants the chance to explore each island we visit, immerse themselves in the local culture and reconnect with friends along the way. For them, it’s less about competition and more about the journey, adventure and the joy of running in unique locations.”

With logistic coordination from the Guam Running Club and Eddie Vega, a world-class runner formerly from Guam, the international runners and four or five local or locally-based runners will run the fourth leg of the challenge at War in the Pacific National Historical Park Asan Beach Park Unit.

In order to finish the race at Asan, the runners will have to complete nearly 18 laps. 

“A loop course makes it much harder for runners to get lost, and it eliminates the need for course marshals,” said Santa Teresa, who had just finished the first leg of the challenge at Taman Mahkota Jubli Emas park in Brunei.

With Brunei in the books, the race was not without its challenges, especially for Santa Teresa. 

While leaving to the airport from his home in New York, where he caught the first of many flights to Manila, Philippines, he bumped his knee into his luggage but didn’t think much of it. But by the time the plane landed, he was in a great deal of pain.

“When I arrived in the Philippines, my knee started to swell and I was limping,” he said.

“I power-walked the Brunei event,” he said, adding that the “event went well, despite the heavy and nonstop rain.”

Before departing for Brunei, Santa Teresa said that the greatest challenges he expected were going to be – not the races – but potentially high temperatures and flight issues.

“This may seem like a daunting task, but most of our runners are seasoned pros – but they’ve completed five marathons in five days and are true rock stars!” he said.

At the completion of the marathon in Brunei, Santa Teresa, who was half-starved, had been awake for more than 25 hours and was waiting for a restaurant to open its locked doors.

He was famished, he said.

Delicious food awaits

Eager for the swelling in his knee and hunger to subside, Santa Teresa said that he and the group are looking forward to continuing the journey, learning about the nations’ rich cultural heritage, and trying delicious food.

“Food serves as a reflection of a community’s history, values and traditions,” he said. “Through it, we get a sense of different customs, flavors and techniques that define the people, making it one of the most accessible and universal ways to understand culture.”

“Personally, I would love to learn about the local food and beer. I actually have a few foods in Guam that I would like to try, like gollai appan, potu, bunelos uhang, kådon pika, among others,” he said.

He also said that they are excited to experience Guam’s “warm hospitality and rich CHamoru culture,” adding that the group will visit Two Lovers Point and explore ancient latte stone villages.

https://www.postguam.com/sports/local/a-bumpy-start-before-brunei-the-pacific-island-countries-challenge-has-begun/article_5915b2fe-d5f5-11ef-b989-6bd8ba55c959.html