Lavan Paul, Chelse Brooks and Daniel Belton lead the 10km start (Photos by Dante Carrer and Nakita Lockhart)

Three Full Races bring Early-Morning Excitement to Arawak Cay

Nassau, New Providence - The Bahamas Half Marathon and 10k second instance took place on Sunday, November 23rd. The race grew tremendously from its inaugural year to a sell-out race at a maximum capacity of 600 registrants. The participants took part in one of three races which occurred simultaneously: the 13.1 mile half marathon, the half marathon relay, and the 10k (6.2 mile) race.

The event was hosted at Arawak Cay by the Bahamas Roadmasters with the support of PROMPT. The Roadmasters are a long distance running group which meet multiple times per week and compete in many marathons throughout the year. They support many local charities through events, and this year the “Bahamas Half” supported the Bahamas Special Olympics. PROMPT is a newly formed Bahamian company which creates and supports races - the acronym stands for Paradise Race Organization, Management, Promotion & Timing.

The 600 competitors were composed of approximately 80% Bahamian runners and walkers and 20% international. Many islands of the Bahamas and several countries were represented including Canada, the United States, Bahrain, Portugal, Switzerland, China and England. Two elite athletes were present, Mitch Guirard from Florida and Maria Pavkovitch from New York. Guirard easily won the half marathon in 1:17:30 with the top Bahamian male Delroy Booth coming in second a few minutes behind. The women’s division of the half marathon was a hotly contest race. Pavkovitch finished in 1:34:13 followed by Bahamian Crystal Strachan who crossed just 13 seconds after the winner. The half marathon relay was won by the No Limit Track Club, finishing in 1:23:16. The 10km race was won by Lauren Hanna and Will Fairbairn, both from Nassau.

L-R – Carl Blades, Mitch Guirard, Charles Johnson (Photos by Dante Carrer and Nakita Lockhart)

The pre-race party started off the morning with MacFit360 leading a warm-up stretch session. Dasani water was available before, during, and after the race for all of the competitors and volunteers, including the COB Nurse’s Association. The post-race party included a junkanoo jam-out and a full complimentary breakfast for the race finishers, including Sands beer and H2Aloe drinks.

The reviews from of the Bahamas Half & 10km event have been overwhelming positive. Loren Murrell said “Thank you to all the organisers, volunteers and crew for yesterday. I had a great time and it was certainly worth the journey from London! “ Regina Smith, from Nassau, added “An amazing event! A warm thank you to the Bahamas Half Marathon for their hard work in staging a fitness event like this for our country. Looking forward to next year! You can only go up from here. See you at the top!”

The organizers would like to thank all of the participants, volunteers, spectators, the RBPF and RBDF, medical support, and everyone else involved in the year-long planning of the event. The race would also not be possible without sponsors such as Bahama Boat Tours, Carpet World, BEC, Cabinet World, JS Johnson and the remainder of the event sponsors both in-kind and financial.

The 2015 event is scheduled for November 22nd. Registration will open in January with discounted registration. Participants are encouraged to register early, as all of the races sold out this year. Full results, race photos, and event details are available on www.BahamasHalf.com and on their Facebook page.

Delray Booth, Freeport, is the top male Bahamian in the half marathon

L-R – Carl Blades, Michelle Gibson, Maria Pavkovitch and Charles Johnson (Photos by Dante Carrer and Nakita Lockhart)