media_artricles :: 2014

Earlier start for UWI Half-Marathon

There will be an earlier starting time to the 11th edition of the UWI International Half-Marathon.

The race is scheduled to begin at 5:30 am tomorrow morning from UWI SPEC.

But the 13.1 mile route remains unchanged, going along the traffic-free Priority Bus Route (PBR) to the La Resource junction in D’Abadie, before doubling back to the starting point.

The course will be complete with markers and water stops at every mile for the athletes from around the world including the Caribbean, USA, Latin America and Europe.

Over 1000 local, regional and international athletes will compete for over TT$135,000 in prizes, including specific categories for UWI students and staff, university students and wheelchair, as well as physically challenged competitors.

Participation has grown over the years from 300 at its inception in 2004 to over 1000 in 2013 - for the only traffic free race of its kind in the region.

Once again, this year’s race will be electronically timed and any records broken in this AIMS certified, and International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) accredited race will be recognised worldwide.

Director-Sports and Physical Education and Race Director, Major David Benjamin noted a few changes taking place at this year’s edition including the new timing system and local entertainment along the route.

“One of the differences this year is the earlier start time. The start time is usually 6 o’clock, last year we experimented with a 5:45 am start, this year we’re going 15 minutes earlier, the race would start at 5:30 am,” he continued.

“Given weather predictions we think that it would be a favourable experience for our runners with an earlier start time.”

In light of the positive testing of Nigerian-born American Mary Akor who won last year’s marathon and subsequently received a retroactive two-year ban, Major Benjamin said they would be working with the Regional Anti-Doping Association (RADA) to implement random drug testing at tomorrow’s event.

“This year we would do random drug testing for the first time in light of the negative backlash of the Mary Akor positive test,” he explained.

“Tonya Nero was then promoted to first along with Jenelle Nedd who was fourth but has been promoted to third. That positive drug test caused us to be a little more vigilant in what we do.

“The third difference this year would be music along the route and at the finish line.

“Defence Force Steel Orchestra would be providing entertainment at the finish line, along the route we also have another steel band, Tassa and Drumology to give the participants some energy and a bit of ‘Trini vibes.’

“Another change that was mentioned was the new disposable chip timing system which is different from the ankle bracelet. “We are going with a new timing system, which is called the Jaguar timing system. We are using an application which is called the Disposable Timing Chip, instead of waiting for two hours to collect your timing chip.

“On race morning persons would receive their timing chip when they collected their race package,” he said. “The chip would stick to the bib, and once they are in proximity of the WiFi range of the timing system their number would be recorded and checked them in as present.” Major Benjamin is confident, that with the earlier starting time, records would be broken this year with the temperature being lower.

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