media_artricles :: 2016

Hillary too hot to handle at UWI-SPEC Half Marathon

HILLARY TOO of Kenya shrugged off jet lag and extreme humidity to outclass all his competitors at the 13th Edition of the University of West Indies Sport and Physical Education Center (UWI SPEC) International Half Marathon yesterday.

The United States-based Kenyan seemed to be sprinting as he outpaced everyone excepting the clock as he narrowly missed out on the course`s record by 41 seconds, after completing the 13.1-mile run from UWI SPEC in St Augustine to La Resource Road, D'Abadie and back in a time of one hour five minutes 48 seconds.

Hillary was simply 'Too' good as he dominated the race from start to finish with his nearest rival being the 2015 champion and the lone Caribbean marathoner at the Rio Olympics, Cuba's Richer Perez who was almost four minutes adrift, clocking a time of 1.09:37.

However, there was a sprint finish for the bronze medal with Kenyan Peter Nkaya (1.11:03) edging out Venezuelan Alexis Pena (1.11:10) at the finish line.

The top five prizes in the Open/ International Category for male and female were: $16,500, $11,900, $8,000, $5,300 and $3,300.

Rounding off the top 10 in the Open/International Category were the Guyanese-born duo of Kelvin Johnson (1.14:42) and Lionel Dandrade (1.15:06), placing fifth and sixth respectively, and the Trinidad and Tobago quartet of Colin Pereira (1.15:38), Richard Jones (1.16:00), Matthew Hagley (1.16:50) and veteran Curtis Cox (1.17:47).

Too confessed, "I tried my best but it was too humid. I wanted the course record but I didn't make it. I will make it next time." Speaking on the specifics of his race, the 37-year-old runner said, "at the fourth mile mark, I knew that I will win but at the 11th mile mark I realised the record will be difficult to achieve." Even with a physically challenging 24 hours of travel time and arriving on Saturday afternoon, Too vows to return next year to defend his title.

Venezuelan Yeisy Alvarez improved on her 2010 runner-up performance to become victorious in the Women`s category and 11th overall in a time of 1.17:59.

Crossing the line a few seconds later to secure the Women` s silver medal and 12th overall was TT`s Tonya Nero with a time of 1.18:41. Placing third in the women, and 58th overall, was Guadeloupe's Christelle Laurent with a time of 1.34:51.

Speaking through an interpreter Alvarez said, "I stayed with Nero until the 16km and the last 5km I increased the pressure and separated from her to make a good race." The 31-year-old admitted, "I was feeling a bit upset at the start of the race but I felt better enough to secure the race after the 10km." Even though Nero is a repeated silver medallist at the UWI SPEC Half Marathon, she admitted, "I`m satisfied with my performance because I ran a faster time than last year so yes improvement is always good." Commenting on the performance of Alvarez, Nero said, "I felt she was stronger because a few miles into the race I realised she was relaxed and, at the halfway turn, she took the lead then pulled away from me at the 10-mile point." The first athlete in a wheelchair to finish was Rickie Singh while Stefan Williams was the first University Student completing the course in 1.22:19.

The First Citizens Bank sponsored event saw a record of 1,300 participants comprising of athletes, soca artistes, students, physically challenged and Special Olympics athletes.

Assisting at the prize giving ceremony were Professor Brian Copeland (Principal of UWI, St Augustine), Professor Rhoda Reddock (Vice- Principal of UWI, St Augustine), Jason Julien (Deputy CEO of Business Generation - First Citizens Bank) and Dexter Charles (Senior Communications Manager – First Citizens Bank).

This year`s edition saw a partnership between organisers and the Diabetes Association of Trinidad & Tobago (DATT) - who will benefit from contributions by race participants amounting to just over $10,000.00.

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