There will be no shortage of excitement when the Intertrust Cayman Islands Marathon, Half-Marathon and 4-Person Relay happens this Sunday, 2 December starting at 5am on the waterfront. The public is encouraged to come out and support this great charity event which raises funds for the Cayman Islands Cadet Corps and the Cancer Society as well as other worthy organisations.

At the time of writing, organisers confirm 102 full marathoners, 810 half marathon entrants and 67 teams entered for the relay, and the usual flurry of last-minute entries is yet to come! This year the race is expected to grow in numbers with at least 100 new registrations expected on the day before the race, which attracted just over 1200 runners in 2017, and is celebrating its sixteenth (16^th) year. Between visiting runners, their families and supporters the race is bringing close to 700 visitors to the island, according to organisers.

The Kids Fun Run, sponsored by MILO and the Ministry of Youth & Sports, will start at 10:30am at the new Government Administration Building on Elgin Avenue and end just past the finish line on the corner of Cardinall Avenue and Harbour Drive. This event is free for students between the ages of 5 and 11 years old and is expected to bring in 300 kids.

The top three male and female marathoners and half marathoners in the 29 and under, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 and 60 and over age categories will be awarded for their achievements. The top three teams in the corporate, all-male, all-female and mixed relay competitions will receive awards sponsored this year by Solomon Harris, part of Bedell Cristin. The CUC High School challenge relay event will also receive awards.

“It’s our 16^th year, and every year keeps getting better. The support we receive from the community, our sponsors, volunteers, local runners and overseas runners – some who fly here every year just to run our race – is overwhelming at times,” said Rhonda Kelly, Race Director. “This event is so inspirational and at times so emotional. We are just thrilled to be a part of the triumphs and powerful moments that a lot of our local and visiting runners will experience this Sunday. We count it an honour to be a part of their stories.”

Marathon Stories

• The 2018 Cayman Marathon will be 69-year old Brent Weigner’s 166^th marathon country. From Cheyenne, Wyoming, Weigner has completed a marathon in all 50 United States, in all 10 Canadian provinces and two territories and on all 7 continents TEN TIMES as well as 53 ultra-marathons
• Bob Brooker from Cedar Rapids, Iowa is back for his third half marathon because “My wife and I just love this island!!!”
• Twins Yvette and Yvonne Carter from Maryland are running the half and full marathons respectively and their mom Joyce is going to volunteer at the race
• Robert Catlett from St. Albans, West Virginia proposed to his girlfriend just before he crossed the finish line at the Boston Marathon earlier this year. He had visited the Cayman Marathon booth at the Expo and thought it would be neat to run Cayman someday. “We decided on a destination wedding for just the two of us and thought it would be fun to run a marathon together so we remembered the Grand Cayman booth. We are getting married December 1^st and running the marathon on December 2^nd. I tell everyone I am going to say “I Do” and “Good Night!”
• Kelly Criss from Sachse, Texas has visited the island for vacations and when she saw the race on Facebook knew she and her friend had to do it. “Grand Cayman is my happy place and running is my therapy.”
• Cayman resident Charmane Dalhouse completed the half marathon in 2017 after losing 47 pounds and wants to improve her time while Sharon Davis is doing her second half marathon after having both hips replaced at Health City due to arthritis in 2017 and completing the 2017 race
• Vikisha Fripp from Washington, DC will be doing her first run after breaking her foot to prove to herself that she can still run.
• Caymanian mom and daughter team Shan and Alexia Harriman will be participating in the half marathon. Shan will be pushing Alexia in her racing chair. Calling their team “Wings for Lexi”, Shan and Alexia hope that doing the race will encourage other parents with special needs children to get involved. For them, the race is to promote inclusion.
• Carol Hughes from Australia is turning 60 in December and wanted to celebrate 60 years of being on the planet in an amazing place
• Troy and Cathie Johnson from Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee have completed over 300 marathons, all 50 states twice, and done a marathon in 21 countries. “We want to add the Cayman Islands to our country list.”
• Kelley Garcia from Albuquerque, New Mexico is returning for her 9^th Cayman full marathon with her husband Joaquin who volunteers for the event and manages the start/finish line
• Niina Majaniemi from Finland said, “I read an article saying that your marathon is the friendliest marathon on earth, so of course I need to try it!”
• Lauren O’Neill from Cayman has advanced from not being able to run for more than 5 minutes at the start of the year to slowly building up the miles to try and achieve her first half marathon
• Denise White from Mableton, Georgia is doing her first full marathon after losing 77 pounds
• Cayman resident Kristina Wight is running to raise funds for ALS Canada. She started running the roads of Cayman eight months after suffering injuries that left her with a broken elbow and unable to walk.
• Marco Seitelmann from Berlin, Germany met Race Director Rhonda Kelly at the Boston Marathon Expo in 2013 and finished the Boston Marathon five minutes before the bombing started. He has spent the last two years working toward running again. “Now it’s the time to do it.”

Cayman will also be welcoming a 50-member strong group from Canada which includes teenagers from the Healthy Horizons Foundation, an organisation dedicated to improving the health and well-being of youth in the communities it serves through financial support and the motivation to advance their level of fitness, education and health.

Organisers are asking for the public’s cooperation during the race by keeping traffic along the race route to a minimum, and in particular those people who live along the route are being asked to secure their dogs in their yards, and turn on their Christmas lights if they have any from 4:30am on the morning of 2 December.

The race starts at on the George Town Waterfront, by Sharkeez Bar & Grill and goes through South Church Street, South Sound and Old Prospect Road, after which runners turn around and go back through South Sound and then onto Walkers and Hospital Roads, Elgin Avenue, Edward and Fort Streets and back to Breezes.

Late registration for the 2018 Intertrust Cayman Islands Marathon, Half Marathon, 4-Person Relay, CUC High School Challenge and Kids Fun Run can only be done at the Westin Resort’s Galleon Ballroom on Saturday, 1 December during Packet Pick Up from 9am to 3pm.

The Intertrust Cayman Islands Marathon is a Kelly Holding event and is sponsored by Department of Tourism, BritCay, Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports, Agriculture and Lands, Flowers Bottled Water, Gatorade, Health City, Milo, Cayman Compass, Phoenix Group, Flow, Solomon Harris (part of Bedell Cristin), 94.9 BOB FM, Cayman Airways, FastSigns, eCaytrade, Westin Grand Cayman, CUC, CINICO, Cayman Physiotherapy, Massive Group, Smoothie King, CayLight, Australian Gold, Quaker, Cost-U-Less, Bliss Living Yoga, Sharkeez, Netclues, Mike’s Ice, Hopscotch Productions, Z99 FM and Explore Cayman.

For more information email [email protected], call
Bev Sinclair on 345.623.8825 or visit www.caymanislandsmarathon.com

IMAGES: Supplied