30k and Halloween 10-10-10 2017

Over the past few days it rained heavily in Grand Cayman, which for some strange reason seems to some people that this is a rarity and them asking if the event would be cancelled. Just so you know for future reference, Race Caribbean won’t voluntarily cancel a race because of a bit of rain.  Anyhow, when I and volunteers Theo, Marcelo and Victor were up to set-up the race equipment very early on Sunday morning the rains had actually stopped and for most of the morning there was enough cloud cover to keep the temperature lower and I’m sure that was welcomed by many of the 30k solo runners and relay teams. Thanks to the speed of the volunteers setting up, the Cadet Corps preparing the water stops and Laura handing out batons etc, we were ready to start the race on time. We got the thumbs-up from Russell that timekeeper Trevor was ready and the race set off with teams and 30k runners heading into the darkness of the Queens Highway just after 6am. I’m not sure what Sam Young was doing but he gave everyone a 30 second head start, which was very decent of him especially as he was running the 30k and running leg 1 for 345AC Young & Younger.  In to the race and it was Will Edwards of 345AC Muppets who went into the front straight away (apparently using Leg 1 as a “training run”) and was closely followed by Brandon Dale, Sherlock Brooks (345AC Bulldogs) and replacement runner Gareth Van Den Berg for PB & J.  Runners continued along the Queens Highway for approximately 5.6miles then turned left and headed South down Frank Sound Road with the changeover point at 10k (6.2miles) where Marcelo and Victor were marshaling and had been joined by Dr. Jody Timpson who was very kindly providing medical cover. By the end of the Leg, it was Will (41:57) who romped home in a canter and handed over to Levi Superville a good 50 seconds ahead of Gareth (PB & J) who handed over to Brian Eden who probably did not expect to begin his leg so far up the field. Next were solo runners Brandon Dale and Sam Young crossing the line together after Sam had pushed the pace to catch up the 30 seconds lost at the start and so he could hand over the baton to Rowen McLean in 3rd place. The next batch of runners included Ben Stranegway, Conrad Proud and Scott Ruby running through together and Paul Williams (Movers for Life – Inspiration). The first individual female through was Marlie Du Toit (49:46) then Clare Lumsden (51:12) and Oddy Grullon (52:14) who was also running Leg 1 for 345AC Superstars and handed over to Tiffany Cole who were first all female team but only just ahead of Nicola Freeth (52:23) who was also doing the 30k and a Leg for WNRC Ladies 2. Leg 2 – Waiting at this checkpoint was Faye and Greg Lippitt who have become a regular fixture at our relay races and we thank them again for their time and commitment. Levi (Muppets) may have thought he was on a training run as he started with a 50 second lead and ran his leg without seeing anyone else other than the Cadets who were manning the water stops. Levi did not run like a training session though but smashed out 40:40 for the fastest leg 2 of the day and by the time he finished the next runners were over 6 minutes behind him. The second fastest time for leg 2 was Tiffany Cole (Superstars) who completed in 42:28 and demolished the Ladies Leg 2 record formerly held by Michelle Lamont (45:04) since 2014. Abraham Whittaker (Bulldogs) had moved his team into overall second place. Brandon Dale’s second leg of 44:15 was the fastest individual leg of the day leaving him firmly ahead of the field, whilst Conrad Proud (48:22) was getting stronger with negative splits over the first 20k. Ben Strangeway was third quickest in 49:17. Marlie (51:29) had pulled further ahead of rivals with the quickest female individual runner although Clare 53:15) was not a million miles away Leg 3 – Juan Pablo Valerio (Muppets) took over from Levi and headed down to East End running through Gun Bay and back to the finish-line at Morritts. Pablo is better known for running 800 meters on the track but today showed just how much he has improved his endurance with not only the quested Leg 3, but the quickest overall 10k split of the day finishing in a very impressive 40:19 and not far off Matt ‘Sticks’ Volkwyn’s Leg 3 record time from 2016 (40:03). A huge performance from Pablo ensured the Muppets became champions for 2017. The Bulldogs ran a decent leg 3 but the aim was to secure second place as it would take the efforts of Mo Farrah to close the gap with the leaders. Kiara McLaughlin (48:27) ensured the Superstars held onto overall third but as they were in the all-female team it was a matter of what time they could finish in as the race was in-the-bag so to speak. In fact, the Superstars smashed the previous course record held since 2014 by the Ghouls (2:26.07) with a new record time of 2:23.10 so well done to Oddy, Tiffany and Kiara. Second ladies team was WNRC Ladies 2 (Nicola Freeth, Anya Park and Jasmine Brown) with WNRC Ladies 1 in third (Jen Strangeway, Jess Waller and Maggie Dawson). Harmonic Trick or Trot Leg 3 runner was the second fastest Leg 3 of the day (Deon Slabbert, Alex Johnson and Michelle Vinton). The entry shows leg 3 to be Michelle Vinton, which if correct will be a new Leg 3 ladies record in 44:55 and previously held by Beth Florek (47:36). This team ran the race very well with each leg runner progressively quicker and earning fourth overall team but the fastest Corporate team award in a time of 2:23.17 with KPMG (Bianca Brown, Daniel Jones and Micho Schumann) second corporate team in 2:41.36 that had also run quicker with each leg. The Harmonic Walking Dead (Nish Vora, Toby Buist and David Byrne) were third corporate team so well done to all. Fifth overall team to cross the line was Young & Younger (Sam Young, Rowan McLean and Donjae Blake) which made them third in the Open Division. 30k solo runners. Brandon Dale is the champion of 2017 in a time of 2:14.44, Conrad Proud continued running negative splits and shows just how experienced he has become and a well deserved second place in 2:22.48. Sam Young took a break on Leg 2 after running hard on Leg 1 for his team, but came back with a strong leg 3 to secure third overall place in 2:25.26. A good day for Sam as his relay team were also third in the Open category and I am sure Sam was pleased with his haul. Ben Strangeway was not that far behind in 2:27.14 for fourth. Marlie Du Toit was a clear winner in the ladies division in 2:37.25 but the battle was on for second, third and forth between, Clare Lumsden, Lauren Hogan and Jennifer Coleman. Coming through Leg 2 it was Clare who was in second place and had put a lot of energy into the first 20k but started to feel the wheels coming off on the last leg. Meanwhile, Lauren and Jennifer Coleman were running with consistency as their 10k splits fairly even that enabled them to move through the field. The difference in the end was the last leg as Lauren was the quickest and earned second female in a time of 2:44.12 with Jennifer less than 1 minute behind in third (2:45.04) and Clare just missed out on the podium finish in a time of  2:45.50. Thanks to everyone who took part, to the runners, the Cayman Islands Cadet Corps, the volunteers and to the staff of Morritt’s Resort. Special thanks to KRyS Global for their sponsorship