Cross Island Relay 2019

6am sharp was the start of the 45^th Annual Cross Island Relay (“XIR”) with ideal conditions with a cool morning and very light winds. It seems that two teams did not get the memo about being on time as they failed to collect the baton and missed the official start – we did allow the rest of the teams’ leg runners to continue [it seemed the right thing to do] but could not place them in the overall results; at least some runners got their splits. A total of 24 miles with 6 runners completing the distance of 4 miles each is the order of the day.

In the XIR, runners are to carry a baton (which holds the race chip) and as it is handed over the to the next runners the timing mats provide individual leg times which are shown below (scroll further down for times by leg). If the baton fails to register over the mat the team of volunteers records the bib numbers of each team runner as they go through as a back up as it provides the position teams passed each checkpoint.  Therefore if your time has the letter “e”, it means the baton did not record at that changeover mat and the time is estimated based on the position through the checkpoint. There are two leg 1 runners who did not appear to cross over the mat nor did the timekeepers record their bibs leaving me to suspect they messed it up totally!  In this case there is no time recorded and it also affects the next leg runners as there is no start time!!!

Leg 1 – Starts a few hundred yards up the road from Tukka with runners heading through Gun Bay and handing over to Leg 2 the other side of East End. From the get-go it was Carifta athlete Victor Magalhaes (345AC A-Team) who set a blistering pace leaving the rest in his wake. Gregley Gayle (High Voltage) and Esmond Brown (MNRC JogFathers) were chasing Victor and had Conrad Proud (South Sound AC) breathing down their necks with the long snake of other runners working at their own pace and probably having smaller battles.

By the end of the first 4 miles Victor had a big lead and passed in 22:33. Esmond had pulled away from Gregley (the latter has been struggling through thigh injuries) and came through in a very respectable time of 23:17. Conrad and James Murray (Boys and Dolls) managed to pull ahead of Gregley for third and fourth respectively. In sixth place was first female through Tiffany Cole (345AC MDR Gurls) in 26:50. The next female was Elaine Anderson (Walkers Running) and Pam Abbott (Quick Steps) was third.

Leg 2 – heads up Sea View Road, passing Shetty Hospital and the Lovers’ Wall and completing 4 miles just before the turning up Frank Sound Road. Most runners favourite Leg as it has just turned light and the temperature is still low (compared to how it is going to be later) and not many vehicles on the road. Victor handed over to Abraham Whittaker, Esmond to DJ Evans, and Conrad to Phil Reed for the top three out of the checkpoint. What a run by Phil who in a time of 22:54 closed down to with 20 seconds of Abraham (24:26) and now the race was well and truly on as they had the fastest two times on Leg 2. Esmond had 14 minutes rest after leg 1 and took the baton a second time for Appleby and managed the third quickest leg 2 time in 24:34.  Fourth quickest was William Peake (Harneys) in 26:28 moving his team up the pecking order. The quickest female was another Carifta performer Ava Hider (26:53) and giving the 345AC MDR Gurls a long lead in the all-female team division (no Sole Sisters this year). Kyrstie Krypner (Walkers Running) was next quickest female and putting Walkers right up there with the Corporate teams.13 year old Isabella McGeough was third quickest female in 29:07.

Leg 3 – a straight run towards Bodden Town but completing near the EverGlow bar and before Moon Bay Condos. Abraham was just about ahead when he handed the baton to Sherlock Brooks whilst Phil handed over to Graham Blyth for the top two spots. Sherlock used his experience and was able to extend the lead by just over 20 seconds and earned the fastest Leg 3 of the day in 24:53, whilst Graham’s time of 25:17 kept South Sound AC well clear of third. Marlon Crowe (WNRC JogFathers) also had a good run and his time was only a second slower than Sherlock. Doug Anderson help move Red Sail Sports A up to a potential podium finish in the Corporate division, but most impressive on this leg was 10 year old Doireann Lynch (29:47) who was quickest female and extended the MDR Gurls lead by an unassailable margin. Charlotte Cloete (Intertrust) and Annalet Kruger (KPMG Running Free) were the next quickest ladies.

Leg 4 – another pleasant leg as runners head through Bodden town towards Savannah and this leg finishes with a turn off the main Shamrock Road (otherwise the checkpoint would have been located on a dangerous bend) for a chang of leg runners 4 to 5.

Ahead of the pack was 345AC A Team as Carifta athlete Levi Superville run a very quick time of 23:27 and placed his team in a big lead and by now the race was in-the-bag unless something awful happened. The other teams were jostling for positions with changes occurring each leg for the other places. Olivia Shanks of South Sound AC (fresh from winning the Stride Against Cancer Half-Marathon) ran a stormer and apart from being top female runner of the day put her team into a podium spot. Hugh Anderson of Walkers Running all but determined his team would be Corporate winners as his time of 25:50 was the third fastest leg 4. Next fastest females Jessica O’Neal(WNRC Miles to Martinis), Kirsten Cellier (Fartlekkers), Charlotte Kerr (MDR Gurls), Emily Harrison (Quick Steps)and Gergana Lyutskkanova (Ritz Carlton Lions) all within a minute of each other.

Leg 5 – arguably the toughest leg with the temperature now full-on and the route ain’t that pretty either as you don’t even get to see the sea; run passed Country side and follow to Propect Point and the marathon route for a bit and finishing were Durty Reids used to be. Juan Pablo “Pabbers” Valerio (who qualified for Carifta 2019 last week) was fastest time of the day and placed 345AC in dominant position as he handed over to a very good runner. Victor Magalhaes was running a second leg for one of the junior 345AC members (MDR Muppets) and his second leg of the day in 23:41 showed what strength he has, breaking sub 6-minute miles for both legs. Aaron Walker of South Sound AC secured second overall spot with third fastest Leg 5 of the day. Quickest female was Sarah Ryan (F45 Mixed) and Kyra Rabess (MDR Gurls) who is better known for her swimming prowess was second quickest female and Andrea Lupo (Team Pappagallo) third.

Leg 6 – Pabbers handing the baton to the safe clutches of Patrick Harfield who smahed the Stride Against Cancer Half-Mara a week earlier in a very quick time. Patrick could be excused for taking it easy with such a big lead but that is not how he rolls. Using all his experience and hammering a very quick time in the heat of leg 6 in 22:10 was the fastest Leg run of the day ensuring the 345AC A Team (Victor, Abraham, Sherlock, Levi, Pabbers and Patrick) won around 6 minutes ahead of nearest rivals in 2:20:46 (average paced under 6 minutes per mile for the entire team). Peter Kendall next best for South Sound AC (Conrad, Phil, Graham, Olivia, Aaron and Pete) secured the second place whilst Paul Hefferon hung on for his team WNRC JogFathers (Esmond, DJ Evans, Marlon, Matt “Sticks” Volkwyn, Paul Henry and Paul) for third overall.

In the all-female division it MDR Gurls (Tiffany, Ava, Doireann, Charlotte, Kyra and Kiara) who won again thanks to Kiara McLaughlin brining the baton home in 2:53:48 a good 8 minutes ahead of F45 Cayman (Jill Latrenta, Gill Gordon, Leane Thorne, Breda Meehan, Amy Dyer and Lauren Hogan) with WNRC Miles to Martinis (Oddy Grullon, Jalene Cruz, Carole Stewart, Jessica, Martine Fitzgerald and Rumyana Takova).

Huge thanks go to all the volunteers at water stops and checkpoints, at the finishline, the Hash House Harriers for organization and the Cayman islands Cadet Corps who help every year with safety marshals.

Finally, thank you from all runners goes to Fidelity bank who have sponsored this race for many years and we thank them for their generosity.

Leg 1

Leg 2

Leg 3

Leg 4

Leg 5

Leg 6

The Annual Cross Island Relay, sponsored by Fidelity, organised by the Cayman Hash House Harriers. Starting at 6am at Gun Bay East End.

Register online  www.caymanactive.com/registrations 

Online payment required this year for all online registrations.

Mandatory Packet Pickup (and a chance for late registration) will be from noon to 4pm at Camana Bay on Saturday 2nd February near the Observation Tower. A representative from all teams must come to Packet Pickup to collect race numbers which must be distributed to each team member. No Packet Pickup or number collection on race day.