A record number of women took part in the eighth annual Partner Re 5K Run and Walk at the Botanical Gardens yesterday to raise awareness of heart disease amongst women.

A turnout of 775 entrants delighted organisers as a multitude of walkers and runners streamed out of the park and around surrounding roads to complete a route of just over three miles in the morning sunshine.

This year?s event was raising funds of the Bermuda Heart Foundation and the message was loud and clear ? women need to look after their hearts as much as men to avoiding heart attacks.

On average four women suffer a heart attack every month in Bermuda .

First to leave the Gardens on the 5K route were the serious runners and all eyes were on early pace-setter and five-times winner Anna Eatherley.

But Victoria Fiddick tracked the leader all the way before breaking clear to claim victory in around 19 and-a-half minutes.

Afterwards she said: ?For this route it was a pretty good time. I?ve done no speed work of late so it was good to do this in a race solely on endurance training.?

American visitor Donna Karasic, from Baltimore, is more accustomed to longer events, such as the Chicago Marathon where she ran an impressive three hours 17 minutes last weekend, but she decided to enter the 5K the day before and followed home Fiddick and Eatherley to claim third place.

She said: ?I?m used to running in much cooler conditions.?

Race organiser Rosemary Jones, of the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Club, said: ?People really look forward to this event ? they ask about it and come out and support it and there is a lot of support for the Bermuda Heart Foundation.

?Plus the fact that it is the only women-only race of its kind on the Island. It is competitive and also has the community aspect with a lot of relatives coming out to support one another.?

How much has been raised for the Bermuda Heart Foundation is still being assessed, but last year?s charity benefited by around $11,000 and sponsor Partner Re has pledged to match the entry fee total going towards the BHF.

Watching the event was visiting American cardiac nurse Moe McDonough-Roddy, from the Miriam Hospital in Rhode Island.

Earlier this year she commanded J-35 sailboat in the Bermuda 1-2 event sailing single-handed from Newport, Rhode Island to Bermuda and returning as a two-woman team with Kate Ambach.

The red dress is, like the pink ribbon for breast cancer, the instantly recognisable symbol for the women?s cardiac disease campaign.

Ms McDonough-Roddy said Bermuda and the rest of the developed world are following the pattern of the US where 500,000 women die from heart disease each year.

She said: ?Of those cases 18 percent are hereditary and the rest are the result of lifestyle, so that can be impacted upon by how we take care of ourselves.?

Amongst those taking part in the 5K was fellow American heart specialist Dr. Barbara Roberts, who is visiting Bermuda with Ms McDonough-Roddy to help promote the ?look after your heart? message among women.

Dr. Roberts is the author of ?How To Keep From Breaking Your Heart: What Every Woman Needs To Know About Cardiovascular Disease? and together with Miss McDonough-Roddy presented a free lecture at the Bermuda College on the impact of heart disease on women.

Another 5K spectator was King Edward VII Memorial Hospital cardiologist Dr. Shane Marshall, who felt Bermuda has all the ingredients for high levels of heart disease because of its highly affluent society, sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy diet.

He added: ?We don?t have a lot of wide-open spaces where people can exercise, and running or walking on the roads can be intimidating, so people have to go out of their way if they want to lead an active lifestyle. An event like this can really motivate people.?

Eight former heart patients from the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, brought together by Cardiac Care Nurse Myrian Balitian-Dill also set off together on the 5K walk wearing distinctive red T-shirts.

Five-times Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Betsy Alison and her team of racers are currently on the Island taking part in match racing at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, under the banner of Red Dress Racing to further promote the cardiac disease awareness campaign.