A year after the inaugural IAS Beach to Beach 5K, the multi-terrain race that starts and finishes on Horseshoe Bay Beach is back.

Don't go looking for a personal best on this course, but do expect a bit of variety and a break from 'normal' road racing.

No less a talent than Jay Donawa (pictured left) won the first 5K but the combination of hills, sand dunes and grass verges slowed him by at least three minutes from his usual target time as he won in 18 minutes 46 seconds. That was still enough to put nearly three minutes between himself and runner-up Otis Robinson.

Race organisers the Bermuda Pacers Track Club, decided to switch the IAS event from its previous flat location out at the west end of the Island and give it a new look by starting and finishing on a beach and making runners traverse sandy trails as well as the steep climb from Chaplin Bay to Warwick Camp entrance before hugging the grass verges on South Road to the turnaround point at Astwood Park and returning by the same route.

Speedsters might want to leave their stopwatches behind and concentrate on simply trying to beat the athletes around them rather than beat the clock, because this 5K is more like a cross country workout than a road race, as first women finisher last year Victoria Fiddick observed after clocking 23.11.

Amongst others who competed last year were Bermuda's former English League footballers Shaun Goater and Kyle Lightbourne and a number of Bermuda Hogges players.

The multi-terrain 3.1-mile race is open to runners and walkers and will be held on Sunday, March 16 at 9.30 a.m. There is also a 1.6 mile route for children aged 12 or under, which starts half-an-hour before the main race.

Some of the proceeds from the race will be given to The Coalition for the Protection of Children.

The men's and women's race winners will receive a weekend for two at the Fairmont Hamilton with breakfast and dinner. There will be prizes in other categories and a prize draw including travel vouchers and iPod Nanos.

Entry forms are available now from Sportseller, Sports-R-Us, the International Race Shop and the IAS office in Church Street.