Top locals to watch out for
IN the final event before International Race Weekend leading local athletes Jay Donawa, Dawn Richardson and Victoria Fiddick put themselves to the test and came up to scratch, albeit with two of them missing trophy silverware, in the Fairmont-to-Fairmont road race.Now their focus is on what they can achieve over the next two days.
The biggest upset last Sunday in the Fairmont race was Donawa being denied a record eighth consecutive win following the surprise intervention of American visitor Carl Kinney.
Donawa ran side-by-side with Kinney for the first mile, reached in 4:52, before losing touch with the Colorado-based athlete. In fairness Donawa’s finishing time measures up well next to his previous seven wins and indicates he is on target for another strong run in this Sunday’s Half Marathon.
The 34-year-old has opted to concentrate on only one race this year rather than two as he did in 2006. With two recent 1:10 half-marathons in Philadelphia under his belt he looks on target to again challenge the 1:10 mark.
Outlining his intention for Sunday, he said: “I’m looking to go out really hard and see where I place.” Dawn Richardson pulled away from rival and reigning champion Victoria Fiddick on the final steep incline approaching the Fairmont Southampton Hotel to secure victory. She is down to run the full Marathon on Sunday, only a month after running the New Las Vegas Marathon in 3 hours 34 minutes.
The 34-year-old, who is the current May 24 Marathon Derby champion, said she would likely “jog” the marathon, a term she also used to describe her Las Vegas outing, even though she was amongst the first 600 finishers from a race field of more than 6,000.
Being able to add Bermuda to her marathon list CV is what counts for Richardson.
“It is always nice to go and do a different marathon and say you have done it,” she said, citing Bermuda as a particularly special marathon to have done.
Fiddick meanwhile intends to challenge for the local women’s Mile title on Front Street tonight before tackling the Half Marathon on Sunday, having finished second local woman in 2006 in a time just over 1:30.
The local men’s mile race will see Lamont Marshall racing to retain his title, which he won last year in a notable 4:23. He opted to miss last weekend’s Fairmont race in order to save his strength for another fast outing along Front Street during the KPMG-sponsored running showpiece.
His time trial in December was a pleasing 4:30 showing he is on-target. This week he has been tapering down, watching his diet and getting plenty of rest.
He said: “I thought the Fairmont race was too long a race, too close to the Front Street race that I wouldn’t have been able to recover in time had I run.” Marshall views Chayce Smith as being his closest rival in the mile showdown.
One runner going for a triple is Otis Robinson. He has been turning in improving performances of late, including a 38-minute 10K before Christmas. Ironically, the one disappointment came in the Fairmont race as he tried to push on through the lingering effects of a flu infection that had left him with a temperature of 102F the night before.
At one stage he was reduced to a walk but recovered to finish 16th overall in a race where he placed fourth a year earlier.
As he gears up to run the Mile, 10K and Half Marathon on consecutive days, he said: “I’m feeling pretty good now. I was a bit disappointed after the Fairmont race where I felt ill. But I’ve been taking fluids this week and resting.” Robinson would consider a third place in the locals’ Mile as a good evening’s work. With Marshall and Chayce Smith the two main title challengers, Robinson views his best hope as being to run a tactical race, seeking out the third place as the race progresses and using finishing speed to claim the final podium spot.He has a number of sub-five minute miles to his credit, including a 4:43. Once the Mile is out of the way he will go into his second main event the 10K. He said: “If I can break 38 minutes on that course I’ll be excited.” Finally he’ll set off in the Half Marathon on Sunday morning, having never tackled the International Half Marathon before because he has always done the Marathon. Last year he went through the half-way mark in 1:25, a repeat performance over a single lap this weekend is his goal.
And he has his own secret weapon — his iPod pumping up-tempo rock and reggae into his ears as he runs. His music machine was broken last year but has since been repaired and now he can switch off into his own world as he runs, something that has helped his past performances.
Also running in the Half Marathon is sub-three hour Bermudian marathoner Geoff Blee, who is tapering down for the Miami Marathon on January 28.
In the full Marathon the local men to look out for, should they run, are former May 24 champ Brett Forgesson and sub-three hour marathoners Danny Kendall and Peter Mills.
Runners who used the 30th anniversary Fairmont-to-Fairmont 7.3 mile road race as their warm up for the International Race Weekend were left in awe at the special arrangements laid on by race sponsors Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
A special buffet breakfast with tables on the beach and veranda at the Whaler Inn decked out in brightly-coloured table clothes greeted the more than 200 runners at the end of the event. Some competitors even thought the spread was for hotel guests and were making their way to a collection of cookies and fruit at the finish line until they were told by hotel staff the special arrangements had been made, by order of managing director Norman Mastalir, to honour them and celebrate the race’s 30 years.
Runners also received specially designed running socks commemorating the event, a commemorative mug and, if they wished, a free ferry ride back to Hamilton.
Mastalir said: “I’d like to congratulate all the runners who participated in the race. I’d also like to thank the race directors who have given their time and energy to making this a well-organised and fun road race for all those involved. As this was the 30th anniversary of the race, it was extra special and Fairmont is delighted to have been involved. Here’s to the next 30 years.”
