Runners gearing up for the May 24 Marathon Derby this year will have to find another way to finalise their preparations as this weekend's Sir Stanley Burgess 5K road race has been cancelled.

Swan's Running Club, organisers of the event, were not prepared to put on the race this year, according to president Roderick Bassett.

"We were not prepared as we thought it was scheduled for next week," said Bassett.

"I was away at the Penn Relays last week and no one had begun preparation for the event.

"We had a sit-down meeting to discuss possibilities such as moving it to a later date, but in the end it was best to just cancel the race."

Burgess, who died in 1984, is a racing legend who participated for more than 50 years in the May 24 Marathon, beginning in 1921 when he was 20.

He went on to win the Island's top road race 10 times, with his last race being in 1983 when he was 84.

He was awarded the Queen's Certificate and Badge of Honour in 1971.

Lamont Marshall (below), who has won consecutive Sir Stanley Burgess races, made history at last year's event by running the fastest 5K on the Island, a stunning 14 minutes and 53 seconds for the distance.

His performance was five seconds better than Kavin Smith's long-standing mark for the distance. Marshall's older brother, Larry, finished second with a time of 15:12.