Outgoing Bermuda Track and Field Association president Judith Simmons has declared International Race Weekend a massive success.

Simmons, who will step down as president at an Annual General Meeting to be held by the end of March, was delighted with the weather, the participation and the performances of the elite runners.

"I'm very happy with the way it all went," said Simmons yesterday.

"In the end we had close to 900 participants in total with all the late entries ? we got a lot of e-mails and phone calls in the final couple of weeks which boosted the numbers.

"And the weather was better than predicted. The conditions on Friday and Saturday were close to perfect and the weather held off for the Half Marathon and some of faster marathon runners on Sunday.

"We are all very happy with the way it went."

Numbers released before the event were below 600 ? less than half the total from the previous year and more than 800 down on 2004 ? but late entries accounted for an additional 300 with Simmons believing that could have been even higher had it not been for a change in their procedures.

"I think you guys (the media) go on too much about the numbers being down," said Simmons, in response to 'Where have all the runners gone?' headlines in the week before the annual athletics showpiece.

"Yes, they were a little bit lower than the previous years but we didn't allow on-the-day entries for the 10K this year for administration reasons and probably had to turn away about 40 as a result.

"The problem has been the reliance on groups from abroad and we were hurt because a large group from the leukaemia charity didn't come this year.

"There is a danger in relying on the big charity groups as often they work cyclically, choosing to attend one event for five or so years and then moving on to another area.

"We were aware that was going to be the case this time around and we are attempting to market to individuals more in the future so we are not victims of group withdrawals.

"We are taking a number of steps in that regard, one of them being bringing in a film crew this year who will do some promotional work for us."

The withdrawal late last year of Thom Gilligan's Marathon Tours, who have been known to bring in as many as 400 runs in a year during their 27-year association with the race, hit Race Weekend hard as did accusations of poor marketing.

The Department of Tourism promised they had been marketing the event vigorously although the evidence of that was limited given the drop in the number of overseas participants.

Although Simmons won't be as involved in next year's event, she said she expected the marketing to begin early.

"There will be the usual post-mortem in the next week or so," she continued.

"And then, I believe, we will begin the marketing for next year although some things, like the film crew being here, had already been put in place to push numbers for the 2007 event."

Simmons was delighted with the level of competition among the elite athletes, particularly Mexican Juan Luis Barrios Nieves who became the first athlete to claim both the Mile and the 10K.

She also had special words for Elkanah Angwenyi, last year's Mile champion who pulled up on Front Street during the Mile but still competed the following day in the 10K.

"I was delighted with all the overseas athletes, particularly those on their first visits here who maybe wouldn't have expected the hills and the tricky courses," said Simmons.

"It was nice to see Elkanah complete the Mile in the end on Friday. He only got in on Thursday night and cramped up during the race. I was surprised to see him compete in the 10K on Saturday but it shows his commitment to the event and the attitude of those who come here to race."

She added that the $10,000 bonus prize for breaking the elusive four-minute barrier for the Front Street Mile was still very attainable, even though the winner was five seconds off that in perfect conditions four days ago.

"I think because it is run tactically that adds a few seconds on," said Simmons, who said that the athletes had strayed over to the right-hand side of the road during the back straight last Friday as part of the tactical race that was being run.

"We have experimented with a 'rabbit' but that hasn't quite worked out. We want to see the barrier broken and that's why we invite those who have run sub-four miles but it is just a case of how they run the race and whether they race tactically for the win or if they go all out to get one of them to the record."