Swans Labour Day 5K course changed amid safety concerns

Colin Thompson

Created: Sep 02, 2026 12:21 PM (Updated: Sep 02, 2026 12:22 PM)

Runners will compete on a different racecourse in next week’s Swans Labour Day 5K (File photograph by Akil Simmons)

The Swan’s Labour Day 5K racecourse has been amended as a result of safety concerns for the participants.

For the past three years the 3.1 mile race has been contested on the streets of the City of Hamilton.

However, that will not be the case this year as it will revert to the junction of Langton Hill and North Shore and conclude at Dutton Avenue.

“The reason we changed it is because of safety issues within the town with traffic and we don’t want to endanger any of the runners because of lack of volunteers, so we did it outside of the city because of that,” a spokesperson for organisers Swan’s Running Club told The Royal Gazette.

“We don’t want to have somebody get injured in the race, so we did it outside as we have more than enough marshals for it to be outside the city.

The 2026-27 road racing season will kick off with next Monday’s Swans Labour Day 5K (File photograph by Akil Simmons)

“It’s nothing untoward or political why we took it away from the City of Hamilton. It was just because it was safer to do it outside and it’s a nice course.

“We brought it into Hamilton after we got some assurances that people from the Bermuda Industrial Union would have volunteers to help, but we had some close calls last year and so we just can’t do it.”

The last time the traditional road racing season opener was held on this year’s racecourse was in 2022.

“We’ve had races on that racecourse before and people seemed to have liked it,” the spokesperson said. “Some of the runners liked the race, so we said we will do it for this year.”

This year’s 5K will start at the junction of Langton Hill and North Shore, and take the runners and walkers east to the Barker’s Hill roundabout before climbing up Palmetto Hill and heading west along Palmetto Road and Marsh Folly Road before turning left to the finish line at Dutton Avenue.

There is also a junior race to be contested on a 2.65km course, starting at Dutton Avenue and taking the runners east along Palmetto Road to Roberts Avenue before returning on Palmetto Road to the finish line at Dutton Avenue.

Junior runners will kick things off at 8am, followed by walkers at 8.15am and adult runners at 8.30am.

More details on the race can be found at www.racedayworld.com.