Estwanik in bid for fourth title
The Island's top runner Chris Estwanik will be gunning for a fourth straight win in the 34th Fairmont to Fairmont race this weekend.Estwanik has ruled local road running in recent years and etched his name forever in the annuls of the Bermuda Half-Marathon Derby history after romping home to three successive race victories last summer.But the American still believes he will have to be at his best to complete a quadruple of Fairmont to Fairmont wins on Sunday.“Every year brings different challenges but I'm looking forward to defending my title,” said Estwanik.“Every year I'm getting older and the competition's getting better. I'll just go out there and do the best I can and hopefully win my fourth title.”The Fairmont to Fairmont race will be used as a final tune-up for Estwanik ahead of next week's International Race Weekend 10K the only event he will be competing in.He suspects one or two of the overseas elite athletes may join him on the starting line as they also prepare for race weekend.“You never know if any of the international athletes may be coming in early for International Race Weekend. It's possible a few of those guys could come in for a tune-up,” he said.“I'm not doing the mile this year, I just couldn't pull together the specific training needed to be done prior to the race. But this is a great tune-up for the 10K. It's not a fast course and so you don't need to be too hard on yourself when it comes to whether you're hitting your time.“Also, you never know what the weather will be like. It was dumping buckets of rain last year and a lot of guys stayed in the hotel and opted to have a long coffee rather than brave the elements.”Estwanik does not know who his main rivals will be in Sunday's race although he is expecting strong performances from Bermuda's up and coming runners Chayce Smith and Sean Trott. “I'm not sure who else is running but I believe Chayce Smith and Sean Trott are back from university,” he said.“Then there's Lamont Marshall who is coming on leaps and bounds and Jay Donawa who is in the best form he's been in for a number of years.”Estwanik's wife Ashley has also signed up for Sunday's 7.2 mile race and will look to dethrone Victoria Fiddick who has won the women's race for the past two years. Last year's race attracted around 300 runners, including junior competitors, and organisers are expecting similar numbers this weekend.The Fairmont to Fairmont race is organised by Mid-Atlantic Athletic Club (MAAC) and sanctioned by the Bermuda Track and Field Association.The race begins at The Fairmont Hamilton Princess at 9am and ends at The Fairmont Southampton's Ocean Club.