Participants take off on a 13.1 mile sojourn of the Valley in the inaugural Virgin Gorda Half Marathon. PHOTO: Todd Van Sickle
MAY 15—Cricket and Football all rounder Maxford Pipe successfully defended his home turf and was joinedd by Tortola's Maria Mays as the respective male and female winners of the inaugural Virgin Gorda Half Marathon and 6 Mile Challenge held Saturday—on the toughest road racing course in the British Virgin Islands.
The 13.1 mile race that looped around the Valley cutting off a portion each time, took runners on scenic vistas of Coppermine and the Baths, and was dubbed Round and Round Virgin Gorda. The event attracted 40 participants with proceeds going towards VISAR.
“I surprised myself and I know the people in Virgin Gorda will be happy to hear the news that I won this event,” Pipe, who made his Half Marathon debut and overhauled the leaders over the last loop to win in 1 hour, 43 minutes and 08 seconds, told reporters. “I feel good for myself and I feel proud that I represented good.”
Mays—second overall—who had nothing left in the tank, took the women’s division in 1:45.00 after being passed by Pipe.
“The course was quite the challenge but they all were proud of themselves for finishing it,” noted race director Casey McNutt who did the six mile challenge. “When I was running, I had several people telling me, ‘this is all your fault.’ The hills were rough on the Copper Mine side, but once you were finished with that, it was nice.”
McNutt said they were also complimented on a clean course that didn’t have a lot of traffic with really nice views. “They all felt challenged, but they finished with good times,” she observed. “I’m very satisfied with this event and the responses we’ve gotten on our facebook page racevirgingorda.com have been blowing up. We have also have amazing responses from the community all of whom want to be part of it next year.”
The 2013 event has been set for May 13.
Final results. Half Marathon; Men: 1. Maxford Pipe, 1hour 43 minutes 08 seconds. 2. James Carr, 1:44.41. 3. Zebalon McLean, 1:50.39. 4. Ben Mays, 1:52.55. 5. Curwin Andrews, 1:58.59. 6. Aaron Seddon, 2:03.30. 7. Ross Munro, 2:09.06. 8. Lee Smallman, 2:27.33. 9. Russel Crumpler, 2:30.01. Dnf. Lee Osborne. Women: 1. Maria Mays, 1:45.00. 2. Katrina Crumpler, 1:55.00. 3. Kim Takeuchi, 2:04.44. 4. Nimande Oniasih, 2:06.01. 5. Anne Monroe, 2:09.06. 6. Deborah Bell 2:15.47. 7. Kay Reddy, 2:17.05. 8. Philomena Robertson, 2:19.15. 9. Annamari Parry, 2:22.44. 10. Rhiannon Jones, 2:24.21. 11. Marianne Cave, 2:28.44. 12. Noni Georges, 2:52.51.
6 Mile Challenge; Men: 1. Keith Williams, 1:01.25. 2. Guy Clothier, 1:01.45. 3. Rodney Modeste, 1:11.23. Women: 1. Lucy Smith, 57:33. 2.Debbie Ridgeway, 1:05.10. 3. Casey McNutt, 1:07.30. 4. Augusta Van Rensburg, 1:07.30. 5. Vetricia Baptiste, 1:22.33. Lavern Gilcrist, 1:22.33. 6. Laura Fox, 1:23.28. 7. Debbie Bruce, 1:33.17. 8. Lisa Modeste, 1:33.41. 9. Cheryl George, 1:37.28. 10. Jennifer O'Neal, 1:37.28. 11. Margaret Paul, 1:54:50.