It was still dark on Sunday morning as Dominic Dyer led home a field of more than 800 runners to take victory in the Intertrust Cayman Half-Marathon.
In fact, the sun was barely up when Phil Reed crossed the finish line to take the full marathon title – fully half-an-hour in front of his closest rival.
Dyer and Reed were the victors on a day that saw an unexpectedly large field of more than 1,000 runners – including relay participants – take part. There was a staggered start for the race due to restrictions on public gatherings because of COVID-19. The 81 marathoners and a portion of the 806 half-marathoners, including the elite runners, set off at 4.30am, with the rest of the field under starters orders for 5am.
Some came seeking personal bests, others hoping just to finish. Some, like Dyer, came to win.
Dyer, who has represented Cayman at the Carifta Games, battled it out with Esmond Brown in the half-marathon. The pair were almost neck and neck at the turn on Old Prospect Road, close to Lantern Point, but Dyer accelerated in the second half of the race, finishing in 1 hour, 15 minutes and 11 seconds, with Brown second with a time of 1.21.42, and Adam Newman third in 1.23.50.
Olivia Shanks was the women’s champion, finishing in 1.29.17.
Reed won the marathon in 3.04.23, with Barnabas Bako second in 3.36.54 and Mark Reed third in 3.38.43. Heather Francis was first in the women’s event in 3.53.12.
The route, from George Town, was lined with supporters and well-wishers braving the early start time to clap on the participants. In the final few miles, supporters waved flags and cheered the runners towards the finish line.
There were water stops every mile, with volunteers passing out water and Gatorade and words of encouragement.
Several relay teams, including one comprising Cayman’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Lee and Governor Martyn Roper, also took part, splitting the race distance between them.
The full results for the marathon can be viewed here and the half-marathon results are here.
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Reading your article I found that I don’t think it is fair that you mentioned the three top men Marathon finishers and not the three top women.