Cayman’s toughest running race, Off the Beaten Track – a 50K relay and ultra-marathon was as draining as ever, yet attracted record participation in its fourth staging.
There were 36 relay teams and 15 hardy individuals, making a total of 231 participants. It started from Smith Cove and finished at Tiki Beach on 24 February.
Ken Krys, CEO of KRyS Global and founder of the race, said he was delighted with the strong turnout.
“We had by far the best support ever this year,” he said. “The design of the race is to really challenge runners to their limit and we were impressed by the volume of people willing to take on that challenge.
“The course was not easy – it took participants literally off the beaten track, through bush, along the beach, through water and generally via some very demanding conditions.”
Andrew Keast was the fastest individual male in an amazing time of 4 hours 31 minutes and 15 seconds.
Helki Weber was the fastest solo female in an impressive time of 4:57:22.
Having begun the race with an injury, Christopher Burke showed great determination pushing through the first five legs before retiring to prevent further injury.
Individual runners James Murray and Lauren Christie, who finished with times of 4:47:18 and 6:35:54 respectively, are undertaking the notorious Marathon Des Sables later this year.
Acknowledged as the most gruelling race on earth, Marathon Des Sables is in Morocco over six days. Krys developed the idea for Off The Beaten Track after competing in 2009.
The relay team first place went to Cayman Cruisers who finished in 3:42:23. Conrad Proud, last year’s fastest male, was part of this winning team and he was joined by fellow team-mates Mike McDonald, Greg Meaker, Hayden Isbister, Steve Peel and Jon Shillito.
The first place all-female team, Ogier Girls, have participated all four years. Their team comprised of Lisa Kehoe, Claire Lloyd-Hickey, Daniella Skotnicki, Tess McLean, Michelle Bailey and Claire Hughes. The From the Governor’s Office team with Governor Duncan Taylor running the fifth leg finished tenth overall.
KRyS Global also had two if its own relay teams, one called I Got 99 Problems But Stitch Ain’t One with Krys himself participating in the final leg and the finishing in a healthy 35th overall. The second team, The Green Mambas, finished 30th overall in 5:09:53.
The course spanned across the island from Savannah, making its way to West Bay in six legs, with each relay team member running around five miles each.
Proceeds this year went to benefit Facing Africa, Cayman’s ARK and National Council of Voluntary Organisations. Facing Africa is a charity dedicated to helping children in Nigeria and Ethiopia who suffer from a disease, NOMA.
Krys said he is extremely grateful to everyone who participated and volunteered to make the event such a huge success.
“All these charities which do such important work will benefit tremendously from the support that we received,” he said. “We want to say a very big thank you to everyone who took part. Your efforts will go to make a real difference in the lives of those far less fortunate than our own.”
Major sponsors of the event include the organisers, KRyS Global and long-term sponsors, Tower Marketing and Brown Rudnick.
Daniel Saval from Brown Rudnick travelled from New York to attend this unique event and give moral support to The MDRs who were sponsored by the law firm. CML joined the team as a sponsor too.
Although many participants were elite and experienced, some, such as Cherish Duty, were doing it for the first time. She was in the Green Mambas team and ran the fourth leg.
It was Duty’s first competitive road run and she wrote a diary in the build up for the Caymanian Compass.
“I was able to complete my leg in just over 57 minutes, which was in line with the time I set as my goal,” she said. “I anticipated 11 minutes per mile and the leg was about 5.22 miles.
“Parts of the route were quite tough, like balancing on some wood over a ravine hidden in the bush, without falling off.
“But the toughest part for me was the sun. I hadn’t factored that in to my training. The heat can take its toll on you, zapping all your energy.
“I definitely took advantage of the water stop for rehydration. At the beginning, I had trouble keeping my pace as I was so excited, I found I was running faster than I should have been and had to consciously slow myself down or I would not have been able to finish.
“The Green Mambas are a great set of people made up of colleagues from KRyS Global and their better halves.”
Duty has had a great response from friends and fam. “Well, my kids want to run too, which is great, mission accomplished,” she said.
“My daughter already likes to run and represents her school in track and field on sports day.
“My husband is proud of me, so are my parents, well, they are my parents and show the Compass articles off like they are baby pictures.
“I have been asked by friends, how I ‘really’ prepared for the race and I tell them I followed the Couch to 5K pod cast and ran just like I did in the journal.
“I started by stepping out of my front door and going around my neighbourhood. One day at a time.”
Often first-time runners retire once they’ve achieved their goal. No Duty, for sure.
“Retired? Ha! I am just getting started. I am thinking about the Cadet Corp 10K relay in early April and will look for other events along the way.
“I’d like to keep going and try the Cayman Islands Marathon, or at least the half, in December. I have set my sights on running the entire 2014 Off The Beaten Track, but if I don’t manage that, I will defiantly volunteer to help, as the proceeds go to great causes and organisations and the energy level at the finish line is explosive.
“The best experience of OTBT is by far that I was able to reach my goal and that I did so with a team made up of fantastic people. The worst, well, training early in the morning after a night out, especially if it was raining.”
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