Revolutions Cayman, with its bank of stationary bikes and invitations to runners and walkers to have a quick cycle in the middle of the marathon, has won the event’s coveted best water stop award.
The Cayman Islands Marathon was held on Sunday, 3 Dec. Participants were asked to vote for their favourite water station, about a dozen of which were dotted along the 13.1-mile-long route.
Revolutions owner Jerome Ameline – dressed on marathon day in bright yellow and occasionally walking on his hands – and his team of cyclists, who are regulars at his spinning gym, cheered on the runners as they passed by the water stop in South Sound, catching participants on the way out around mile 4 and at mile 9 on the way back.
“It took a bit of work to set up,” Ameline told the Compass. “We were there from 3.30am to set up bikes, sound system, coffee machine, etc. We even had 100 fresh baked croissants for us and runners, and a breakfast table with fruits.”
Ameline said all those manning the water stop were people he saw often at Revolutions and were a group of cycling athletes who wanted to help out running athletes.
He added, “Being an athlete myself, I know that a race can get challenging, so helping runners by hydrating them, and cheering them up while riding a bike can only be motivating.”
Runners-up in the water station voting were the Red Cross, whose volunteers had been festively decked out in Santa and elf costumes, and the Health Services Authority’s upbeat and very pink Barbie stop.
Organisers said Revolutions had come in just ahead of the Red Cross and the HSA, but insisted, “Of course, all our water stops are winners.”
The winner of the Cayman Airways Water Stop Challenge received travel vouchers as a prize.
Watch a video of the Revolutions water stop here.
Related Videos
