Latest update September 13th, 2026 10:36 AM
10km Road Race promises epic battle
By Edison Jefford
Epic distance-running battles have long been one of the hallmarks of local athletics with Guyana producing more acclaimed athletes in distance-running than any other genre of track and field. It is because of that fact that an enabling environment is important.
Colin Boyce
Courts Guyana Inc. understood their role of providing such an environment when the appliance and furniture giants announced, two weeks ago, the return of the Courts 10km Road Race, which promises to renew, and continue, the epic battles of distance-running.
The keen rivalries, and more importantly, the cash incentives that rank second to only the IAAF South American 10km Road Race Classic, are expected to attract the crème de le crème of local distance-running on September 18 outside Courts Main Street Branch.
With the efforts of Courts’ Management, including its marketing team, to make the Courts 10km Road Race a unique spectacle on the local athletics calendar, one can only anticipate the fiercest battles with the stakes exaggerated beyond just a year’s bragging rights.
President of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG), Colin Boyce expressed his gratitude for the return of the event, which had been a feature in 1990s, yesterday. Boyce was overwhelmed as the race represents excellent opportunity for the athletics fraternity.
“Let me first say that this race is welcoming news and I am grateful that Courts will come aboard the AAG calendar in such a magnitude. I’m happy that this race is already promising to be a very prestigious event for Courts and the athletics community,” Boyce said.
The AAG President, who was in Daegu, South Korea on official duties during Courts’ launch of its 10km Road Race, stated that on the one hand, athletes can earn from their craft and secondly, they can have adequate competition in Guyana rather than going overseas.
“I’m looking especially to see how (Nathaniel) Giddings performs because he has created quite a stir last weekend at that 10km race. So I will be looking to see some sort of consistency, not only from him, but from all the other athletes under radar,” he continued.
According to Boyce, the higher stakes will force some of the senior athletes to up the ante for the Courts 10k race. He said that Giddings, who finished second behind Forde last weekend, beating some of his senior counterparts, will be heavily challenged next Sunday.
The winners of the race in the male and female senior categories will run away with a whopping $100,000. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top five finishers in the senior categories while the first to third place finishers in the Masters’ Over-40 group will be rewarded.
The prizes for the male and female senior category include $100,000 for the winner; $80,000 for second place; $60,000 for third; $40,000 for fourth and $20,000 for fifth place. The prizes in the Masters category are $60,000, $40,000 and $20,000 respectively.
Trophies will accompany all the cash prizes. To add some excitement to the event, Courts will be awarding the First Courts Finisher in the 3km Run, which is also scheduled for friends and family of staff members, $20,000 for their efforts.
The 3km is a health run and participation from a wide cross-section of society is encouraged and registration for this aspect of the event is free. Registrations for the 10km Road Run started at the Courts Main Street Office on Monday and conclude next Wednesday.
The Guyana Police Force will be controlling the route of the race while First Aid will be on hand to ensure a smooth and incident-free race. Banks DIH Limited has partnered with the race under its Tropical Mist Water and Powerade brands.
Share this:
Discover more from Kaieteur News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.