Government launches Independence Half Marathon

May 31, 2012 Sports

– Country’s best distance athletes to compete

The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport has collaborated with the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) to re-host the Independence Half Marathon, which is scheduled for Saturday starting at 5:30am at Paradise on the East Coast of Demerara.
The race will end at the Ministry’s Headquarters on Main Street. The event was last hosted in 1996 and the Ministry’s aim is to sustain the event on the local athletics calendar.

Permanent Secretary within the Ministry of Sport, Alfred King, Sport Minister Dr. Frank Anthony, AAG Technical Directo,r Mark Scott and NSC Admin Officer, Gervy C. Harry address the media at the launch of the Independence Half Marathon yesterday.

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony said the race is part of a continued effort to expose local athletes, adding that he hopes it becomes an attractive competition within the athletics community.
“We need to expand competitions and have some regularity because athletes can’t just hear about an event two days before and run in the event; that is totally unfair because they would not be unprepared,” Anthony told the media yesterday.
“We want to have a regular calendar of activities that people can look forward to and train to get to the right fitness level,” he continued, adding that the two most important elements of the race is “competition” among seasoned athletes and “participation” of newcomers.
Anthony said that his Ministry is toying with the idea of introducing a monthly 5km race on the last Sunday of every month with the aim of keeping athletes active. The ministry had proposed a similar idea that is yet to come to fruition last year.
He informed that the Synthetic Track will be completed shortly and there will be a need for more competitions. The construction of a modern Track and Field Synthetic Facility is currently under construction at Leonora with Phase I still to be completed.
Permanent Secretary within the ministry, Alfred King, remembered that the Independence Half Marathon was popular among local athletes in the 90s. He said that the purpose of reviving the race is to create the same type of hype and eagerness among athletes.
King related that the organisers are working to ensure that the 2012 event is a major success, and is enthused with the involvement of a few overseas-based athletes such as US-based Euleen Josiah-Tanner.
Technical Director of the AAG, Mark Scott, informed that some 30 persons have confirmed their participation. He said interested athletes can register by calling the Guyana Olympic Association office on High Street on 225-6376 or register on the morning of the activity.
The event will cater for athletes in the Open category (Men and Woman aged 18 and over) and Masters category (Men [40+] and Women [35+]). Among the top athletes expected to compete are Cleveland Forde, Cleveland Thomas, Kevin Bailey, Nathaniel Giddings, Alika Morgan and Llewellyn Gardner.
According to the Ministry’s Admin Officer, Gervy C. Harry, transportation to the starting point will leave the Ministry of Sport Headquarters on Main Street at 4am Saturday morning.

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