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Forde’s familiar foes for gruelling clash
By Edison Jefford
Cleveland Forde has an enviable record of winning every single road race he has entered locally in the last four years, but on Sunday he will face a new challenge in an unfamiliar format, the 20 Kilometres, with familiar foes challenging his record in a gruelling clash.
Though akin to the 10Km race, which has brought him tremendous success over that period, the distance running ace will be the man to beat on Sunday when Wartsila hosts its 20th Anniversary 20km Road Race Classic beginning at 6am from Paradise on the East Coast.
With titles such as the University of the West Indies (UWI) Half Marathon and the Trinidad and Tobago International Half Marathons under his belt, Forde cannot be underestimated in the road race that is twice the distance of his comfort zone.
He told Kaieteur Sport yesterday that he knows that everybody will be looking to win the contest as a result of the impressive prize monies that are up for grabs. But more than that, the successful road runner has his eyes set on obliterating the field with a fast time.
“I am going to go out there and run a fast race. I know these guys, Lionel (D’Andrade), Kelvin (Johnson) and Cleveland (Thomas) are going to be prepared, and so I cannot mess around. I have to be smart in that race as well,” Forde said when contacted.
D’Andrade and Johnson, who are both based in Trinidad, have already confirmed participation in the race. They have robust programmes in the Twin Island Republic that allow them to compete every weekend or every other weekend. D’Andrade especially is more used to the 20km event as is Johnson, who won the Trinidad International Half Marathon this year.
Locally, Thomas has seen an emergence over the last two years to the top tier of distance runners with only Forde beating him recently. He will also be a genuine challenger for the whopping first place purse of $300,000, having proven his fine form last year.
Familiar Road Race Foes! Cleveland Forde trails Nathaniel Giddings and Cleveland Thomas on the Kitty Public Road during a Road Race last year. Lionel D’Andrade and Kelvin Johnson will most-likely join the trio in the final stages of the Wartsila 20k on Sunday.
The foreign participation in the race will be confirmed later this week, but with Guyana’s leading distance runners gunning for the top, the Wartsila 20k Classic promises to be a heated battle. The race will certainly be another humdinger to distance athletes.
Forde said that he will be patient and tactical, admitting that if he finds himself under pressure on the course because of the pace, he will revert to his bottom-end speed, which has proven to be an incredible asset for him in races in Guyana and across the Caribbean.
“I think it’s going to be a fast race,” Forde repeated, adding “I want it to be fast because I will be looking at competing in only road races” Forde won the 5000m metre race at the National Senior Championships at the Police Sports Club Ground last Monday.
The overall winner in the Open Male category will pocket $300,000 while second through sixth will take home $240,000, $200,000, $140,000, $100,000 and $50,000 respectively. The same prizes will be awarded in the Open Female category of the race. The total prize money in six categories amounts to $3.3 Million, a historic sum for local road races.
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