The 2009 UWI Spec half Marathon had a record breaking number of 950 participants almost 200 more persons that participated last year. Of the 6 persons from Jamaica, UWI Mona entered four persons three of which had previous experience and one that was running this distance for the very first time. This milestone of course added another life changing experience and underscores the opportunities available to students who chose to do sports at the Mona Campus.

Due to the change in coaching staff and the later official start for track & field training, the decision and selection of a team to The Half Marathon was done with little time to spare. This was also compounded by Information regarding accommodation being finalized at a late stage. With all the information in hand a team of scholarship recipients Comos Stevens, Troy Campbell, Tanice Barnett and Chanique Cousins were  selected along with incoming middle distant coach Jerry Holness to represent the Mona Campus. For all members it was a resounding success.

Arriving with a day in hand, the team and coach hit the road for a practice run 24 hrs before the race. This helped to familiarize all with the at least a part of the route. Fully prepared with favourable cool temperature, Race day became a comfortable but as expected challenging experience. All the athletes recorded personal bests. Chanique, who was running the event for the first time, made it to the finish line just under 2 hours. Troy who was faced with severe challenges, to which he gave in last year, took on the challenge of an ankle pain this year and overcame to finish 5 1/2 minutes better than last year. Tanice bettered her last year’s position and time to finish as the 2nd female overall and improve by just under 4 minutes. Cosmo repeated his breakthrough as the top UWI Mona finisher coming in 17 overall and cut 4 minutes 11 seconds off his best time. The detailed results are below.

By Ms. Grace Jackson