Teams of distance runners made history by going on record for completing the first marathon relay road race of the century.
The race was run from Point Udall – the eastern-most point under the U.S. flag — in St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands, to Fort Frederik in Frederiksted, with the finish near the exact spot where the emancipation of slavery in the Danish West Indies took place 151 years ago.
The event, part of the Virgin Islands Millennium "Past, Present, Future: A Millennium Vision" celebration, hosted by the Government of the Virgin Islands and a fund-raiser for the Red Brick Reading Club, saw runners stretched out across the island with the lead team, Virgin Islands Pace Runners, consisting of Sheldon Williams, George Jules, Wallace Williams, Marlon Williams, Lawrence Lockhart and George Cannon finishing the 26.2 mile distance in 2 hours 38 minutes 54 seconds.
The second-place team, the Tigers, came in at 3 hours 30 minutes and 30 seconds. The Tigers were comprised of Donald Shillingford, Leslie Caesar, Milton Francis, Anita Thurston, Barrymore Berley and Leopold Fredericks.
The third place team in 3 hours 33 minutes and 40 seconds and first place female team was The South Shore Swingers with: Elena Shaubah, Susan Armstrong, Dulcie Crowther, Denise Blanchette, Theresa Harper and Sue Brown.
The fourth place team in 3 hours 34 minutes and 41 seconds was Millennium Women with Shelly Anderson, Rachel Witty, Jo Shim, Crisandra Poulos, Dana Branch and Will Franks.
The fifth place team in 3 hours 38 minutes and 4 seconds was Coast Guard Special with Wes Whitehurst, Bob Halk, Elizabeth Armstrong, Bill Hockensmith, Roger Hatfield and Bill Mahoney.
The sixth place team in 3 hours 46 minutes and 43 seconds was Millennium Madness with Luis Gomez, Page Frederick, Jack Branch, Van Wood, Janet Branch and Bob Guilford. The seventh place team in 4 hours 4 minutes and 54 seconds was Running Music with: Kathy Bennett, Joel Ureta, Kiersten Peterson, Gunnar Sunden, Debbie Aronstein and Stewart Ketchum.
The eight place team in 4 hours 20 minutes and 3 seconds was The Goddesses with Kim Rice, Terry Chretien, Azalea Galiber, Cathy Prince, Marie Elise Witmer and Leslie Repp.
For more information, V.I. running schedule, call 777-0258 or visit: www.virginislandspace.org
