The 29th running of The Virgin Islands Pace Runners West Indies Lab 5-Mile Road Race produced a near race and course record on Saturday morning, Oct. 19, on St. Croix’s beautiful East End Road. A few and dedicated long distance runners took the opportunity to decide how fast they could run the rolling, point-to-point five-mile course, which took them from what was the Farleigh Dickinson University West Indies Marine Lab to Estate Green Cay until it was permanently destroyed by hurricane Hugo.
Briget Campbell took honors, which included her running the race in 34 minutes and 17 seconds, just 8 seconds off the unofficial course and race record (set by Letitia Dusich in 34:09 in 1993). She missed her prediction by 43 seconds to win the prediction race, and she was the first female to cross the finish line and second in the race overall.
Billy Bohlke continued his winning way as he was the first overall runner to cross the finish line. He too took honors for coming the closest male to predict the time he would run. He ran it in 33:57 on a day when he was barely challenged; he had predicted 35:00.
Female Finishers:
Prediction Place/ Name/ Run Time/ Predicted Time/ Overall Female Finish
1. Briget Campbell* 34:17 35:00 1
1. Whitney Preston 50:52 51:35 7
2. Ashley Ruffo 50:52 51:06 7
3. Dulcie Crowther 45:06 46:44 4
4. Theresa Harper 37:16 39:0 2
5. Laverne Stuffey 43:24 45:23 6
6. Regina Stevens 50:17 53:30 6
7. Wendy Solomon 62:01 72:58 7
*1st place due to higher overall finish
Male Finishers:
Prediction Place/ Name/ Run Time/ Predicted Time/ Overall Male Finish
1. Billy Bohlke 33:57 35:00 1.
2. Mike Klein 37:43 36:00 3.
3. Jay Snow 42:51 45:00 4.
4. Larry Williams 57:42 59:59 7.
5. John Harper 44:50 42:00 6.
6. Randall Nielsen 36:09 39:45 2.
7. Aiden Stevens 44:01 52:30 5.
The next event on the V.I.Pace Runners Calender is the third week of the 4H/V.I.Pace Runners Cross-Country Series on Wednesday Oct. 23. Races include in this order: Elementary School Boys and Girls 1 Mile at 4 p.m.; Junior Varsity Boys and Girls 2 Miles at 4:30 p.m.; Varsity Boys and Girls 3.1 Miles; Open Male and Female 3.1 Miles at 5 p.m.
Coming up is the Virgin Islands Cross-Country Championships, which will be held on Nov. 2 at the University of the Virgin Islands Campus. Events will be: Boys and Girls 13 and under, 1Mile; Boys and Girls 16 and under 2Miles; Male and Female under, 20 3.1Miles; Male and Female Open and Masters Male and Female, 3.1Miles. These races will decide the 2013 Virgin Islands National Cross-Country Champions in male and female categories as designated.
Also: The 4-H Health Ambassadors invites athletes, parents, family, friends, 4-Hers and the community to join us as the Pace Runners “pledge our health to better living…” On Saturday, Nov. 2, we will walk, run, stroll or even roll around the 1Mile UVI cross-country course, learn more about nutrition and wellness, and prepare and sample several healthy snack recipes.
Please bring a friend, invite mom and dad, and join the V.I.Pace Runners for a day of food, fun and fitness.
For information, contact The Virgin Islands Pace Runners: 643-2557; logon to: http://virginislandspace.org e-mail: wallacewilliams@msn.com
