Countdown continues for UWI Half Marathon

In this file photo, champion of the UWISPEC International Marathon, Venezuela’s Didimo Sanches crosses the finish line in 1:08.48 during the UWI SPEC International Half Marathon last year.  
 - Allan V. Crane
In this file photo, champion of the UWISPEC International Marathon, Venezuela’s Didimo Sanches crosses the finish line in 1:08.48 during the UWI SPEC International Half Marathon last year. - Allan V. Crane

THE COUNTDOWN continues for Sunday’s staging of the UWI SPEC 16th International Half-Marathon and Relay, presented by First Citizens. Themed “a sound mind in a healthy body,” the race begins and ends at UWI SPEC, St Augustine.

The 2019 half-marathon highlights and supports the work of the St Augustine Academy of Sport’s (SAAS) Sport Scholarship Fund, which seeks to increase access to tertiary education for regional athletes. The SAAS Sport Scholarship is open to Caribbean nationals who are full-time UWI students and regularly engage in sport at the elite level.

A relay option, first implemented last year, proved such a success that participants can again register a relay team and run the half marathon in four 5K legs. Organisers plan to use the relay hand-off zones as hubs to facilitate supporters, live rhythm sections and food sales, as well as to engage the surrounding communities in the excitement of the moment.

Speaking on the topic of the half-marathon and scholarships, Grace Jackson, director of UWI SPEC, noted that the University is at the forefront of tertiary level sport development, sport academics, and physical education in the Caribbean.

“I am urging everyone to take up the challenge and run to support the St Augustine Academy of Sport’s Sport Scholarship Fund. Whether you choose to walk, jog or run you will be helping our students as well as yourselves when you cross that finish line,” said Jackson.

She added, “This year’s race is the Campus’ first since the introduction of new undergraduate programmes in sport – the BSc in Sport Coaching and the BSc in Kinetics – under UWI Faculty of Sport, represented locally as the St Augustine Academy of Sport. Raw talent is no longer enough to stay at the top of their game and students now have access to the best lecturers and specialists regionally.”

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"Countdown continues for UWI Half Marathon"

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