Darius Harding, Aniqah Bailey take top honours at Hardest Mile II

TEENAGERS Darius Harding and Aniqah Bailey showed their mettle at the second edition of the Hardest Mile event at Santa Rosa Park, Arima on December 26 as they copped the respective men's and women's categories.

Adding further spectacle to Boxing Day horse racing at the venue, 80-plus participants tested their wits and abilities as they made their way around the sand track.

Stopping the clock at five minutes and 24 seconds (5:24), 17-year-old Harding was the man who separated himself from the crowd to take the $1,000 first-place prize.

Some 15 seconds later, Harding's closest competitor Keron Ali copped second spot in 5:39. Daniel Gibbs grabbed third place in 5:45, with Arima Central Secondary's Mikael Serrette, 14, just edging Isaiah Alder in a race for fourth as he clocked 5:50.

Alder, a bronze medallist in the Under-17 category of the 3,000-metre event at Carifta 2024, was given a similar time to Serrette.

Donnel Francis rounded off the top six with a time of 5:53.

In the women's category, the 16-year-old Bailey had a fight on her hands, but she eventually opened up a decent gap to win in 6:57 to claim the $1,000-purse. She finished in 17th position overall.

Alexia John was second in the women's category in 7:06, with impressive 11-year-old Chennai Moore once again holding her own with the country's top runners as she claimed third spot in 7:12. John and Moore finished 19th and 20th overall respectively.

Shaquille Francis and April Francis finished atop the men's and women's 30-39 categories, with Guswil George and Jenelle Phriday finishing atop the 40-49 age group.

Ramsewak Teewarie (60+) and Jeunesse Walters-Wilson (50-59) were also among the age-group winners.

The second edition of the Hardest Mile was hosted by the TT Association of Masters Athletics (TTAMA) and the Arima Race Club. The first edition of the event was held in October, but TTAMA president Sheldon Mason wishes to make the event a Boxing Day staple going forward.