Registration Open for 18TH CARICOM Road Races

Individuals from across the Caribbean region are being invited to register for the 18th Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Road Races, which are scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 5 in Montego Bay, St. James.

The 10-kilometre (10K) run, and five-kilometre (5K) run and walk, will precede the 49th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, being convened under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, from July 6 to 8.

The event is free of cost and is open to individuals and teams representing corporate entities, clubs, churches or families.

Interested individuals and teams are required to sign up online at www.runningeventsja.com.There will be no registration on the day of the event.

The deadline for registration is Tuesday, July 1 or upon achieving the event limit, whichever comes first.

Registered participants will be required to collect their race packages, which include T-shirts and bibs on Friday, July 4, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the Montego Bay Convention Centre. There is no bib pickup on race day.

The races are set to kick off at 6:30 a.m. from the Montego Bay Convention Centre, with warm-up scheduled for 6:00 a.m.

The event will be timed using the MYLAPS Bib Tag chip timing system, with results available after the race at www.runningeventsja.com.

First to third-place finishers will be awarded for each race once the results are made available.

The winner of the 10K race will receive US$1000, while the second and third-place finishers will receive US $500 and US $250, respectively.

Athletes participating in the 10K race will also compete for the CARICOM Chairman’s Trophy – Male and the CARICOM Secretary-General’s Trophy – Female.

The 18th CARICOM Road Races are being organised by the CARICOM Secretariat in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport.

Speaking at a recent Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank, held at the agency’s Television Department in Kingston, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, emphasised the importance of the races in the region’s approach to addressing non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

“The Run/Walk is not only to build camaraderie around regional athletes who will participate but it also is part of the Caribbean Public Health Agency’s (CARPHAs) drive for there to be more mass runs and walks to ensure that there’s a focus on NCDs and a focus on movement,” she pointed out.

She noted that CARPHA’s Caribbean Moves initiative, which provides a platform to strengthen health promotion programmes for the prevention and control of NCDs in the region, will be on show at the event.

Senator Johnson Smith said that the Races will also commemorate CARICOM Day, which is observed annually on July 4.