Pamenos beaten in Franco 10k

St. LuciaN Zephrinus Joseph comfortably took charge of the inaugural Franco Construction North Leeward 10km road race last Sunday.

The 30-year-old completed the course from Spring Village to Fitz Hughes in 35 minutes 37 seconds.

In the process, Joseph left pre-race favourite and star of the Caribbean roads, Pamenos Ballantyne to chase his shadow.{{more}}

It was Joseph’s second triumph over Ballantyne over that distance, having done so before in 2003 in St. Lucia.

The steady paced Joseph ran away from Ballantyne at Troumaca Bay, the half way stage of the race, signaling his intent to dent Ballantyne’s litany of triumphs on home turf.

The cool breeze from the Caribbean Sea refreshed Joseph, as well as the other fifty-six persons who started the race, as they battled the challenging hilly terrain of the North West Coast of the island.

But not everyone was up to the task as twelve fell by the way, including parliamentary representative for North Leeward, Jerrol Thompson, who resorted to a ride after completing less than 1km.

Modest in his victory, Joseph at the end of the race disclosed that he strategised on Ballantyne after observing his handling of the first hill in Cumberland.

“I realized he was not doing well when we got to the first hill, so I used that against him,” said a smiling Joseph in his distinct St. Lucian accent.

Joseph said he was surprised at the vocal support he received from the villagers who live along this route, but welcomed it.

This he said helped spur him to the winner’s prize of EC$1,000.

Ballantyne ended the distance almost three minutes behind Joseph in 38 minutes 06.94 seconds.

Junior Ashton of ACE Athletics Club docked in third in 40 minutes 23 seconds, with decorated hometown boy Caswin Prince placing fourth in 41 mins 41.09 secs.

Like Joseph, Antiguan Janelle Williams etched her name in history, becoming the first female to reach the finish line. The 20-year -old Williams had a close finish with Guyanese Alika Morgan.

The two petite young ladies clocked 50 mins 28.15 secs and 50 mins 32 secs respectively.

Grenadian Kenisha Pascal completed the regional clean sweep of the top three places. Her time was 57 mins 22 secs.

Sunday’s event also saw a 5km run for under-15’s. Shava Hooper of the Troumaca Secondary School won the boys’ category in 24 mins 22.35 secs, while Ria Charles of Grenada clocked 28 mins 40 secs to take the girls’ segment.

Sandrina Hooper closely followed the Grenadian in 28 min 41 secs.

The top ten finishers in the four categories were awarded with cash prizes.

A special award was donated by the proprietor of the Beach Front Restaurant to the youngest competitor, six year old Dariel Browne.

The next road race will take place October 30 in Bequia. Ballantyne has a date with destiny that same day when he will attempt to make it twelve times victorious in the OECS Half Marathon in Antigua.

He will be also renewing old rivalry with Joseph and Trinidad and Tobago’s Curtis Cox.