Relay classic trials ready athletes for road racing season

A relay trial last Sunday afternoon has provided the precursor for another active 2014 road racing season for the Road Racing and Cross Country commission of Team Athletics SVG.{{more}}

Staged to select the St Vincent and the Grenadines team to the September 28 hosting of the NACAC/OECS Invitational Road Relay Classic, the race saw 16 athletes seeking to ink their names on the four places available.

When the clock stopped, it was Pamenos Ballantyne who finished ahead of the other 15 competitors in six minutes 34.9 seconds.

Docking in second was Meshach Dublin in six minutes 39.8 seconds, with Junior Ashton third, in six minutes 53.1 seconds and Caswell Lewis fourth, in a time of six minutes 54.4 seconds. Placing fifth was Josnel Ashton, whose time was six minutes 58.1 seconds.

The quartet, when named by the Team Athletics SVG, will be looking to combine their talents to defy a third straight trumping by Grenada.

The Grenadians also won in 2011, when the event was named the Round D Town Road Relay. When the event was staged last year, Grenada won in a time of 27 minutes, 15.08 seconds.

Each of the four legs starts off at the intersection of Halifax Street and South River Road. From there, runners head up to Sharpe Street, then onto Bay Street, turning at Lower Bay Street, on to Back Street, with the changeover at the starting point.

Prizes will be awarded to the top four finishers in the international category in the order of US$1,000 for the first place, $700 for second, $500 for the third place and $300 for the fourth place.

But local athletes will have their turn this Sunday, September 14 and the following Sunday, September 21, when Team Athletics SVG hosts two races in its series, set for Biabou and Central Leeward, respectively.

Other TASVG road races are carded for October 5 in Union Island and October 19 in Bequia, with the North Windward event on November 23 and Kingstown, November 30.

The grand finale for the TASVG events is set for December 14 in Georgetown.

These are intermixed with the LOG Enterprises schedule, which sees the Byera Hill race on October 12; the Sion Hill Sprint- November 9 and the finale in North Leeward on December 7.

Also listed on the road racing calendar are the Independence Cross Country race which takes in Brighton on October 26; the NACAC 10 k on November 2; as well as the Basil Bar Mustique 5 k on November 16.

According to a release from Team Athletics SVG, the Cross Country and Road Racing Commission has opted to provide transportation only for the Road Relay in 2014, and

“…all other races would feature primarily competitors from the areas surrounding the designated location of the event… Others desirous of competing in these races must make their own way to them,” the release reinforced.(RT)