Just days out from the big race on Sunday, 7 December, registrations for the Cayman Islands Marathon are filtering in from near and far with organizers seeing entries come in from as close as North America to such far-off places as Africa.
“We currently have runners coming from the United States, Canada, Sweden, Belgium, Morocco, Ghana and Nigeria,” says race organiser Rhonda Kelly of Kelly Holding Ltd. “I think one of the great things about this event is that it has attracted people who normally might not have traveled to the Cayman Islands for a vacation but have chosen to come here in order to run the Marathon. This is a perfect opportunity to showcase the warmth and hospitality of our people which will encourage them to come back, be it for next year’s race or just to relax and enjoy what our islands have to offer.”
The international runners will indeed receive the red carpet treatment. Transportation will be provided from the airport to hotels for all runners and there will also be a shuttle to and from the race on race day, a service which will most certainly be appreciated by the visitors.
“I wasn't sure about how I was going to arrange transportation on the early morning of the race, so I was quite surprised and pleased to read that the event organizers will be providing this service,” says Ray Phillips of Acton, Massachusetts who is running the full marathon, and will be accompanied to Cayman by his wife. “I felt like an elite runner after reading about the offer to provide transportation from the airport to the international runners, a very nice touch indeed! I'm really looking forward to our visit and the race.”
Rhonda credits the marathon website (www.caymanislandsmarathon.com) for the increase in international interest. “We sent out a broadcast email to 15,000 running enthusiasts around the world earlier in the year, which I think accounts for the number of overseas registrations,” explains Rhonda. “This was done through All Sports Central, a company in the U.S. which maintains our website and will be doing the timing and posting of results for the race. The website has been an invaluable tool for getting information out to our runners and publicizing the event.”
Registration for the race is open until Saturday, 6 December, says Rhonda, when last-minute registrants can sign up for the marathon, half marathon or four-person relay at the Health and Fitness Expo being held at the Marriott from 10:00am – 4:00pm.
The Cadet Corps Marathon is supported by major sponsors Cayman Airways, Z99, the Marriott Resort Grand Cayman, the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, Cayman National, Texaco Caribbean and Flowers Bottled Water. Mile sponsors and other supporters include KPMG, Maples & Calder, Cable & Wireless, The Final Touch, Bank of Butterfield, Red Sail Sports, CIBC Bank & Trust, Royal Bank, Deutsche Bank, Chicken! Chicken!, Gatorade, UBS, First Caribbean, Beauty Spa at The Hyatt and The Healing Touch.
For more information about the marathon or the health and fitness expo, contact Kelly Holding Ltd. on 946 8822 or by email at info@caymanislandsmarathon.com.
