Sagicor Sigma Run hosted its historic part-two of its two consecutive weekend road races on Sunday, marking the culmination of its two in-person road race events in New Kingston.
The over 260 participants, separated into male and female categories, took on a double loop course (5.5 km) in New Kingston, which last year’s female winner Jozanne Harris defending her title to win the race once again, completing the course in 23.15 minutes, bettering last years’ time of 23.31 minutes. Second was Keshia Haughton in 28.29 minutes, while third was the energetic 59-year-old Dainty Lewis.
Following her victory, Harris shared that the route was hard and mentally challenging due to the many bends and exhaustion from competing in a race the previous day.
The Nineteen-year-old University of the West Indies, Mona student Noel Ellis won the male race in 18.17 minutes, followed by seasoned 5K runner Kemar Lewis, with third going to 16-year-old Calabar student, Keitho Downer.
Ellis, a former Campion College student-athlete shared that he trains a lot for long-distance events like the 5000m so he was comfortable with the route.
“After 2km, I increased my pace and turn over, to keep my legs steady. This is the first in a long time I have been competing at the Sagicor Sigma Run, but I did well then for a youngster. It was a great season opener time going into the National Championship to come,” Ellis added.
The Roger Chang Award for the Youngest Finisher, was won by Dai‘anna Brown of Reggae Marathon Runners Club, who covered the course in 41.07 minutes; the youngster also received the award last year.
This year, contributions have exceeded the initial target of $50 million, as donations now stand at $52 million, with the beneficiary Kingston Public Hospital looking to procure medical equipment with the funds raised. The Sigma road race which started in 1999 in downtown, Kingston has now donated over $550 million to numerous beneficiaries.
Olympic hurdlers, Megan Tapper and Hansle Parchment were the patrons for this year’s run.
