December 8, 2024
Half Marathon, 10K & 5K Races

16TH REGGAE MARATHON, HALF MARATHON & 10K SET FOR DECEMBER 1 – 3, 2016 IN NEGRIL

The 16th staging of the Reggae Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K will be held from
December 1 to 3, 2016 in Negril. The run-off will begin on the IAAF-certified course
at the Long Bay Beach Park, located along Negril’s famed seven-mile beach, then
loop into the town of Negril, before heading north towards the town of Green Island.
The event will start at 5:15 a.m. on Saturday, December 3 and the course will remain
opened for six hours. New for 2016 will be the fact that marathoners must reach the
half-way mark in three hours to stay in the event.
There will be a Victory Beach Party & Awards Ceremony, dubbed ‘Finish Line Beach
Bash’ at Long Bay Beach Party from 7 a.m. to 12 noon. This will feature Digicel
Rising Stars and headline acts: sister and brother reggae performers Kelissa and
Keznamdi
“We are expecting a minimum of 2,500 participants from more than the 35 countries
which participated last year,” said Alfred ‘Frano’ Francis, Race Director of the
Reggae Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K event.
Mr. Francis said a number of groups and individuals have already registered their
attendance. In fact, he said, one participant has timed his honeymoon in Jamaica to
coincide with his participation in the sport event.
However, one of the highlights of this year’s event will be the participation of the
2016 winners of the Tottori Prefecture Marathon, in Japan, as part of a twinning
agreement between the Westmoreland Parish Council and its counterpart in Japan,
the Tottori Prefeture. To reciprocate Reggae Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K will
sponsor the 2016 male marathon winner to run in the Tottori Marathon, Japan, in
March, 2017.
In addition to accommodation, a number of hotels in Negril will be offering tours in
and around the area. JUTA Negril & Knutsford Express are the official ground
transportation partners for Reggae Marathon, Half Marathon & 10 K event. JUTA will
offer special rates on Friday, December 2 to and from the JHTA Negril Chapter’s
‘World’s Best Pasta Party’. This year, the Pasta Party will be held from 5:30 p.m. to
8:30 p.m. at Cosmo’s, across the street from Couples Swept Away Sports Complex,
to facilitate the refurbishing of rooms at the hotel.
The Reggae Marathon organising committee of the JHTA Negril Chapter also
provides a free shuttle service during the run hours on race day.
Leading up to the December event in Negril, a Burger King-sponsored ‘Run Di Road’
10K Race Day will be held on Sunday, November 6, 2016 starting from the Burger
King store at the Portmore Mall, beginning 7 a.m. Participants will be allowed to run
or walk the race. In addition, the popular 4 x 1500m relay for students will also be
opened to tertiary institutions and members of running clubs.
There will be a best dressed team competition called ‘Run De Road Swag
Competition’, which will award trophies for the best team look in the secondary,
tertiary, club and corporate categories.
“This competition will look at uniformity of outfits and team spirit,” said Mr. Francis.
Participants in ‘Run Di Road’ 10K Race Day can register at runningeventsja.com or
pick up registration forms at Burger King’s Head Office, 18 Hope Road, as well as
the Burger King stores at Portmore Mall and Braeton.
“We are very proud of the fact that we will again be using hi-tech scoring systems for
the Reggae Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K,” said Mr. Francis.
Scoring for Reggae Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K will be provided by MYLAPS Bib
Tag timing system, with live on-line tracking of runners along the course available on
www.reggaemarathon.com and interim results posed during the race.
There will be over US$10,000 in total prize money this year, together with finisher
certificates, as well as Bob Marley and Rita Marley trophies to the male and female
winners of the Reggae Marathon. In addition, there will be a special prize category
for high school boys and girls in the 10K and special prize categories for teams in the
Half Marathon and 10K.
Reggae Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K will continue the tradition of awarding
school teams in the high school category of the event with computers, through a
special point scoring system.
Last year, no local prize winner broke the Reggae Marathon course records in any of
the three events, so this year the Jamdammers Running Club of Kingston will
continue to offer a special prize purse to any local who will break any of these course
records.
Major sponsors of the 2016 Reggae Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K are:
Jamdammers Running Club of Kingston; PUMA Running; Jamaica Tourist Board;
Couples Resorts Jamaica; JHTA – Negril Chapter and Jamaica Athletics
Administrative Association (JAAA).

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