The prominence of the Sunshine Insurance Marathon Bahamas has brought back memories of past eras when long-distance running was high on the popularity chart in this country, New Providence, in particular.
Back during the 1950s, long-distance road events organized by post-World War II military officers stationed in The Bahamas, were sporting extravaganzas. The late Oscar Francis cemented his status as one of the most versatile track and field athletes in this country's history by moving all the way up from the short sprints to become an established quality marathon runner.
The decade of the 1960s saw Percy 'Smokey' Christie, Cleso Munnings, Derek 'Slender' Cambridge, Frank 'Pancho' Rahming and others develop into long-distance running stars. The aforementioned were top performers on the road and the track. Rahming and Cambridge overlapped the 1970s and formed a bridge to a new breed of long-distance stalwarts.
I refer to the best of them, Rudolph 'Rabbie' Miller, Sam 'Marathon' Williams and Anthony Williams. New Providence was the chief location in the country for road running and long-distance track races. Distance running blossomed during the 1970s and the 1980s.
William 'Knucklehead' Johnson was one of those who paced the male distance runners and a large crop of courageous female runners became noted competitors. Those of the fairer sex who had the durability and "big heart" for the gruelling distance events were names such as Prescola Mortimer, Rochelle Miller, Nicole Johnson and Whelma Colebrooke.
While there were isolated cases of talented long-distance runners being produced in the Family Islands, only the Second City, Freeport, Grand Bahama got seriously into staging prime long-distance events. Most notable was the Princess 10K spectacular, organized by Rudy Meadows.
Without a doubt there are well-appreciated chapters in our track and field history of noteworthy long-distance eras. Unfortunately, there was never a comprehensive long-distance running development program. In recent times, while the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) has had a bit of a focus on cross country events, a proper long-distance running program has been sorely lacking.
Definitely this country has missed out on talented young Bahamian boys and girls (with long-distance talent) developing to the point of becoming world elite performers and medal producers. When the new millennium came upon us, quality long-distance running in The Bahamas was an item of the past.
Thankfully, with businessman Franklyn Wilson as the chief catalyst, Sunshine Insurance Marathon Bahamas surfaced and has become a fixture. There is hope that this signature running event, which has become a national sports/tourism social highlight, will do a lot to revitalize "quality" long distance running in the country. Perhaps sooner than later, BAAA executives will be minded to ensure that a long distance running development program is put in place.
Other than at the junior athletes' level, particular the CARIFTA Games, The Bahamas has never excelled regionally or internationally in any individual running event longer than 400 meters. During the 1960s, it was expected that the late Julian Brown would have been a forerunner of middle distance excellence for The Bahamas. However, his career faltered and he left the scene rather early.
Never since Brown has there been another Bahamian male or female considered, generally, to have what it takes to rise to regional or international senior long distance running stardom.
This is a new era of long distance running that the Sunshine Insurance Marathon Bahamas has ushered in. If the BAAA takes full advantage of the presence of a marquee event like Marathon Bahamas and concentrates on runners with endurance, it figures The Bahamas would show the world that we can produce more than just elite jumpers and sprinters.
This is indeed the Sunshine Insurance Marathon Bahamas era, a sports classic with the potential to inspire a new generation of Bahamian long distance runners.
(To respond to this sports feature, kindly contact Fred Sturrup at sturrup1504@gmail.com)

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