It was indeed a 'family affair' in Marathon Bahamas this Sunday, as the two overall titles from the running of the fifth annual event were captured by the husband and wife team of Justin and Melissa Gillette.
The dynamic duo were just one of many families that completed in the 26.2-mile course, which took runners on a picturesque route on the northern tip of New Providence. Justin won the men's overall title in 2:36.57 and Melissa took the female title in 3:04.01.
"It felt good to win," said men's winner Justin Gillette. "It was definitely a shock to my system, to go from eight
degrees (weather), and here we were running in about 65 or 70. Everybody here on the island was just so excited. It didn't matter what country you were from, they were cheering real loud so it was pretty fun to be a part of this and to win. I've never been to The Bahamas before, so I just thought it was a unique idea. It is winter time back home so the idea of going to an island in the middle of winter is always appealing. We brought the whole family down, my kids, my wife and my in-laws. We just made a nice little vacation out of it. It is nice to have matching awards in the house, it makes the trip feel a whole lot better."
While Justin said the wind was a bit of a problem for him around mile 16 or 17, Melissa said the wind actually helped to cool her down. She also said seeing her husband out front, made her push even harder.
She said: "I think it was a little different experience for me. The beginning was rough for me. I had to get adjusted to the temperature. For me, the wind actually helped to cool me down so I ran about four seconds faster in the second half, than what I ran the first half. I got into a rhythm later on."
The top masters male division was won by Bahamian Keithrell Hanna and visitor Michelle Walker took the top masters female spot. Hanna's time was 2:49.25 and Walker finished in 3:41.26. Hanna was the first Bahamian to cross the finish line. The Freeport, Grand Bahama native said: "It feels great and I give God thanks for the victory. I have been running for 30-plus years, from I was a little child.
"This is the my third marathon. I am getting ready for the Boston Marathon, I was just preparing myself and using this for bigger events. In Freeport, I run 15-20 miles every Saturday and Sunday, running the sand and on the grass."
A number of groups and organizations also competed in the annual event. One group in particular, the Kids of Courage, an organization based in New York, had more than 50 participants. The race, for one of their members Merra Herman, was special in more ways than one. Herman said: "Kids of Courage is fairly new to me, but it has been amazing. I used to do a lot of things, like getting myself up and keeping myself up emotionally. Sometimes I used to sit in class and I couldn't move my legs because I couldn't feel them. I used to be in tremendous pain. I used to say I don't know how I was going to get up, but now, whenever that happens, all I do is think about my wonderful counsellors, the wonderful staff and friends at Kids of Courage. It is just amazing because I never had that before. It also brought me and my family closer. My brother, he pushed me pretty much the whole way, and I don't think many siblings would have done that."
The top relay team in the male division was Pharmachem Technologies which posted a time of 3:23.27 for the win. Following them in a time of 4:00.27 was Iberolam. Strombus was third in 4:03.48. The Hillview Pathfinders clocked 4:11.46 for fourth and Deloitte As One came in fifth in 4:16.58. The Smoking Hot Mamas was the top female relay team, stopping the clock at 3:56.59. The Long Island Gals came in second and the Desperate Housewives team finished third in times of 3:59.34 and 4:11.26 respectively.
Winning the men's half marathon was Jonathan Volpi, in 1:11.27, and Angela Cobb took the women's half marathon in 1:26.23.
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