Living in Grand Cayman

How time flies.  It seems like yesterday I decided to run in the Cayman Islands Half-Marathon after starting to run only a few months earlier.  That was in 2011! So this is the 6th time I run it and its always a great event.

In the days before the race, we were expecting rain so I had prepared accordingly. A garbage bag to use as a jacket pre-race (to stay dry as long as possible), a baseball cap so I can see if it comes down hard and also Vaseline for areas subject to chafing if wet.  Thankfully it did not rain which is great – it was however quite humid. In recent days, I had I noted +-22 degrees while driving to work.  This morning it was already 27 degrees at 3:30am.   The race starts at 5AM – hence the early morning temperature read.

So the race started at 5AM exactly, as always. Its fabulous running in the dark for the first +-1h15 or so.  The pictures below were all taken by me after I had finished my run, went back to my office to shower and made my way back to the start/finish line area.

The RCIPS (Royal Cayman Islands Police Service) was out in force, making sure motorists stayed off the route as much as possible.  I saw many of them throughout the morning. Great to have them around as well as the many volunteers.

The water stops are all very animated.  Lots of them have motivational music going (think “Eye of the Tiger”)  and often people are dressed up like at this Pokemon themed one.

I stood around the start/finish line for a while. I enjoy seeing people finishing and the satisfaction on their faces of having completed their run.

The entire post-race area becomes alive with people discussing their races, what went well, what was tough – everyone congratulating each other.  Lets face it; whatever time a person got, they were out running at 5AM on a Sunday while most people were asleep in their beds.

The fresh fruit, granola bars and water/Gatorade are very popular after a long run.

I was quite privileged. The main sponsor of the event, Intertrust, had a “VIP” breakfast for their staff and various guests such as business partners.  Lucky for me I am in that second group.  I was treated to a lovely breakfast, fruits, coffee, etc.  They even had mimosas’ and the likes for those that wanted some.  The bacon really hit the spot after a long run!

So how did I do?  Not bad at all.  Results below.   26th out of almost around 750 runners.  5th in the men’s 40-49 y/o category.  Considering my training did not go really well over the summer, it’s a very good result. The winner, a local guy, got his 1st win.  From what I heard, he is only 17 years old.  I guess he may win quite a few of these in years to come!

This is the medal all the finishers got.  The middle part spins and the outer rim is like a million little diamonds; nicely done.

The rest of the day I took it really easy. I also enjoyed the swimming pool of a close friend.   This 6ft high waterfall is awesome. The volume of water that falls is such that its “heavy” and provides a pretty good shoulder massage.

So that’s it till next years Half-Marathon. Another year for the history books – as always a superbly organized event. Thanks again to all the volunteers who are there to give us water, keep us safe and cheer us on.