November 27th, 2010 is the date for the 2nd Montserrat Volcano Half Marathon
BRADES, Montserrat – At a press conference held this morning at Radio Montserrat’s office in Sweeneys, the Montserrat Running Club presented cheques totalling EC$3,000 to three Montserrat charities. The representatives on hand from Meals on Wheels, Special Olympics and the Golden Years Retirement Home each received EC$1,000 from members of the Montserrat Running Club, which recently organised the very successful 1st ever Montserrat Volcano Half-Marathon. The Club also announced at the press conference that Saturday November 27th, 2010 will be the date for the 2nd Montserrat Volcano Half-Marathon.
Members of the print and electronic media on hand were given a full report on the staging of the 1st Montserrat Volcano Half Marathon, from the five (5) Running Club members that organised the event. This team consisted of James “Fittest Man” Greenaway, Henry Odbert, Jonathan Stone, Wilston Scotland and Ishwar Persad. The team also thanked the financial sponsors of the event, particularly the Montserrat Tourist Board, the Sports Department and the Governor’s Office, which provided the bulk of the funding to host the event. Other contributors were also recognised, including all the volunteers who assisted during the event and the various businesses and individuals that donated items for the event.
Merle Galloway, who represented Special Olympics, thanked the Running Club and said that the parents and athletes would be especially pleased with the generous donation and. The representative for Meals on Wheels and the Golden Years Retirement Home, Ms. Cheryl White, also expressed her appreciation for the donations made, and indicated that the monies would help immensely in the operations of both of these charities.
The Montserrat Running Club members also outlined to the media some of its strategies to encourage greater participation in next year’s event. These include additional local and overseas promotions and advertising; branding and promoting the race as an extreme and unique running event; creating of special vacation packages for runners coming to compete, and organising a series of shorter running events leading up to the 2nd Volcano Half Marathon. Additionally, the Club’s aim is to promote healthy lifestyles, and thus will become very vocal in encouraging residents on Montserrat to become more active and take up road walking and running.
Photo:
From L to R. Henry Odbert, Ms. Cheryl White, Wilston Scotland, Merle Galloway, Jonathan Stone, James Greenaway and Ishwar Persad
ABOUT THE MONTSERRAT VOCLANO HALF-MARATHON
The Montserrat Volcano Half Marathon is organised by the Montserrat Running Club. It is a strenuous and unique 13.1-mile race, on a very hilly and rugged course that provides runners with views of the active Soufriere Hills Volcano in the south of Montserrat, as well as the spectacular coastal vistas and verdant scenery. The premiere edition of the race was held on December 5th, 2009 and was won by Neville Nicholls of Antigua in a time of 1:36:20. The 2010 race will be held on Saturday November 27th, 2010.
ABOUT THE MONTSERRAT RUNNING CLUB
The Montserrat Running Club is a not-for-profit organisation that organises running and other sporting events in order to attract visitors to the island, and also to encourage residents to become more physically active, thus promoting healthier living lifestyles. The current Directors are Ishwar Persad – Marketing Manager at the Montserrat Tourist Board; Henry Odbert – Volcanologist at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory, and James “Fittest Man” Greenaway – Technician at Radio Montserrat. To become a fan of the Montserrat Volcano Half Marathon, go to www.facebook.com/pages/Montserrat-Volcano-Half-Marathon/139901407963, e-mail info@montserrattourism.ms or call (664) 491 2230/8730.
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