By Dean “The Sportsman” Greenaway
The Carey Olsen 5K Series kicked off with 70 participants
Debutant Oliver Terry won the Carey Olsen 5K Series City Circuit opener on Saturday, on the course that started and ended at the A. O. Shirley Grounds, after circumnavigating the streets of Road Town, in the first of five tour stops around Tortola.
Guided by veteran Julius Farley, Terry pulled away over the last 200m to claim victory in 18 minutes and 40 seconds. Farley was second in 19:15, in a race that attracted 70 participants.
“I didn’t know the way, so trying to find the route was a bit difficult, and I kept looking behind to check if the guy was still behind and he was directing me to be fair, so that was good,” Terry said. “In the end, I pushed the last kilometer, and I’m happy with that. I’m surprised to win, because I don’t normally win races, so I’m happy with that.”
Farley said Terry ran a good race. “I think he could have done much better, but because he didn’t know the course, he kept slowing down, but this isn’t normally my race,” Farley said. “I wish JJ (Jermaine Ricketts) was here to give him a challenge. It would have been a good race with JJ.”
Katrina “Kat” Lindsay—coming off a 3rd place finish among women in the 26th St. John 8 Tuff Miles and 12th overall—was the top woman and finished third overall in 19:24.
“Last week was a tough run, so today it was just good to get the legs turning over,” Lindsay said. “There was a headwind on the main road so it was quite tough running out there, but on the way back, I was able to cruise.” Lindsay said she’s preparing for the World Masters 10K in March and her training since December has been going well.
Race Director Kay Reddy it’s great to start the series, the first road race since the BVI Sunrise Half Marathon in November. “This is a great course. It’s a bit of a tour of Road Town. We go down to the Hospital, around Lower Estate with a start and finish in the track,” she said. “We had 90 people registered, most turned up, some didn’t get out of bed, also the first race, we never quite know who’s going to show.”
Lindsay, she noted, broke the course record with her 19:24 time, which is a really fast time. “In the men, that is where the battle really took place,” she noted. “Looked like Julius might be ramping up for first place with JJ (Jermaine Ricketts) absent. He got ahead of James Ramprashad but at the finish, Oliver Terry, new in the BVI, new on the scene, came roaring into the stadium and finished 30 seconds behind Julius, a great race in the men’s (division). About 70 people finished the race so there were lots of battles in the age groups. It’s the first race of a five-race series, so it looks like it’s going to be one of the best.”
The next tour stop will be on Beef Island at 7 a.m. on March 22.
Top Ten finishers. Men: 1. Oliver Terry, 18 minutes and 40 seconds. 2. Julius Farley, 19:15. 3. James Ramprashad, 20:56. 4. Tim Parsons, 22:55. 5. Brent Hoyte, 23:06. 6. Lennon Dabreo, 23:13. 6. Jose Francisco Banay, 23:39. 7. Adrian Dale, 24:49. 7. Andy Morrell, 26:15. 8. Mikey Joseph, 26:19. 9. Kare’n Safaryan, 26:27. 10. Gaius Billones, 27:04.
Women: 1. Katrina “Kat’ Lindsay, 19:24. 2. Rosmond Johnson, 23:07. 3. Sarah Latham, 23:43. 4. Lauren Williamson, 26:31. 5. Olga Danilova, 26:46. 6. Andrea Henchey, 27:25. 7. Margaret Church, 28:34. 8. Kay Reddy, 28:46. 9. Jessica Fourie, 28:52. 10. Delma Tavernier, 29:34.
