Street lights and Avenue sights
The vibes building up since the start of the year finally overflowed onto the Port of Spain streets on Sunday morning as we finally kicked on with the T&T Midnight 10K Ariapita.
Runners flooded the streets at the Grand Stand opposite Chancery Lane where we wasted no time in blowing the horn when the clock struck 12:01am.
And in the end, Nicholas Romany emerged victorious to rapturous cheers and applause as he crossed Chancery Lane into the path to the Grand Stand to stop his watch and take stock.
Romany wasn’t alone for long after the finish as his training partner Tafari Waldron followed soon after, with Darius Harding rounding up the podium in third.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here.
Navigating the City Streets
The route took the runners this time around on a merry chase under the city lights, starting with a lap around the Queen’s Park Savannah.
After finishing the savannah loop, a quick left turn down Dundonald Street before swinging right on Park Street, in order to race towards Ariapita Avenue. After the up and down of the Avenue, runners made a beeline up Abercromby Street before cutting across Gordon Street and making the final right turn to finish off at Chancery Lane.
Members of the armed forces including the TTPS, as well as the Coast Guard were also out in their numbers making sure that the event was safe as a midnight race could be.
Elite Endurance!
And to the race itself, by the time the lap around the savannah was completed Romany, Waldron, and Harding had already cut away from the pack forming part of a six-man contingent running their own race.
“Our coach is considered the best distance coach in Trinidad,” Romany explained after the race. “That’s why we, all the top runners, train under him, you know? So we didn’t plan to race against each other, really. It was more running for time, so you’re trying to hold a pace of five minutes per mile.”
The athletes kept their sights on the end goal no matter what. Which as it turns out includes plans for the red, white, and black, as the upcoming CAC and Commonwealth Games are on the horizon.
“We’re training for the 1500. Jason Parris, our coach, had a big plan for us for the track season, for us to make some national teams, especially like the Commonwealth Games,” Waldron added. “The conditioning for 10K really wasn’t really there this year, but it was still a good race, still an enjoyable race – it had (sic) no issues or problems around the course, so we enjoyed it.”
Romany stopped the clock at 31:39.3 to seize gold,and the $2000 prize, while Waldron came in second in 32:16.2, and Harding third in 33 minutes flat.
Over in the women’s, Alexia John clocked in at 38:52.3, while Aniqah Bailey came in second in 41:31.5, and April Francis third, in 42:29.9.
Team Work to make the Dream Work
This is our go-to motto to curate unique race experiences for aficionados across the country. The coordination among the racing committee, armed services, and our Bafasports Foundation administration brought the Midnight Series back to life after the two-month break from January.
The event however, would not have been as successful without the efforts of Subway, Powerade, Eve, Optometrists Today, E Health, Starbucks, Tribe, Good N’ Natural, TrineBox, and Dasani.
And you guessed it: There’s More!
Next on the Midnight Series calendar will be the Midnight Half Marathon on April 6, in Chaguaramas. Before that of course, things go back to normal with a slew of shorter-distance races, including the SAWA Loop 5K Road Race on March 21, the UWI FIC 5K in Antigua, and the Deanflow Remembrance, both on March 22, and the Oasis Inaugural 7K on March 29.
We’re making running fun again for sure, and we look forward to promoting health and wellness – one stride at a time.
Results
Men
- Nicholas Romany 31:39.3
- Tafari Waldron 32:16.2
- Darius Harding 33:00.0
Women
- Alexia John 38:52.3
- Aniqah Bailey 41:31.5
- April Francis 42:29.9