Whether rain or shine, the Bafasports machine is on the grind.
Rudimentary rhyming schemes aside, we’re currently in the business end of the Midnight Runner Series as its resumption during the wee hours of Easter Monday morning brought the Midnight Half Marathon to Chaguaramas, and the sold-out race lived up to the hype.
And speaking of hype, T&T’s Tafari Waldron is quite the sensation on the asphalt, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves here.
A little more on Waldron and his weekend exploits in a bit.
There are many different ways people spent their Easter Weekend this year. Typically you have the church-goers coming out in their numbers from Good Friday.
And with the weather this weekend, most folks were indoors as they called it a night and hunkered down because of the wet weather.
Some people opted to brave the elements to hit Maracas Bay for a late-night party: there were posts on Facebook of an endless line of traffic snaking its way up the North Coast Road.
That’s pretty harcore to say the least.
But down in the far west, the numbers came out for something more holistic; the pursuit of lower half-marathon times.
Whether Rain or Shine
From the Military Museum, to Chaquacabana, to Skallywag Bay, back to Chaquacabana, back to Skallywag, and then the grand finish at the Museum.
That was a mouthful I know, just picture the course as a long – very long in this case – shuttle run and you get the idea. A shuttle run that was done twice in order to make up the distance.
Also, a run that while pretty straightforward where the terrain was concerned, also provided a close proximity to nature, with the sea on one side, and lush mountain on the other.
Were it not for the April showers, the moon would’ve been the icing on the cake, but alas.
Waldron on the Double – Again
“It was nice, cool conditions. It wasn’t too humid, thankfully.” Waldron added minutes after the race. “Because I was already in the rain, it was comfortable [and] the course was nice and flat. There wasn’t any wind or anything.”
The Carifta double-gold medallist has been making the ideal transition into his senior career, and we’re delighted to witness this process in front-row seats.
In a two-man battle with Kenyan Alex Ekesa, Waldron held out to the end to glide through the gantry stopping the clock at one hour, 13 minutes, 54.5 seconds. Ekesa was in hot pursuit, but ultimately second best, as 15 seconds later he sealed second place with 1:14:09.3. We had to wait a bit for Joshua Hunte, who rounded up the podium in third, clocking 1:18:10.6.
Emulating his back-to-back victories in the SAWA Loop 5K, and the Deanflow Remembrance 5K, on the weekend of March 21-22, Waldron was on the double again on the Easter Weekend following up his win on Saturday at the Oasis Inaugural 7K.
With another notch on his belt leading into what promises to be a busy track season, Waldron expanded on his battle plan.
“I didn’t really try to run from the get-go in this race. I tried to hold back a little bit so I can make sure I have enough energy to finish it,” he said. “I never touched any training for the half marathon or anything like that. Right after Carifta, the coaches are going to start to focus on us for the track season coming up. So we’re still preparing for the track. And right now, we’re on our break for the road races.”
Over to the Ladies
Alexia John continued her domination at Bafasports main events when she was the first woman to cross the line in 1:29:50.2, while April Francis was the second in 1:38:58.5, and Akeila Skeete finished third in 1:44:12.4
The People that made it all happen
Without the collaboration and sponsorships, races like these wouldn’t be possible. This time around we extend our thanks to the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, the NCC, the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force including the army and coast guard presence on deck, the TTPS, Subway, Powerade, Eve, Optometrists Today, EHealth, Phoenix Dental, Starbucks, Tribe, Good N’ Natural, Trinebox, and Dasani.
Get your White Suits and Black Ties Ready!
You heard me. And make sure it’s a black bowtie, as the Colonel’s 1K and 5K will be swinging by the QPS on Saturday, with prizes in store including one for the best-dressed Colonel impersonation. And yes, we’ll also be hosting a 5K.
April is going to be quite the busy month on the road. Watch this space.
Results
Men
- Tafari Waldron – 1:13:54.5
- Alex Ekesa – 1:14:09.3
- Joshua Hunte – 1:18:10.6
Women
- Alexia John – 1:29:50.2
- April Francis – 1:38:58.5
- Akeila Skeete – 1:44:12.4
*See our results page for more details