Cayman Islands marathon already a record breaker ahead of Sunday race

Sarah Bridge | Cayman Compass | 29 November 2024

The starting gun is yet to go off on the 2024 Cayman Islands marathon and half marathon which take place this Sunday, but records have already been broken for the event with more than 1,500 participants signed up for the three running and walking events for the first time ever in the race’s history.

At least 1,050 half-marathoners have been confirmed for the 13.1-mile half marathon distance, as well as more than 100 plucky runners who have signed up to tackle the full marathon, which will require them to run the circuit twice. There are also 99 teams of four who have signed up to take part in the marathon relay, each runner running a quarter of the full distance before handing over to their teammates.

“This year we’ve seen a significant and inexplicable growth in registrations which we are so excited about,”  said co-race director Rhonda Kelly from Kelly Holding Ltd., owner and organiser of the Cayman Islands Marathon. 

“For so many of our participants this event is more than a race. It’s a milestone, a celebration, a victory over adversity, a way to honour a loved one, the fulfilment of a personal goal, a campaign to raise funds and awareness for an important cause.”

Early start
It will be an early start for those taking part in Sunday’s races to try and avoid participants having to run in the heat of the day. The full marathon starts at 4.30am while the half marathon and team relays start at 5am, with all races starting and finishing at Seafarers Way in George Town.

The race route starts on the George Town Waterfront in front of Bayshore Mall and will go through South Church Street, South Sound and Prospect Point Road. Runners will then turn around and go back through South Sound and onto Walkers and Hospital Roads, Elgin Avenue, Edward and Fort Streets and back to Bayshore Mall.

There is also a Kids Fun Run which starts at 10.30 at the Government Administration Building on Elgin Avenue and ends at the main start and finish line in front of Bayshore Mall. The event is free for students aged between 5-11 years old and 180 kids are expected to take part.

Organisers are asking for the public’s assistance during the race by keeping traffic along the race route to a minimum, and in particular those people who live along the route are being asked to secure their dogs in their yards and turn on their Christmas lights if they have any from 4:00am on Sunday morning.

Event history
This year marks 22 years since the Cayman Islands marathon was launched under its original name of the Cadet Corps marathon. On Sunday 8th December 2002, 20 runners completed the full marathon and 62 ran the half marathon, with 18 teams running the relay and four people doing a 3k route.

The event was originally organised by Tara Godrey to raise money for the Cadet Corps. Following the success of the inaugural event, the organisation of the race was taken on by events and communications company Kelly Holding Ltd and rebranded as the Cayman Islands Marathon, which has been an annual fixture on the Cayman calendar ever since.

Charity runners at the Cayman Islands marathon 2023
Many runners will be running to support their favourite causes. The event raises funds for the Cayman Islands Cadet Corps and the Cancer Society as well as other organisations such as Jasmine, Crisis Centre, CCMI, Alex Panton Foundation, YMCA, Red Cross and Humane Society. The 2023 event raised over US$35,000 and this year over US$26,000 has been raised to date.

Runners will be able to pick up their official race kit which includes their unique race numbers and timing chips at the Hotel Indigo on Seafire Way between 9am and 5pm on Saturday, where late registration is also available.

The flat course will have mile markers along the route as well as water stations, toilets and snack shops. The route is internationally certified for the full and half marathon distances and is a qualifying race for the Boston Marathon. The course records are currently held by Christopher Thompson from Surrey, UK who finished in a time of 2:33:02 in 2022, and Julie Stackhouse of Jacksonville, Florida, USA who recorded a time of 3:06:17 in 2006.

Notable moments in the history of the Cayman Islands event include a finishing line proposal last year, when Gerardo Dominguez proposed to Madelin Mora, his partner of 36 years, after they both completed the half marathon.