With the first Suva Marathon a great success last Saturday, the organisers are already looking forward to next year.
Race Director, Chris Daniel said, “It was great to see so many keen runners join the event. We want to start work now to make next year’s marathon even bigger!”
“On Saturday we had around 250 runners in total, with 25 running in the full marathon. We hope to double that number next year, and bring in more runners from overseas to race the streets of our great capital.”
Ravnil Kumar of the Jet Runners from Nadi won the inaugural Suva Marathon completing the 42km course in a time of 3hrs 22mins and 7secs, setting the benchmark for future competitors. William Simpson finished second with a time of 3:32.25, and Jerome Pons third in 3:59.55.
The only female runner in the full marathon was Anna Cowley who finished in a time of 5:47.31.
Francis Chung, competing in a wheelchair finished in a time of 5:07.22.
“It’s hard to imagine how hard it actually is to run 42km. The endurance and fitness of these athletes is simply amazing. Next year Suva runners will have to step up to compete with the runners from Nadi and Lautoka who set the standard this time!”
Avikash Lal, also from the Nadi Jet Runners, won the male half marathon in a time of 1:23.53. The female half marathon was won by Angela Mahoney from Suva in 1:48.19, and Sainimili Navalu completed the wheelchair half marathon in 3:50.48.
The team marathon event brought a lot of colour and competitiveness to the day with a great turn out. Westpac and the army cadets both did their organisations proud with a big turnout of runners.
“We want the Suva Marathon to be part of a bigger picture, encouraging people to stay active and lead healthy lifestyles”, said Daniel.
“It was great to have the support of the Ministry of Health, and it’s fantastic to see Westpac, the army, and all the other organisations that had teams encourage and support their staff to take part.”
The organising committee is aiming to put the Suva Marathon on the map, and attract runners from all over the world.
“Boston, London. Their marathons are huge. Why not Suva?” said Daniel, “An event like this needs so many people to come together and we’re so grateful to all our sponsors and supporters for helping make it happen”.
“The 2015 event will be in the middle of the year, so get training now!”
Suva Marathon Club Press release
President: Chris Daniel (7022700); Secretary: Gina Houng Lee (9975917)
www.facebook.com/suvamarathon
www.suvamarathon.org
For immediate release
Date: 8 October 2014
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[Photo: Team marathon runners on the move. Credit: Alex Rengel]
