Leslie, Ponder lead the way at 24th Reggae Marathon

Jamaica’s Kemar Leslie and Rosamund Ponder of London, England emerged as back-to-back champions of the male and female half marathon respectively at yesterday’s 24th staging of Reggae Marathon in the tourist town of Negril.

Held at Long Bay Beach Park, Reggae Marathon attracted athletes from over 25 countries competing in the half marathon, 10K and 5K. More than 1200 participants came in from as early as 3 a.m., to experience the unparalleled mix of sport, music, and camaraderie that has made the event legendary.

Leslie crossed the line in 1:15:46, while Ponder, no stranger to running in Jamaica, won in 1:32:01.

“I have run a lot of half marathons. I won the full marathon before they changed it. I came back this year with blood in my eyes to win this year and I did so. My motivation is to have a running world, I love running,” said Leslie who finished ahead of fellow Jamaicans, Garfield Gordon (1:16:16) and Kamar Thomas (1:17:31).

“It was joy running this morning. I caught a cramp in my side at about eight miles, but my legs were feeling good. I put the training in so I wanted to show that out there,” Leslie added.

Meanwhile, Ponder, who finished ahead of Jamaica’s Cecile Heinrich (1:33.56) and fellow Londoner Sophie Anderson (1:37.18), said she travelled here for fun and atmosphere.

“I have been coming back here for the past four or five years to run this race and I think my energy and effort just comes from the crowd. All the runners on the other side cheer you on and it is really cool and keeps you going. I have won the full and half marathon four times. This race is really a bit of fun. It is a part of my holiday to come over every year. I run seriously back in England, so once a year I will do a hard fast race and back here it is just for fun.

Though having fun, Ponder admitted the temperature can be a challenge.

“It’s very hot running here and quite hard going about seven or eight miles on a straight road. This is the slowest race I have done in a very long time. My fastest time for a half marathon is 1:18, so it is much slower for me because of the heat and not training hard for these races.”

The secondary events proved quite exciting with high schoolers dominating the 10K and mixture of local and overseas talent for the inaugural 5K.

First-time runner Ryan Achau, a 17-year-old Kenyan student at St Jago High, took home the male 10K crown in 32:53. Second place went to Belmont Academy’s Roquelme Johnson (36:10) and third place St Jago’s 14-year-old St Cory Christie (36:17).

“My coach worked hard to provide me with the best programme. That is why I try to push myself today to show him that it is effective. My school has great belief in me so that drove me to go and win the race. This road race is a reflection of what my next track season will look like, so it is a part of my preparation for the championship,” Achau said.

For the female 10K first-timer 12-year-old Shannya Palmer of St Jago was one of the highlights as she emerged second with 42.39 to three-time winner Holmwood Technical High’s Cindy Rose (40:15). Terrica Clarke, also of Holmwood, was third in 42.44.

Jamaican men dominated the 5K with Raheem Chambers winning in 16.24, Garth Abbot (18:54) was second and Dane Cunningham took third in 19:25.

In the women’s section Canada’s Sasha Gollish secured the win in 19:06 with Jamaica’s Gizelle James (23:12) and Latanya Johnson (24:07) finishing second and third, respectively.