St. Croix Marathon Relay Results

News Release January 2, 2000
History Made in St.Croix Relay Race

St.Croix, Virgin Islands---Teams of distance runners made history by going on record for completing The First Marathon Relay Road Race of the Century. The race was run from Point Udall (the eastern-most point under the U.S. flag) in St.Croix, United States Virgin Islands, to Fort Frederik in Frederiksted, with the finish near the exact spot where the emancipation of slavery in the Danish West Indies took place.

The event, part of the Virgin Islands Millennium "Past, Present, Future: A Millennium Vision" celebration, hosted by the Government of the Virgin Islands and a fundraiser for the Red Brick Reading Club, saw runners stretched out across the island with the lead team Virgin Islands Pace Runners consisting of Sheldon Williams, George Jules, Wallace Williams, Marlon Williams, Lawrence Lockhart and George Cannon finishing the 26.2 mile distance in 2 hours 38 minutes 54 seconds.

The second place team in 3 hours 30 minutes and 30 seconds was the Tigers with: Donald Shillingford, Leslie Caesar, Milton Francis, Anita Thurston, Barrymore Berley and Leopold Fredericks.

The third place team in 3 hours 33 minutes and 40 seconds and first place female team was The South Shore Swingers with: Elena Shaubah, Susan Armstrong, Dulcie Crowther, Denise Blanchette, Theresa Harper and Sue Brown.

The fourth place team in 3 hours 34 minutes and 41 seconds was Millennium Women with Shelly Anderson, Rachel Witty, Jo Shim, Crisandra Poulos, Dana Branch and Will Franks.

The fifth place team in 3 hours 38 minutes and 4 seconds was Coast Guard Special with Wes Whitehurst, Bob Halk, Elizabeth Armstrong, Bill Hockensmith, Roger Hatfield and Bill Mahoney.

The sixth place team in 3 hours 46 minutes and 43 seconds was Millennium Madness with: Luis Gomez, Page Frederick, Jack Branch, Van Wood, Janet Branch and Bob Guilford.

The seventh place team in 4 hours 4 minutes and 54 seconds was Running Music with: Kathy Bennett, Joel Ureta, Kiersten Peterson, Gunnar Sunden, Debbie Aronstein and Stewart Ketchum.

The eight place team in 4 hours 20 minutes and 3 seconds was The Goddesses with Kim Rice, Terry Chretien, Azalea Galiber, Cathy Prince, Marie Elise Witmer and Leslie Repp.

The next St.Croix International Marathon Relay Road Race will be held on January 1, 2004

The Japanese Call It Ekiden...
...V.I. Pace Runners Repeat...Pixies Break Race Record…

01/01/01 St.Croix, Virgin Islands---The Marathon Relay Road Race is one of the most popular sporting events in Japan, there it is known as Ekiden. There like the marathon, corporate sponsors select and support their teams to the fullest. The competition is fierce.

Not even Japan can match St. Croix and a select few of dedicated runners who took to the road from east to west on New Year’s morning for The Third St.Croix Marathon Relay Road Race. The first year in 2000 there were eight teams and of the runners present this year, five have run in each race which takes place on even numbered years, and four have run two. It is the first Marathon Relay Road Race run in the world each year. This year The Virgin Islands Pace Runners team with Doug Inman, George Jules, Marlon Williams, Billy Bohlke, Wallace Williams and Leopold Fredericks won for the third time with a time of 2 hours 41 minutes and 31 seconds. The Pixies with Susan Armstrong, Tish Dusich, Denise Blanchette, Anna Gutierrez, Sue Brown and Theresa Harper took first place for the female team and second overall with a new record time of 3:07.16. The St.Croix Road Runners with Karen Heckman, Doug Brady, Kathy Bennett, Louise Stapelton, Cesar Guerra and Larry Williams took first place for mixed teams with a time of 3:39.22.

The Marathon Relay (Ekiden) is 26.2 miles and followed a route from Grapetree via the South Shore and Melvin Evans Highway to Fort Frederik. Runners ran distances of: 5k (3.1miles), 10k (6.2miles), 5k, 10k, 5k and 7k (4.4 miles)

Participants who have completed all three events: George Jules, Marlon Williams, Theresa Harper, Leopold Fredericks, Wallace Williams. Those who have run two: Kathy Bennett, Denise Blanchette, Billy Bolhke.

Race Record: 2:38 V.I. Pace Runners 2000, Female Team: 3:07.16 Pixies 2004; Mixed Team: 3:30 The Tigers

St. Croix Marathon Relay Road Race 1^st of the Millennium...

01/01/02--St.Croix U.S. Virgin Islands--For three consecutive years runners in the Virgin Islands have enjoyed the distinction of running in 1^st events. In 2000 there was the first Marathon Relay Road Race of the Century, in 2001 the First Marathon of the Century and this year The Second St.Croix Marathon Relay Road Race. According to V.I.Pace Runners, the organizers of the races, they were and are actually the first races of their description run in the world for the designated years and the century.

The Second Marathon Relay Road Race had an early start on New Year’s morning on the East end of St.Croix with three teams of six runners each negotiating the scenic south shore to Fort Frederik. The V.I.Pace Runners team defended their first place finish in 2000 as George Jules completed the first leg of 5k in 17:53 followed by Wallace Williams with a second leg 10k in 41:53, Billy Bohlke, LSU middle distance runner with a 16:30 5k, Marlon Williams, Vice-President of the V.I.Olympic Committee with a 39:10 10k, Leopold Fredericks, member of the 2001 V.I. National Cross-Country Team with an 18:08 5k and George Cannon, Frederiksted attorney and marathon veteran, running anchor with a 29:37 7k for a team time of 2:43:09 for the traditional marathon distance of 26.2 miles.

There was battle for second place as a team of Canadian tourists who coined the name “Pronto Toronto” held an edge over “Pink Turtle” a St.Croix team, until near the end of the fifth leg when John Harper continued to close the gap on Rowan Faludi. Handing off to his wife, Theresa Harper, a member of the V.I. National Cross-Country Team which won the Bronze Medal in Bermuda in November. Theresa overtook Jim Jessiman within the first mile and held that lead for about two and a half miles until Jessiman took back the lead. Theresa recovered and went ahead near Claude O.Markoe School, (near the start line of Saturday’s Three Kings Mile) to secure second place for her team consisting of: Denise Blanchette, a teacher at Country Day School, Betsy Gladfelter, a former V.I. World Cross-Country team member and veteran marathoner, Sue Brown the V.I.’s top female triathlete, Bill Gladfelter former V.I. Cycling champion and triathlon champion, John Harper, former president of the V.I.Cycling Federation and cycling champion, their time was 3:22.22. The Pronto Toronto team of Cynthia Ford, Nick Ford, Carroll Ann Jessiman, Sue Faludi, Rowan Faludi and Jim Jessiman was close with a time of 3:23.02. Jo Shim and Gunnar Sanden teamed up for the Dream Team Category (projected time as only two runners competed) with a projected time of 3:23.12.

The next event on the V.I.Pace Calendar is The Children Race on January 4. It begins at the start of the Children’s Parade at the corner of Fisher and King Streets in Frederiksted at 11:00, it is for Children 13 and under and the distance is 800 meters. It will be followed by the Three Kings Mile on Saturday at the start of the Adult’s Parade at Claude O. Markoe School at 11:00.