Event

The University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus will once again host its signature UWI SPEC International Half-Marathon on Sunday 1^st November, 2009. First Citizens’ Bank is the presenting sponsor of the UWI SPEC International Half Marathon.

This year, the Half Marathon will commence at the UWI SPEC from 6:00 a.m. with the 13.1 mile route remaining unchanged; the race will continue along the traffic-free Priority Bus Route (PBR) to the La Resource junction in D’Abadie, before doubling back to the UWI SPEC. The course will be complete with markers and water stops at every mile for the running convenience of the athletes from around the world including the Caribbean, USA, Latin America and Europe.

Over 1,000 local, regional and international athletes will compete for over TT$ 135,000.00 in prizes, including specific categories for UWI students and staff, University Students and wheelchair as well as physically challenged competitors. This year, a new team category will be introduced. Teams must have a minimum of fifteen (15) athletes. Team members are allowed to also enter in the individual categories. Participation has grown over the years from 300 at its inception in 2004 to over 750 in 2008 – for this the only traffic free race of its kind in the region.

Once again, this year’s race will be electronically timed and any records broken in this AIMS certified, and International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) accredited race will be recognized worldwide.

Another important feature is the recognition by the National Amateur Athletic Association (NAAA) of the UWI SPEC International Half Marathon as its official half marathon championship.

Local participants have the added convenience once again this year of registering at any First Citizens’ branch throughout Trinidad and Tobago by presenting valid picture identification and their registration fee. Race waivers will now be signed at the First Citizen’ branch when completing the registration. Registration takes place from Thursday 10^th September - 23 October, 2009. Registration will automatically close, however, when 1000 persons have registered for the race. There will be no registration on race day. Only athletes residing outside of Trinidad & Tobago can register on-line at active.com. The deadline for on-line registration is Friday 16^th October, 2009.

For more information, visit the UWI SPEC website at http://sta.uwi.edu/spec/marathon/ or call (868) 662-2002 ext. 3771, 2660, 3556 or 3571 or e-mail specinfo@sta.uwi.edu .