News Releases

For Release Upon Receipt - August 18, 2008

St. Augustine


The University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus will officially launch its signature UWI SPEC International Half-Marathon 2008 on Wednesday 20th August, 2008. The Official launch will be held at the First Citizens Corporate Centre, 9 Queen’s Park East, Port of Spain from 10:00 a.m. First Citizens’ Bank is the main sponsor of the UWI SPEC International Half Marathon.

This year, the Half Marathon will be on Sunday 2nd November commencing 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, Kenya, USA, Latin America and Russia.

Over 1,000 local, regional and international athletes will compete for over TT$ 125,000.00 in prizes, including specific categories for UWI students and staff, University Students and wheelchair as well as physically challenged competitors. Participation has grown over the years from 300 at its inception in 2004 to over 700 in 2007 – 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.

The registration begins on Monday 25th August. Registration will automatically close, however, when 1000 persons have registered for the race. There will be no registration on race day.

For more information, visit the UWI SPEC website at www.uwi.tt/spec/marathon/ or call (868) 662-2002 ext. 3771, 2660, 3556 or 3571.

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