Comets’ Run for the Republic meet set for January 20

The first staging of the Montego Bay Comets Athletics Club’s ‘Run for the Republic’ track and field development meet will be held at the Herbert Morrison Technical High School field, Montego Bay, on Saturday, January 20. The first race starts at 9 a.m.

The organisers of the meet are no strangers to staging top-quality track and field competition and were responsible for the start of the Comets Relays (now Milo Western Relays) series in 1978, and are committed to the development of athletics talent in western Jamaica.

“It is hoped that the meet will serve as a boost for participation in the Milo Western Relays, when the track at the Montego Bay Sports Complex is ready,” said meet organiser Aubrey Campbell, “It is a fact that participation at the Milo Western Relays has dropped significantly due to the high cost of transportation now that the event is being staged at the G.C. Foster College Stadium, St Catherine.”

The meet which is expected to be held over six hours, will be open to athletes from prep and primary schools to the senior level and also will include high school athletes.

There will be competition in the 100 metres, 200m, 400m, 800m, women’s 1500m open, men’s 5000 open, long jump open, sprint relays for men and women as well as 4x400m and sprint medley relays.

There will also be 100m for Class One boys and girls, and in response to request from teams, the organisers have increased the number of athletes in each event to three from each team/school, up from two.

All running events will be run as ‘timed finals’ with the winners in each event receiving medals.

Meanwhile, the deadline for entries has been extended to Tuesday, January 16, four more days and can be done at https://fortistiming.co/meets/register/53.