Contrasting views, but winning result for CUMI Come Run champs

When Anthony Mills crossed the finish line of the Flow CUMI Come Run 10K run to win the male section in 40 minutes, 31 seconds, he described the course as "gruelling".

However, his counterpart, Karlene Blagrove, thought running in the undulating hills of the Tryall Club in Hanover in 47:15 "was a breeze".

The annual fundraising event - now in its third year - attracted a record 317 participants, particularly from the corporate entities with offices in the tourism capital, Montego Bay.

Mills, who works with ACS, a Xerox company, missed winning in 2010 when he placed second, but came back to settle the score.

"I was a bit nervous this year, but I decided to go at it again to win this time," he said.

Blagrove, of No Excuse club, was entering the race for the first time. She journeyed from Spanish Town, St Catherine, to compete in the early Saturday morning event in Hanover and after completing what she referred to as a "good race", she said it was a "warm-up" for a marathon in which she will participate.

Wide participation

"It was a very good race and the course was well marked. I try to be at all races in the island as I possibly can," said Blagrove.

Other winners included Bruce Pearson of Tryall Club, who won the male 5K in 19:54 and Anneika Samuels of Citi Runners, who crossed the finish line in 27 minutes and seven seconds. Last year's top 5K walker, Winston Irving, copped that position again, while Julie Knowles notched honours in the female equivalent.

The race was started at 7:15 a.m. by the new CUMI ambassadors, Godfrey Dyer, chairman of the Tourism Enhancement Fund, and Brian Jardim, managing director of Rainforest Seafoods.

Aimed specifically at raising funds to rehabilitate the mentally ill in St James and its environs, last year the Flow CUMI Come Run pumped a profit of $2 million into CUMI Trust Fund. This year, the organisers are looking to raise that figure to $3 million.

A new feature this year was the 'Dare to Wear' competition, which saw three of Montego Bay's businesswomen - Ceri Moe, Ann Chang and Sarah Meany - dressed as bumblebees. The three received stiff competition from JMMB's Clover 'Socksy Babe' Anderson.

The participants also included corporate teams ranging from 20 to 40 individuals - namely JMMB, Pan Caribbean, Flow, Caribbean Producers Jamaica, Rainforest Seafoods, Scotiabank, Digicel, Billy Craig, MBJ Airports Limited and Tryall Club.

Continued support for worthy cause

Denise Williams, director of corporate and government affairs at Flow, said they will continue supporting the cause.

"We saw corporate Jamaica coming out for a good cause, not just for the mentally ill but the homeless. I think that the new elements, such as the CUMI ambassadors, added a special feature for the run and raised the profile of what the organisers are trying to accomplish," she said. "Flow will continue to lend its support to this important cause and are excited to exceed this year's participants."

The main sponsors of this year's event, included Tryall Club, Gymkhana, National, Rainforest Seafoods, JMMB, Power 106 FM, The Gleaner, Copa Airlines, Sandals Foundation and Medical Response.