By Treiston Joseph
The National Sports Commission (NSC) in collaboration with the Rising Star Athletic Club will host an Independence Day 5km road race on May 29, commencing at 16:00hrs from the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports Head Office, Main Street.
The race is intended to lead to the resuscitation of the Independence Day Half Marathon, according to Director of Sport, Neil Kumar.
The 5km race is expected to attract over 100 starters and Minister of Culture Youth and Sports, Dr. Frank Anthony is expected to make his presence felt by starting the race.
According to Leslie Black, coach and founder of the Rising Star Athletic Club, two Surinamese athletes are also expected to take part in the race along with other sporting fraternities in Guyana.
“Well we are just doing it so we can bring back the Independence Day half marathon, so all in all it will be a good day.
“It’s just a fitness run that you can come out and test your endurance and have fun,” Black told Stabroek Sport yesterday via telephone.
Local athletes such as Guyana’s national 1500 metres record holder, Cleveland Forde, Lionel D’ Andrade coming off five straight road race wins for the year along with Alika Morgan who has two successive road race wins for the year and Doretta Wilson who has not competed since representing Guyana at the North American Central American Championships (NACAC) cross country are among the familiar faces expected to do well on race day.
The athletes will also be competing for cash prizes in two categories, both male and female, which are open, and masters while the juniors will receive other incentives since according to the International Associations of Athletics Federation (IAAF) youths 16 and under are not allowed to compete for monetary prizes, Black noted.
