Adrian Frater, News Editor

Alfred 'Frano' Francis

Western Bureau:

Over 600 runners drawn from various countries across the world have been confirmed for today's sixth renewal of the Reggae Marathon, which is broken down into two segments - the Negril Marathon and Half Marathon - which will be along the scenic course in the popular resort town.

"We are anticipating that this is going to be the best marathon we have ever had," said Alfred Francis, the meet director for the annual event. "We have been growing from strength to strength over the years and in terms of numbers, this is the largest number of entries we have ever had."

The event, which will start at 5:00 a.m. against a backdrop of reggae music to be provided by six sound systems strategically placed along the course, will see the overall male and female champions taking home the Bob Marley and Rita Marley Trophies respectively, as well as individual cash prizes of $75,000.

While popular three-time defending champion Parmenos Ballantyne of St. Vincent and the Grenadines will not be around to defend his title on account of the new direction in which the organisers are taking, Francis said the event should nonetheless be quite exciting as participants are expected from Europe, South America, Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.

Among the names expected to figure in the quest for the major prizes are local-based athletes Wainard Talbert, Phillip Edwards, Andrew Gutzmore, Tamica Thomas and Natoya Goule.

"We have decided not to go the route of paying elite athletes to come here, which basically accounts for the absence of our good friend Parmenos (Bal- lantyne)," said Francis. "We are looking at investing more in the development of our local people as well as catering for the large number of recreational runners who come here every year."

With the day's event featuring several categories, there is also a wide spread in terms of prize money. For the full marathon, the breakdown of cash prizes reads as follows: Winners (male and female) $75,000, second $50,000 and third $25,000.

For the Half Marathon, which has been quite popular, especially among recreational runners, the breakdown is as follows: Winners (male and female) $31,000, second $25,000 and third $12,500. In the section for high schools, the breakdown reads - winners $20, 000, second $16,000, third $12,000, fourth $8, 000 and fifth $ 4,000.

"As usual, we are quite excited about staging this event," said Francis. "Needless to say, we are hoping for good performances all the way through."