Francis

THE INAUGURAL St Catherine 5K road race, set for Sunday, was officially launched on Tuesday.

Under the slogan 'Sports For Peace', the race has been organised to steer people away from negative activities.

Alfred Francis, a Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association executive member, who will act as race director, endorsed the event.

Francis said the organisers wanted to hold a 10K race but a close examination of the logistics forced them to change that plan.

He said the idea was to get everyone involved and a 10K would have been too challenging at this time.

Launch

Olympic 400m hurdles champion Melaine Walker, Deputy Mayor of Spanish Town Owen Palmer and the President of the St Catherine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dennis Robotham, were among those who attended the launch at G.C. Foster College and gave their blessing.

The race features more than $220,000 in prize money with the male and female winners set to take home $10,000 each.

Second-place finishers will get $7,000 and third $5,000 each. Prizes of $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000 will be given in age group categories of 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 and Over 60.

Runners

Set to start at 3:00 p.m., the race begins at the St Catherine District Prison on White Church Street and takes runners along Tawes Pen to the Old Harbour Road roundabout, then Ellerslie Pen, east along Spanish Town bypass and left on to Port Henderson Road where it will end at the Social Development Commision (SDC) complex.

The event has drawn sponsorship from the business sector, including the St Catherine north division, St Catherine Chamber of Commerce, Spanish Town Hospital, Singer, G.C. Foster College, Flow, Sagicor, Churches Co-operative Credit Union, BNS, NCB, VMBS, NHT, SDC and Juici Patties.