My Blog

Hope Town – The third 242 Colour Run occurred in Hope Town, Abaco on December 28th. After having successful races in Nassau & Freeport, the response in Abaco still surpassed the organizers expectations. Over 150 people participated in the colourful fun run/walk, with scores of volunteers and spectators taking part as well.

The excitement started to build around 8am at the Firefly Sunset Resort, the host for the event. While most of the participants were staying in Hope Town, there were approximately 40 persons who came over on the special Albury’s Ferry trip, which brought them directly to and from Firefly. Persons hailed from various locations, including Nassau, Eleuthera, Canada, the US and the UK. A group, aptly named “I thought your said rum”, also participated in the Nassau 242 Colour Run in July, and made a special trip to Abaco for the event. Participants of all ages took part, from kids in strollers to grandparents and all stages of life in-between.

Just before 8:30, the runners and walkers gathered in the Firefly entryway for the “Colour Toss”, where racers took individual colour packets and tossed them in the air, creating a cloud of colour. The colour coated runners and walkers then started out on the 5k (3.1mile) course. The colourful fun continued on the race course where volunteers from Hope Town and the Rotary Club of Abaco manned colour stations. Each colour station had a unique colour – Flash Caribbean Breeze Blue, Sunburnt Orange, Flamingo Pink, Bahamian Yellow, or Key Lime Green. As the participants danced their way through the colour stations they were coated head-to-toe, leaving laughter and smiles throughout the Elbow Cay course.

The Hope Town Volunteer Fire & Rescue department was on hand to lend support to the water station, where persons could rehydrate on the course. The all-volunteer fire department was a beneficiary of the event, along with the Rotary Club of Abaco.

The 242 Colour Run is designed to be a fun, feel-good event. As such, no times are recorded, and no finish places are taken down. This didn’t stop serious runners from completing the 5km course at a fast pace; nor did it stop groups of people dressed in tutus, reindeer antlers, and other funky and colourful costumes from dancing their way to the finish.

As everyone past through the event and finished, they were greeted by ice cold water donated by The FoodStore Limited. At the finish area the Firefly grounds filled with the colour-coated participants and the festivities continued. Ensueno fabric softener beach balls entertained the kids while the adults settled into the restaurant area, enjoying Bahamian breakfasts served up by the Firefly Bar & Grill. The organizers then thanked the sponsors, participants, volunteers, spectators, and all those involved for helping to create such a wonderful feel-good event.

Last, but not least, a few great prizes were drawn at random from those entered into the event. Hope Town Canvas provided a unique beach-bag made from recycled Abaco Rage sails and Harbour’s Edge provided a gift certificate for dinner. The Great Abaco Family Fitness Weekend donated two entries into their events being held in March 2014. Abaco Buzz, who provided marketing for the event, also donated a months worth of their services.

The 242 Colour Run has now completed their 2013 Bahama islands tour, and is currently planning the 2014 events. The Hope Town race will tentatively return on December 27th, 2014. Other 242 Colour Runs are being planned for Nassau and Freeport. New to the 2014 schedule will be a race in Spanish Wells, Eleuthera. For more details and to learn about how to participate, visit their website www.run242.com or find them on Facebook.

After great success in Nassau, the organizers of the 242 Colour Run have now committed to hosting the event in Freeport and Abaco before the year’s end. On December 8^th, the colourful race will be held in Freeport, and on December 28^th the event will take place in Abaco.

The inaugural event in Nassau on July 13^th drew 333 participants, along with dozens of volunteers and spectators. The five kilometre course started and finished at Montagu Foreshore and had five colour stations. As the participants ran and walked through the course, they were bombarded with food-grade powders in Flash Caribbean Breeze Blue, Flamingo Pink, Bahamian Yellow, Sun Burnt Orange and Key Lime Green.

The event was not timed, and participants were encouraged to have as much fun as they liked – ranging from outrageous costumes to body paint. All of the participants were covered in colour after the initial “colour toss”, a pre-race ritual where each participant throws a handful of coloured powder into the air, creating a giant cloud of colour.

The Nassau event had individuals and groups as large as 25 participate in the event. Friends of all ages, as well as families, corporations, service groups, church groups and many more organizations took part. The Rotary Club of East Nassau and the Rotaract Club of East Nassau, as well as BAARK, a non-profit organization dedicated to dog and cat spay/neuter programs and education projects, were all beneficiaries of the event.

The Freeport event will take place at the Garden of the Groves. The trails and roads in the area will provide a unique course and a great staging area for the race. The event will take place in the early morning and a post-event gala will be held at the Garden of the Groves.

The Abaco event, the third and final 242 Colour Run in 2013, will take place in Hope Town. The atmosphere is set for a colourful race, with participants already excited about the event. Local Rotary clubs are set to benefit from and assist with both races.

Participants in the 242 Colour Run events are encouraged to walk, run, skip, hop or jump through the course –the race is not competitive and persons are encouraged to come out and enjoy the camaraderie and fun that ensues.

Participants can follow the event on Facebook or on the website, www.run242.com, for further details as they are released. Registration for both events will open soon, both online and at local venues to be announced.

The 2013 Potcakeman Triathlon timing was sponsored by Purina pet foods, produced by BAARK!,  a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a better life for dogs (and cats) throughout the Bahamas.

We provided the RFID timing services for around 200 athletes in the Triathlons – ranging from kids to adults.  The 750m swim, 21km bike, and 5km run was challenging enough – but mother nature threw a curve ball in with some wet weather, and choppy seas.  A couple of athletes withdrew from the swim, but the majority managed to finish the swim and the course despite the weather.

We used the Chronotrack RFID tri-tag, coupled with the Chronotrack disposable tri-strap.  The relays utilised an exchangeable neoprene strap, allowing them to pass off and reattach the tri tag to each member of the relay.  We had

We had over a 96% read rate, the majority of misses were at the swim exit, where the entrance to the transition area was a bit wider and didn’t force athletes over our line.  This is where the most misses occur in triathlons – we have new side-mounted readers, Chronotrack Flashpoints, coming in which will virtually eliminate these missed reads.

Using the rest of the data collected, we were able to estimate the few missed times for the swim and ended up with a 99.5% read-rate.  The 4 missed times left were due to a relay team not reading at the swim exit – and then the cyclist holding the chip in his hand vs attaching to his ankle.  We were unable to recover any of their splits – once the run was started and the tag properly fixed, we were able to read their run and overall time.

Please contact us if you would like to use our race services at your event!  [email protected]

Nassau, Bahamas – The 242 Colour Run added a blast of colour to Nassau on an otherwise cloudy Saturday morning, July 13^th. Over 400 participants, volunteers, and spectators gathered at Montagu foreshore to partake in the first ever colour run in The Bahamas. The 5km (3.1 miles) course led the runners and walkers from Fort Montagu, over the bridges and back to return to Montagu. The unique twist of the added colour was enough to bring smiles to all those that participated and supported the race, and even those that were encountered along the way.

The weather turned out to be a perfect day for the mid-July road race, with Tropical Storm Chantal dissipating and leaving welcomed cloud cover for the morning. The 8am start was delayed a few minutes, but just before the start, individual colour packets were tossed into the air, creating a fantastically blended cloud of colour around the start area. Two Royal Bahamas Police Force motorcycles then led the runners through a colour-blast of Flash Caribbean Breeze Blue, the first of 5 colour stations along the course. The second staging point on the course added Sun Burnt Orange, while the Paradise Island colour station added Key Lime Green and the last Nassau stop had Flamingo Pink. The final colour station immediately before the finish doused the contestants in Bahamian Yellow, a fitting finish to the most colourful race The Bahamas has ever seen as it celebrates 40 years of independence.

The participants in the fun-loving group varied from children pushed in strollers, to walkers who only did a part of the course, to elite athletes. The race was not timed, there were no official race winners, and the atmosphere was one of fun, not competition. The 242 Colour Run was designed to bring people together to have fun – friends, families, coworkers, neighbours, Bahamians and foreigners alike. The last minute entries at The Sports Center in the days before the race brought the total number of registered entries to 333. The majority of the colour-runners were Nassau natives, with others from Abaco and Freeport, and a few international registrants from the UK, Canada, and the USA. The unofficial fastest person on the course was Marathon Bahamas winner Angela Cobb, who came over to run a fun race in a beautiful and scenic location.

Individuals and groups participated in the event, with groups as large as 25 entering in the 242 Colour Run. Some walked together, some ran together, and all had fun together. As the colour-coated runners crossed the finish line, they were greeted with cold Aquapure and Arizona iced teas. In the staging area there was an after-race party, where participants were encouraged to try the new Tropi-Pop drink sensation, as well as Edy’s Fruit Bars. The adult entrants were greeted with ice-cold Sands beer. Music and festivities enhanced the atmosphere, all leading up to the big giveaway – five G-Shock watches provided by John Bull. The watches were given away to those that stuck around and had fun, and were drawn by random number. Any and all participants had the same chance to win, and 5 lucky persons walked away with a new colourful G-Shock watch. Additional numbers were called to give away the remaining cases of Arizona iced teas and Sands beer.

Linzi Knowles-Benton was recognized with a case of Sands beer for being the first to register and for assembling a large group of enthusiastic runners, also know as “Conch Salad”. Registration opened a few months before, and the price increased as the event got closer – in spite of this, almost 20% of the entrants took advantage of the extended full-price registration at The Sports Center. Registration included a reusable shopping bag, a bottle of Flash multi-cleaner, product samples, event flyers, a 242 Colour Run dryblend shirt and custom bib, funky wayfairer sunglasses, 40^th Independence and Bahamas flag tattoos, and a packet of throwable colour.

Each colour station had volunteers from the Rotary Club of East Nassau, the Rotaract Club of East Nassau, and the QC Interact club throwing a food-grade, washable, colour powder on the participants. These volunteers were from the clubs that also benefited from the event. The Rotary Club of East Nassau recently celebrated 50 years of service and changed over to a new Rotary year with new leadership on July 1^st. Since its inception, the Rotary Club of East Nassau has raised over 5 million dollars for community project and local charities, and has contributed significantly to the Rotary International Foundation. The Rotaract Club of East Nassau is for younger members aged 18 to 30; they are young professionals banding together to help the community both locally and internationally. Both groups support was necessary, as over 30 volunteers assisted in the 242 Colour Run. The director of community service for the Rotaract club, Raschard McKinney, had kind words to add, noting that the “242 Colour Run was a grand success. Congratulations to you and your team for hosting the event. It was fun and inspiring at the same time. I look forward to working with you and the 242 Colour Run in the future.”

Bahamas Waste greatly assisted in logistics and cleanup, providing portable toilets, trash receptacles, and a mobile pressure washer to wash down the roads after the event. As the colour is a water-soluble, non-toxic substance, any colour left on the course washes away with the rain and biodegrades rapidly.

The multi-coloured finishers all had huge smiles and nothing but kind words for the organizers and volunteers. The photos from the event are posted online at www.run242.com and on the event Facebook page. Comments from the Facebook page reflected the excitement and enjoyment at the 242 Colour Run, and everyone is excited to do it again. Ann Marie Henson posted “Great time. Thanks to all for their hard work. It was a blast! See you next year.” Dominic Seymour added “Had an awesome time today!! Hope it comes again next year!”

As participants have requested, the organizers of the 242 Colour Run do intend to hold the race again in Nassau. They also plan to have additional races, starting with locations in Freeport and Abaco. For more information, visit the 242 Colour Run Facebook page or visit www.run242.com

The success of the inaugural 242 Colour Run was overwhelming, and the support from all of those involved was and is greatly appreciated. The organizers would like to thank the sponsors, volunteers, the Royal Bahamas Police Force, The Bridge Authority, The Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Finance, and of course, all of the wonderful participants who helped ensure a successful, safe, fun and colourful event.

###

Additional comments from participants regarding the event:

“Well done, Lee McCoy for a very Successful and FUN 242 Colour Run this Morning. Thatcher and I had a BLAST throwing COLOUR on the participants.” – Tangerine Curry-Dinnick

“What a BLAST! Thanks so much to Lee McCoy and ALL the volunteers who put on a fantastic event! The Tutu Crew had a great time :)” – Jessica Robertson

“HAD A BLAST!!!! hope its an annual thing!” – Courtney Kemp

“Thank you to all the organizers and sponsors who put this event on – we had so much fun! already looking forward to next year!” – Laura Kimble

“Thank you to everyone who put today together…it was such fun!” – Tamsin Rogers

“THAT was one on the BEST experiences of my LIFE!!!!!! When i find the words, i will express them!!!! Thank you 242 Colour Run!!!!!!!!!” – Anna Murray

“Thank you to all involved in the 242 colour run! Awesome time. Can’t wait till the next one!” – Mary-Jane Sands

“We had such an amazing time!!” – Melissa Sands

“Great fun! Next year bigger and better!” – Teresa Roberts

http://www.run242.com

https://www.facebook.com/242ColourRun

The 2013 Great Abaco Family Fitness Weekend turned out even greater than I could have imagined!

About a week before the event I started getting nervous, as many participants were signing up at the last minute and three days before the event there was a surge of registrations.  We had enough spots for 200 persons, however the triathlon turned out to be insanely popular!  We ended up having to Fedex (from Hawaii) additional triathlon straps for the Chronotrack Tri Tags, but we managed to accommodate everyone!

For the 1-mile Open Water Swim, along the innately beautiful Treasure Cay beach, we grew from 5 participants to 30!  That’s a 6-fold increase!  The winner from 2012 was present to reclaim his title in 2013, and we hope to see Peta in 2014 again!

The next day we had the Sprint & Olympic triathlons – which grew from a combined total of 18 entrants (including 3 per relay) to 60 participants!  That’s a 333% increase!  We had to setup extra bike racks and manage transition a bit differently, but we now know how to handle the larger crowd at the Coco Beach Bar parking lot, and look forward to hosting an even bigger and more exciting 2014 triathlon event!  We even had a 10-year old girl complete the Sprint triathlon, finishing at the same time as our Olympic champion, Simon Lowe!

The kids’ race was AWESOME!  Toni managed to get the kids fired up with an impromptu dance/stretch/spaz session and we had 30 kids run a mile!  Some took it seriously while others had a ball and ran every which way, they all had fun!

The 5k/10k was the one that worried me the most in terms of the registrations – especially the late registrations on the morning of the race.  While we did have a few, we weren’t inundated and managed to have a respectable 70 persons enter the combined events.   We did not time the walkers last year, but in terms of runners we had 24, I’d say we doubled that.

Overall I was very pleased with the event – a bit more preparation in terms of speeches, courses, and volunteers and I think we will be a strong event.  Treasure Cay was SOLD OUT of rooms, and they have already booked us out 50 rooms for next year, as 45 were directly attributed to our event.  If you’re planning on visiting on March 21-23rd, 2014 – I’d recommend you book your room soon!

Thanks to everyone that came out and supported – volunteers, sponsors, spectators, staff, and of course participants!  A special thank you to Sabine, Ray, Avis, and the rest of the Treasure Cay Staff, as well as the TC Fire Department and the RBPF.   Thanks to Jason, Toni, and Jen for dealing with me and getting me through the event – I’m sure by the end of the event I had run my own marathon!

The 2013 Great Abaco Family Fitness Weekend is now open for registration. Registration details are available at the event website www.GAFFW.com or by contacting the Ministry of Tourism in Marsh Harbour.

 The weekend-long event will be held from March 22-24^th at the Treasure Cay Beach, Marina, & Golf Resort. The weekend starts off with a 1-mile open water swim on Friday, a Sprint & Olympic triathlon on Saturday followed by a kids’ 1-mile run, and a 5k/10k fun run/walk on Sunday.

 Planning for the second instance of the event has been taking place over the past year and the organizers look forward to having a larger, fun-filled, family oriented event.

 Last years event brought around 75 participants and dozens more volunteers and spectators. This year there has been keen interest both locally and abroad, with a large group from Freeport planning to compete as well as a good base of athletes out of Nassau. Abaconians are expected to provide strong competition yet again, as the inaugural event was successful and well-received throughout the archipelago.

 Last year local triathletes Simon Lowe and his father Greg Lowe were slated to compete head-to-head in the Olympic triathlon, but due to an injury Simon had to watch from the sidelines. This year they both plan on returning and Greg will defend his title against his son and the other competitors.

 The first two online registrations were both women, one from Freeport and the other from South Carolina. The event is geared towards both locals and visitors alike. Treasure Cay has one of the most scenic ocean swims available and it was ranked one of the top ten beaches in the world by Caribbean Travel & Life.

 The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Treasure Cay Resort & Marina, and Damianos/Sotheby’s International Realty have again joined as the main sponsors. All of the sponsors’ support of the event is immensely appreciated, along with all the hard work and support of the volunteers, friends and family.

 This year Bahamas Ferries has a trip running from Nassau to Abaco for the event, leaving Friday morning and returning Sunday afternoon. Those interested are asked to contact Bahamas Ferries directly to book their transportation.

I’ve been so busy organizing this event that I have forgot to link to it from here!  Not like anyone reads it but hey it adds google points and stuff.

www.GAFFW.com

Join us March 23-25th 2012

1 Mile Open Water Swim
Sprint/Olympic Triathlons
Kids 1-Mile Fun Run
5k/10k Fun Run/Walk

Treasure Cay, Abaco, Bahamas

December 17th 2011

The 2011 10k Marathon Warm-Up Race (2nd of a hopefully annual event) took place from scenic Montagu, Nassau, Bahamas.  We had a total of 5 “official” entrants, two “unofficial” entrants (who left a bit early to get their day started!), and a dog!  Jason and I were excited to get to test some of our new Chronotrack systems available for races throughout the Bahamas.

The Official Unofficial Results

Alec and Greg fought it out on the race course, with Alec being quite surprised at the pace he was being challenged to!  Greg is the father of Simon Lowe, infamous triathlete who overslept (or otherwise missed) the event. We had a smaller turnout than expected, but with the short notice and lack of advertising what else can we expect!

The Chronotrack system worked perfectly and we look forward to using it on future events.  Our next major events are the  Marathon Bahamas weekend on January 14/15th and the Great Abaco Family Fitness Weekend on March 23-25th.

I look forward to seeing everyone out on the course, and thanks for your participation in this and other events!  If you would like to volunteer for any events please let me know, the more the merrier!  Have a great 2012!

Photos by Chrystonia Robertson

My first time trying out barefoot running, on the beach in Hope Town! Did about 35 mins and about 3 miles. Other than the slope of the beach it was great to do something different, especially in early February!

January 16, 2011. Nassau, Bahamas.

Early wakeup call of 4:30am, quick cliff bar and protein enriched juice. Off to pick up the girls and head to the 6am race start. Haven’t been up this early in months (woken up this early I should say…)

5:30 arrival and a short walk from Fort Charlotte area to the starting line by Junkanoo Beach in front of the police station. While stretching and waiting for the start, we had a near catastrophe. A volunteer on a scooter panicked and ended up driving through our group braking and going, luckily missing all of us, and crashing into a set of police motorbikes! This helped to get the heartrate up, imagine training for months and getting knocked out 10 minutes before the race!

A few minutes later the gun goes and off we go, I keep pace with the girls for a bit and end up a bit ahead, but at Mile 1 I’m seconds off of my proposed 10 min/mile pace. So far so good. Run with Calvin for a bit, who was doing the full marathon and discussed his pace plans a bit. He’s starting out slower than me and drops back a bit. The bridges are up next, and a nice easy pace gets the crowd up and over the Paradise Island bridges. At the beginning of the first bridge I can already see the leaders at the end of the second bridge coming back. Last time I’ll see them for a while!

I knew a few of the volunteers from the bike crowd and a few bystanders cheering on, was a great inspiration to see people on the sidelines cheering for everyone coming by and especially those they know. As I round Montagu I see my mom, who sticks around and see’s everyone else behind me (hey at least I was ahead at this point!). Around mile 5, the girls catch up and we run together for a bit until they take off a few miles later. I still think I was around 10 min/mile the whole time, but I started missing mile markers and around mile 10 I knew I was a bit below the 10 min/mile pace which was OK.

We had ran most of the run in practice except for the Shirley St leg which was new to running. A great job of keeping the race course closed except for a few times, but nothing as close as the motorcycle incident!!

The water/gatorade spots were well attended and it was good fun trying to run and drink, I had practice at the Conchman so it helped. I tried to only spill water all over me, relatively successfully. There were a couple times I wanted water and didn’t see a spot, I’m not sure of the spacing but it wasn’t life or death.

Nearing mile 8 or so (I think) we started seeing the top halfers coming back. Mr. Conchman 2010 ran on by in the top end of the pack, somewhere around 1:35 I think. Also one of the girls from Marsh Harbour was flying by in her 1:55 race! The rest of our pack was in the 2:00-2:20 area.

Around 9 miles Calvin catches up and we have a brief chat and we then separate and he continues on the Marathon course while I go through the turnaround.

The turn at mile 10 to come back to the finish made me miss my sunglasses, which I had brought but forgot in the car before the start; luckily it was covered by trees and buildings for a lot of the time.

Around Mile 11 or 12 there’s a Nautilus Water table with that and apple juice…that part was great, but then there was at least two tables full of muffins and sandwiches! I think they need to do some research on what racers need next year…

Running into the finish I saw I could get below 2:10 so I did what I could and got a final time of 2:09:49. I was happy with this, being below my 2:15 goal. I was 139 out of 395 competitors (doesn’t explain my half marathon number of 569 though) and I was 13th out of 24 in my age group.

As I crossed the line I was focused on finishing the race below the 2:10 mark, so I didn’t notice Ross, Sam, and Kathryn cheering me on! Promptly saw them holding a cooler and cracked a beer before 8:30 on a Sunday morning after running 13.1 miles! Not a bad feeling!

Lots of post race stretching, nothing fancy, and drank some beers along with water, gatorade, and some fruit. Again, the table of sandwiches was there almost untouched! Ferdi showed up all around the race course on a bike, even at the finish! We had brunch at the Cricket Club. Then it was out to Compass Point and off to catch a plane to Key West Race Week 2011!!!!

A finishers album by photographer (not athlete…i’d give him daysailor…maybe) Ross: