BERMUDA TRIANGLE CHALLENGE

Bermuda for a race? Naomi picked up a flyer for the event at the Baltimore marathon expo (where she raced and I played spectator/support). We started talking with our NOVA racewalking friend Alice Till, and wound up signing up in mid-October. Part of the early sign-up was an attraction open only to 400 - the "Bermuda Triangle Challenge", which would lead to a special medal and t-shirt "if you survive the Bermuda Triangle". Extra incentives were giving Alice her January event (she is memorializing her 65th birthday by doing a Half Marathon each month) and a weekend in Bermuda, which none of us had ever visited before. Not to mention a nice smaller race instead of the Disney or PF Chang mega-events with their thousands of runners and walkers.



We arrived Friday after a short hop to Philadelphia and a two-hour flight to Bermuda. Our Marathon Tours package included transport to the Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel, with a driver who gave us our first taste of the welcoming and pleasant Bermudan culture, along with a chance to get acquainted with some of the folks we would be seeing at our events for the next few days.



First event of the Triangle Challenge was a one-miler on Front Street (main street in Hamilton), and it involved a lot more than just our marathon group. Our people went first, with 166 signed up for the Half Marathon Challenge, and 29 for the Full Marathon Challenge out of a total of 438 who did the marathon events. We were followed by myriad classes of local runners, including school boys and girls from the primary, middle and secondary levels, as well as local elite runners and other classes. A real festival, with many local parents/friends of the kids as well as many other people, tourist and local folks, sitting in restaurants and bars along Front Street cheering people on for the many heats run by the many classes. My time was slowed significantly by not knowing that in local parlance this traffic officer shelter was called a "birdcage", so when they said turn around at the birdcage, I kept going for another couple of blocks as everyone else in my heat was a runner and they were all gone, due in part to my starting at the back of the pack from force of habit. Yes, in the daylight with me standing in the middle maybe it's a birdcage, but at night on a street I've only walked once, it really was confusing. (grin)

We had a nice dinner and a couple of pints of Guiness at the "Pickled Onion" on Front Street, went back out to find the races still going, followed by awards ceremonies. Can you say local fun?

Saturday's 10K race did not start until 10:00, so I took advantage of the full breakfast offered by the Princess before the three of us caught a cab to the Sports Centre where the event was to begin and end. It was rainy but fortunately not especially cold (about 50 degrees) so even with the wind we agreed the weather was nothing compared to the 20 degrees we left behind in DC area. Not to mention the crowds flooding into DC for the Obama inagural festivities.

Delightful scenery on Saturday morning as we toured the island, up close and personal. It takes a bit of getting used to doing a race when you are sharing the road with vehicle traffic. No real problems, just not the most common situation. Of course our feet were just as wet as all other parts of our bodies, since at times there were virtual rivers flowing down the roads as we strode up.



Despite the puddles which looked like small lakes, we kept going through the rain to the finish line, where my wife Naomi and I finished holding hands, much to the delight of the announcer and photographer at the finish line. My purple singlet seems to have drawn the photographer's attention even while we were waiting to start the 10K. Here's a link to the official photo site, we are recognizable in #055 and 005

By the time we finished the weather had of course cleared nicely, so we could at least enjoy the music provided by the organizers. We were wet through and through, but it was fun. Another short taxi ride back to the Princess, which was made funnier when Alice said something about the Custis Trail, and the couple with whom we were sharing the cab asked if she meant the one in Arlington, VA. Turns out they are from the DC area and knew the trail well.

Back at the Princess, an unusual opportunity presented itself. Seems Samuel Langhorne Clemens, also known as Mark Twain, was a regular visitor to the Princess. They have memorialized this with a statue which gave me a chance to imagine being able to to sit and talk with Samuel Clemens. Wouldn't that be a fascinating opportunity?

We took advantage of the nice weather on Saturday afternoon for a little tourist time, including the whale tail fountain on Front Street, a ferry ride over to Dockyard (old Navy port) and other attractions. Nice way to spend a little time before the Pasta Party, which featured some really good food. We had a couple of unusual things happen. One was a lovely lady approaching me saying "Are you the Khatmandu guy?". It was John Bingham's wife Jenny Hadfield, who was leading 76 people from Chicago Endurance Sports for the weekend. The other unique event was sitting at a table with several of the young runners from Kenya and their coach. They are all college students in the US, several at Texas Tech, doing the Bermuda event (and winning, one was 1st in the Half). Closest I'll ever be to winning a half marathon.

Sunday dawned bright, clear and sunny, temperature about 60 degrees, giving us wonderful weather for the Half Marathon. It really was fun, not flat but nothing outrageous in terms of hills. Times are not fast, Saturday due to rain, Sunday because we wound up having a great time. In addition to getting Alice and Naomi to slow down a bit for me, we also spent time stopping for pictures and visits with the locals on several occasions.

We were not first, nor last, but we definitely had a great time and enjoyed the island. May go back again, the smaller (362 in the Half, 76 in the Full) race field, change of scenery and culture. It's certainly a race worth considering, as the cost and time is not much different than going to Phoenix, Carlsbad or other races.

Here is a photo gallery - enjoy.

Tom

All three NOVA walkers "survived the Bermuda Triangle"! Times below are "gun times", using a chip at end - no chip reader at the start line.
Alice Till - - Total 4:55:03
1 Mile 11:48
10K 1:23:10
1/2 Mrthn 3:20:05
Naomi Morales - - Total 4:58:35
1Mile 11:26
10K 1:27:04
1/2 Mrthn 3:20:05
Tom Farnam - - Total 5:00:55
1 Mile 13:45 (got lost on the unmarked course)
10K 1:27:04
1/2 Mrthn 3:20:05