This past Sunday marked the 3rd annual Off The Beaten Track 50k ultra-marathon. This year’s race attracted over 100 participants consisting of 17 relay teams and 9 individual runners.  This one of a kind trail run which kicked off at 6.30am is unique to Cayman, as it ventures ‘off the beaten track’ on the beach, dirt roads, through brush and even water crossings.

Ken Krys, CEO of KRyS Global and founder of the race, was very proud of all the participants.  “This is the third year for Off The Beaten Track and I am very happy with the outcome.  Every year the route changes and gives runners the opportunity to see parts of Cayman they are probably not familiar with”, Krys said.

“This year we made the course a little more challenging incorporating the kayak challenge in the 6th leg of the race, so that added a whole new element to the race”.  KRyS Global also had a relay team, with Krys himself finishing the last leg of the race.

The course was 50 kilometres long and covered different areas of the island, including: Seven Mile Beach, George Town, South Sound, Airport/industrial park area, Safehaven and West Bay.  Since the race is broken up into 6 parts, each relay team member runs approximately 8.3K.

For those that ran the race as an individual runner, this is a particularly a tough feat. The fastest male individual runner was Conrad Proud crossing the finish line with a time of 5:06:15, picking up his baby girl and crossing the line with her in his arms.  Proud also participated last year as part of the winning relay team, Beer Me.

The fastest female individual runner was Elizabeth Berns with an amazing finishing time of 6:18:50.  This is her second year winning as the fastest individual female runner.

The first relay team to reach the finish line in 3 hours, 43 minutes and 24 seconds was The Leftovers.  Team members included: Marius Acker, Chris Rose, Jonathan Shillito, Tristan Von Kirchenheim, Carl Grant and Ray Welds.  Welds ran the last leg, being the first runner of the day to complete the race.

The fasted coed relay team was Marco’s Marauders finishing in 4:20:47.  This team included: Marlon Crowe, Marco Miranda, Gabriela Davies, Martin Davies, Roger Davies and Sam Ellis.

The Ogiers Girls, who have participated all three years, finished the race with a time of 4:47:57.  The ‘girls’ consisted of Lisa Kehoe, Claire Lloyd-Hickey, Dawn Kirton, Kirsten McMillan, Pat McCallum and Claire Hughes.

There was also an award given to the top corporate relay team, RBC Wealth Management, finishing in 4:50:03.  Their runners included: George Carvallho, Jana Heath, Graham Coleman, Marius Deysel, Marco Gasper and Johan Heath.

Governor Duncan Taylor also had a relay team, the Governor’s Office, finishing overall third place with a finishing time of 4:26:11.  Governor Taylor ran leg 1 of the race throughout Safehaven and parts of Seven Mile Beach.

This year’s proceeds are going to benefit Facing Africa, Cayman’s ARK and the School of Fitness.  Facing Africa is a charity dedicated to helping children in Nigeria and Ethiopia who suffer from a disease, NOMA.  Cayman’s ARK also had two relay teams participate in the race.

“Being able to help out these charities and organisations is very rewarding…that is what the race is all about,” Krys stated.  “We had tremendous support from the local community.  We would also like to give a huge thanks to all of the volunteers, the race could not take place without them.”

Off The Beaten Track had donations from many organisations and individuals, including main sponsors: KRyS Global, Tower Marketing, BrownRudnick, Conyer, Dill & Pearman, Caymanian Compass, and Ritch & Conolly.   They also had volunteer photographers assisting: Jenn Smith, Ioto Iotov and Colleen Stoezel.