On Super Bowl Sunday, representatives of seventy-four six-person squads gathered in the predawn darkness to begin an early morning struggle that would take participants from Gun Bay in the east to Smith’s Cove in the west.

The occasion was the annual presentation of the Cross Island Relay, sponsored by FIDELITY and organized by the Hash House Harriers.

Various strategies were included in team game plans.Some would gallop,while others would run,stride,dash,or simply move along the 24-mile course.

The starting lineups included lobsters,panthers,antelopes,mules, and donkeys-all hoping to defeat the bulldogs. Pink Panthers, Purple Donuts, Red Sail Sports and Mixed Racers added colour to the scene.

Chronologically,team members ranged from Hatchlings to Forty and Flat Out to Oldies to Grumpy Old Men.Geographically,included were Swiss,Yanks, Brits, Limeys and AONians.

Weather conditions at start time boded well for the race westward, but shortly thereafter a light rain began to fall. There was little effect on the competition,but shortly after daybreak Mother Nature turned perverse and some runners from the Blow Holes to Frank Sound and others from Frank Sound to Bodden Town were treated to complimentary showers from torrential downpours.

Jonathan Shillito of the KPMG New Crew led all  runners through the first exchange zone,with the British Bulldogs a minute and a half back and the Hash another thirty seconds further back.

Tom Gammage’s effort moved the Bulldogs to the fore at Frank Sound and Mike McDonald pushed the Pace Makers into the runnerup spot as KPMG dropped  to third,while Beth Schreader’s speedy contribution brought the Sole Sisters up to the fourth spot.

Marius Acker turned on the jets and set a torrid pace with the fastest run  of the day to give the Pace Makers the lead at the halfway point. The Bulldogs dropped back to the runnerup position,while Megan Kounnas moved the Sole Sisters up to third.Strong running by Tristan von Kirchenheim  took the Middle Distance Runners up to fourth.

David Shibli Sr. overtook Sylvester Dube of the Pace Makers to give the Bulldogs the lead again at the end of leg 4,as Tracey Walker kept the Sole Sisters in third, while KPMG surged back to fourth thanks to Grant Cellier.

Derek Larner maintained the Bulldog lead over the Pace Makers going into the final leg,while a temporary switch of allegiance saw David Shibli Sr. moving the Hash House Harriers into third over the Sole Sisters and Lauretta Bennett.Claire Critchley brought Time Wounds All Heels into fifth position.

Chadwick Webster celebrated his birthday in fine fashion as he ran the second fastest time for the day while anchoring the British Bulldogs to victory in 2:31:54. Pace Makers were second at 2:34:11,followed by Hash House Harriers (2:48:05),Sole Sisters (2:51:12) and Middle Distance Runners (2:51:34).

Rounding out the first ten finishing teams–Time Wounds All Heels (2:51:52), The Running Demons (2:55:05), KPMG New Crew (2:57:40), Roadkill (2:58:40), PwC Dream Team (2:59:50).

Fastest All Female Teams–Sole Sisters (2:51:12), Moms on the Run (3:14:38), Forty and Flatout (3:23:09)

Fastest Corporate Teams–KPMG New Crew (2:57:40), PwC Dream Team (2:59:34), Galloping Genesis (3:05:15),Maples Movers (3:05:33), Red Sail Sports (3:07:39)

Ten Fastest Male Finishers–Marius Acker (23:34), Chadwick Webster (24:01), David Shibli Sr. (24:30), Jonathan Shillito (24:39), Ray Welds (24:43), Stephen Peel (25:24), Derek Larner (25:26), Johan Heath (25:30), Tristan von Kirchenheim (25:49), Neal Coleman (25:52)

Ten Fastest Female Finishers–Beth Schreader (26:27),Claire Critchley (27:14), Megan Kounnas (28:04), Leigh Telrow (28:26), Julie-Anne Pearson (28:35), Tarrah Crowley (28:48), Megan Kelly (28:50), Jennifer Smith (28:52), Lauretta Bennett (29:00),Pam Abbott (29:08)

Fastest Runners Each Leg

• Leg 1-Jonathan Shillito      24:39
• Leg 2-Johan Heath           25:30
• Leg 3-Marius Acker          23:34
• Leg 4-David Shibli Sr.       24:30
• Leg 5-Derek Larner          25:26
• Leg 6-Chadwick Webster   24:01