Team Diabetes is a fundraising programme for the Canadian Diabetes Association where people can walk, run, hike, or bike in events in British Columbia, across Canada or around the world. And around the world includes the Cayman Islands.

Team Diabetes brought a contingent of 100-plus runners with their supporters last year to the Intertrust Cayman Islands Marathon who ran to raise funds for diabetes education and services in Canada.

This is the third consecutive year they have taken part.

“A big part of the Team Diabetes programme is the participant experience,” says Fred DeFina, the Canadian Diabetes Association’s director of community giving.

“It is important that our participants and guests have a great experience from the initial landing at Owen Roberts International Airport – which included a special marathon immigration line that the race directors organized – to the hotel experience to the venues where we chose to host our team functions. All the venues and amenities in Cayman are first-class and ensured that our participants and guests had the experience of a lifetime.

“In addition, we found the Cayman Islands Marathon to be well organized and the staff and organizers are easy to work with and very supportive. All our participants were treated like athletes and made to feel special and the volunteers and water stations were terrific.”

Race director Rhonda Kelly of Kelly Holding Ltd. said: “We are so happy that the Team Diabetes group had such a wonderful time here in Cayman that they have decided to join us yet again. We, along with our amazing volunteers, do our very best to make all the runners feel welcome and enjoy the warmth and friendliness for which the Cayman Islands is known.

“Repeat visitors such as the Team Diabetes tell us that our efforts have definitely paid off. We are grateful for their endorsement of the event, and we are looking forward to hosting Fred and his group again this year and hopefully many years to come.”

The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism’s Canada office has been instrumental in marketing the event across the country, at races such as the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon and Ottawa Army Run and Ottawa Marathon. The result has been a marked increase in runners from Canada. Kelly also credits the additional airline seats from Canada that Canadian-based airline WestJet provides since it started flying to Cayman three years ago.

“We are so grateful for the Department of Tourism’s support in providing marketing opportunities for our race, and facilitating our relationships with groups such as Team Diabetes,” said Kelly.

“We hope to increase the profile of our race and see a lot more fundraising groups join us as a result of this successful partnership with the Department of Tourism. It is about building momentum and consistency with these groups. If they have good experiences, they will grow their group as Team Diabetes did, and also spread the word to other clubs and organizations.”

The 2013 Intertrust Cayman Islands Marathon will take place on Sunday, 1st December 2013. 5:00am

The Intertrust Cayman Islands Marathon is run every year in early December. It is a looped course which takes participants along the waterfront of George Town, the capital of the Cayman Islands, into the residential area of South Sound which boasts multi-million dollar homes and dazzling views of the ocean and then into the financial district and along the waterfront once again.

The race begins at Breezes By The Bay Restaurant on Harbour Drive and you will run through South Church Street into South Sound and then onto Old Prospect Road to Prospect Point which is designated the Turnaround Point.  There you will turn around and run back using the same route and then turn onto Walkers Road where you will continue until you come to Hinds Way where you will turn right and continue onto Academy Way back to Walkers Road.  You will continue on Walkers Road until you come to the 4-way stop at Hospital Road.  You will turn left onto Hospital Road and then onto Elgin Avenue in front of the Government Administration Bldg, and run through George Town toward the Town Clock, turning left and continuing to the stop light on Harbour Drive (near Senor Frog’s) and turn left and return to the Start/Finish line at Breezes By The Bay.  Full marathoners do it all over again!

For more information go to:

http://www.caymanislandsmarathon.com/