Jeannot Gouin wins the BDO Half Marathon. (Robert Luckock photo)
PORT De PLAISANCE--A huge turnout of athletes of all ages and abilities hit the roads on Sunday in four distance categories for the BDO Half Marathon powered by International Liquors, Trading and Tobacco (ILTT) hosted by Country Club Port de Plaisance. The four categories had different start times, the half-marathon runners taking off first.
The Half Marathon with 52 participants was won by Jeannot Gouin in 1:32:07 closely followed by Olivier Basset in second in 1:32: 41, and Dick Janssen cruised into third place in 1:34:37. The first female finisher for the Half Marathon was Laura Grattepanche in 14th place in a time of 1:49:00. Good to see Meks Teunissen, one of the youngest in this race, finishing in 43rd place.
“We started off quite slow for the half marathon, it wasn’t easy with the hills and back on the flat, said Gouin afterwards. “You had try and keep up the pace and stay mentally focused. Also the weather was quite humid. This time I was fortunate that Omarco Robinson and Gregory Pigeon were not racing.”
The 10K with 52 participants was won by Harm van Duinen in 45:01, second Olivier Lambrechts in 46:23 and third Romuald Pigeon 46:36. The first female finisher was Marine Sabot in fourth place in 49: 41.
Macclin Sheriff (17) won the 5K run in the fastest time of 20:25. Wilmer Azcarate was second in 21.13 and third went to Florence Gonon, the first female in, 25: 13. Some 57 runners took part, with two ending up disqualified.
The biggest turnout was for the 7.5K Walk with 67 walkers. This turned out to be an amazing battle for first place, the win going to Frederic Houilliez in 51:39 followed one second later by Anne Jacques in second (51:40) and Danny Borda third (52.24).
Of note was the performance by the Daily Herald’s Gordon Snow powering into seventh place in a time of 56:10. Avid walker Sarah Wescot-Williams also participated coming in 13th in 1:02:36.
A total of 229 athletes took part in the event. Some participants cane from Saba, Aruba, Belgium, and the USA.
“The French and Dutch side police did a fantastic job helping out, it really felt like a joint collaboration,” said St. Maarten Road Runners President, Krispijn Teunissen. “And of course this event would not be possible without the support of all our sponsors and volunteers who we are super appreciative of.”
The Daily Herald’s Gordon Snow crosses the finish line after completing the 7.5K Walk. (Milton Pieters Photo)
Laura Grattepanche celebrates as she crosses the finish banner as first woman to finish the Half Marathon. (Robert Luckock photo)
