The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE numbers may have dwindled, but the competition was still intense as the Alumni Association of St Augustine’s College held its Annual Uncle Lou 10K Fun Run/Walk Race.

The Saturday morning early riser began in front of the Straw Market on Bay Street and ended up in front of the St Augustine’s College administration office where the late Adderley, a deacon in the Roman Catholic Church, served as the first Bahamian principal and the athletic director.

It came down to a sprint for the first place finisher overall as Ramon Williams beat out the younger Glenroy McKenzie to win the men’s title in the run, while Suzanna Eneas tried to keep up with the pacesetters as she easily took the women’s crown.

Williams, competing in the event for the first time, stopped the clock in 39.49 seconds to edge out McKenzie, who trailed in 49.5.

“It was very taxing on my body, but I pulled through,” said the 27-year-old Williams, who improved on his second place finish in his previous two races he had this year. “It was good. Glenroy pushed me the whole way. We were supposed to win together, but I pulled through somehow.”

McKenzie, 19, was making his second appearance in the race and he was pleased with his performance despite getting edged out at the end.

“He pushed me. I hung on and tried to finish as hard as I could,” said McKenzie, who got lost when he competed in the race for the first time. “I did the best that I could. He was good. It was good competition from start to finish.”

For Eneas, who won the ladies’ title for the first time last year after losing to Yunelis Lightbourne in her debut two years ago, had a personal best of 44.19 as she used the event as a tune up for her participation along with her training partner Ryan Bethell for the Boston Marathon next month.

“It was a tough course. Village Road is actually a hill. When you drive it, you don’t realise it, but when you run it, you feel it,” she said.

“Plus we had the two bridges on Paradise Island so it was truly a tough 10K to run. It was exciting and I enjoyed it.”

Instead of running, former champion Mackey Williams decided to walk to preserve his energy for his participation in a half marathon this weekend at Taino Beach in Grand Bahama.

“The walk was good,” said Mackey, who turns 49 on April 9. “There wasn’t any competition for me as such, so I just tried to stay ahead of the field and cruise along the course.”

While she also opted not to run, Yunelis Lightbourne had a tough race on her hand as she held off former champion Eve Maycock-Dorsett for the women’s title in the walk.

“It was an excellent walk, the weather was pretty good. It was very favourable for runners mostly, but this year I decided to walk because I’m nursing an injury,” said the 42-year-old Lightbourne. “It’s always nice and always good to come out and support events like this in the community, which brings us together in the sport and for healthy lifestyle.”

Uncle Lou, as he was affectionately called, was represented by his daughter Daria Adderley, a physical education teacher and coach at SAC, who also participated in the walk. She expressed their gratitude on behalf of her mother and sister for the familiar faces who returned to compete in the event for another year as they keep her father’s memory alive.However, Godfrey ‘Steven’ Robinson, SAC’s Alumni Association president, said it was disheartening to see the numbers in terms of the participants continue to drop year after year for a man who has done so much, not just at SAC, but in society and the Catholic Church.

“I was disappointed in the very low turnout, but I don’t think it’s because of a lack of promotions,” said Robinson, a member of SAC’s Class of 1985.

“Regardless of how many people show up, we still put all of our efforts into putting on a first-class event.

“We had Aliv sponsor four cell phones, we had gift certificates from John Bull sponsored by the Class of 2001, Bahamas Wholesale was back with their products, Aquapure water, Vitamalt, Desani water and alumni Pete Rolle from the Class of 1984 got his companies Wicom Bahamas Limited and Networkaz Solutions Limited to support the event.”

Robinson, however, said they are hoping that they can get the base of the classes from 1986 and beyond to come out and support the event in the future because that was when Adderley made his contribution to SAC and the Big Red Machine’s sporting programme. He said they even contacted the Catholic Church for their support, but it was minimal.

Chad Rutherford, a member of the 1986 graduating class, only arrived in town last week from his residence in Houston, Texas, but when he heard about the race, he decided to come out, even if it was just to show his support for Adderley and to renew some of the friendships he developed as a student at SAC.

“It is a pleasure to see the legacy being continued. It’s a joy. I feel it in my soul and I want to be a part of this in the future,” he said. “I will come out every year and support it. I was involved in pushing out an album for a group that I’m involved in as a part of a concert. Hopefully next year, I can line up some music around this.”

As usual, the Bahamas Association of Certified Officials, which was formed by the late Adderley in 1976, was out in full force to officiate the event.