Get Ready To Run Barbados

It will soon be On Your Mark, Get Set, Go! in Barbados!

Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. is upbeat about the Dec. 7-9 Run Barbados festival, which features a one-mile walk, and 5K, 10K and half-marathon running races .

The festival is a celebration of athleticism in a destination best known for its sun-splashed beaches.

“I think Run Barbados has been a very attractive option for Canadian runners,” says Peter Mayers, director of Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc.’s Canadian office. “We’re trying to position this as the best way to end your year of running – end with the best.

“It remains a staple on the calendar,” he says. “We want to show how the island is able to put together this world-class event.”

The Canada Running Series, which organizes running races across this country, is involved with Run Barbados and will have Canadian Olympians Natasha Wodak and Sasha Gollish again competing this year.

Runners of all levels are invited to participate.

Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. is hosting a contest that gives travel agents from this country a chance to win a five-night trip for two to Barbados during Run Barbados. They can participate if they wish but Mayers adds they don’t have to, and can open their travel to other dates in 2019.

The winner will stay at the Courtyard by Marriott, found on the southern part of the island.

Mayers says the winner will see other parts of his destination, including its varied coasts, among them the east coast, which he praises for it “pristine beaches” and which attracts surfers. The west coast – sometimes called the Platinum Coast – has more tranquil water.

Other island highlights include Harrison’s Cave, a remarkable underground cave system that visitors explore by tram. Another subterranean experience is Animal Flower Cave, which Mayers says has visitors “descend 20 to 25 steps and experience a cave that pretty much looks out onto the north side of the island.

“Barbados has some of the most beautiful, pristine beaches in the Caribbean because we’re not a volcanic island,” he says. “We expose visitors to some wonderful beaches.”

And those beaches may be appreciated by Run Barbados entrants who may want to cool off after crossing the finish lines, he continues.

“There’s a beautiful strip of beach immediately adjacent to the finish,” he reports. “That [jumping into the ocean] is an option for people who finish their run.

“They can run and then have some fun.”

To enter the contest answer the following question online at http://promo.baxter.net/contest/barbados.asp and answer the skill-testing question. (http://www.runbarbados.org) (http://www.visitbarbados.org)