Edwards, Cole win Fidelity series opener

By Cayman Sports Buzz
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Updated: 11 September 2017

Nearly 170 runners took part in the series opener.

William Edwards powered to the finish line on Denham Thompson Way to win the opening race of the 2017 Fidelity Health Fun Series on 9 September, while his 345 Athletic Club teammate Tiffany Cole was comfortably the first female finisher.

The two-mile race set off from Walkers Road outside the Cayman Islands Further Education Centre (CIFEC) campus towards South Sound, turning right onto South Sound Road then up South Church Street and turning onto Denham Thompson way for the finish.

William Edwards won comfortably in the end.

“It was good today. It was a little windy coming down South Sound but I did what I wanted to do. I executed pretty well and I feel it went well overall,” said Edwards.

However, Edwards was made to work with Okeve Hamilton starting strong and maintaining the lead for the majority of the race until Edwards took control towards the end.

“The first mile, I just wanted to take it out easy and then the next mile I just wanted to push and see what I could do but one guy was about 80 metres ahead of me after the first mile, so I sort of had to do some work on the back stretch to catch him down South Sound,” said Edwards, who finished in 10 minutes 56 seconds, the only runner to go under 11 minutes.

Hamilton was second in 11:05.8, just ahead of ever-improving youngster Levi Superville third (11:09.4). Andrew Keast (11:25.6) and Sherlock Brooks (11:28.0) rounded out the top five, giving 345 Athletic Club as sweep of the top positions.

Meantime, defending women’s champion Cole was among the top 20 finishers overall, as she easily won the women’s race in 12:20.7. “With it being breezy, I thought it would have had an impact on my race timewise but it didn’t. I just ran a personal best of 12:20, five seconds better than I did last year,” she said happily in a post-race interview with CaymanSportsBuzz.com.

“I was trying to keep up with the guys but at the same time, I was watching my clock. I wasn’t thinking about the ladies that much, and just focusing on myself and trying to get myself to where I want to be,” Cole said, adding that her aim is to dip below the 12-minute mark.

L-R: Ava Hider and Tiffany Cole

Second among the females was another 345 AC runner in Ava Hider, who crossed the finish in 13:19.9. Triathlete Nadine Gray was third in 13:45.3. Last year’s runner-up, Molly Kehoe was fourth in this year’s opener with a time of 13:56.2 and Emily Harrison was fifth in 14:30.0.

Both Edwards and Cole said they were happy with what they showed in the opening race and were upbeat about what’s in store for the remainder of the series.

“I feel pretty confident about the next two weeks. I’ve put in the miles over the summer and I’m just hoping it reflects [in my performance] over the next couple of weeks,” Edwards said.

Cole said despite having a slight hamstring strain, she felt great. “I was running well, I didn’t feel any pain. So, I’m psyched for the next two races and hopefully I’ll PB in each one.”

Click here for results of the first race. The second race of the series takes place this Saturday, 16 September, on the same route starting at 7:30 p.m.