Burgette Williams 10K set for May 28

By Treiston Joseph

Organisers are ready and raring to go for the second edition of the Burgette Williams 5K and 10K road races, which will be held in conjunction with the Independence Day celebrations. The second annual event was launched on Wednesday morning at the Athletics Association of Guyana’s (AAG) Head Office in Light Street, Georgetown.

With the road race being under the name Burgette Williams-Forde, the former distance athlete who now resides in the Unites States, spoke on the event. “Well we held this event last year with the ex-athletes association, but we moved on because they have their own agenda, but the race is set and we have prizes for everyone,” Williams-Forde noted.

Williams-Forde also shared that the group is simply focused on helping athletes, but has a more instinctive approach to the process of doing such. “We are not here to step on anybody’s shoes, we know there is a lot going on here, but what we do is that if any one of us has an idea we follow it,” Williams-Forde added. 

Coach Kenrick Smith revealed that the group has its sights set on hosting inter-club relays in 2018 in conjunction with the AAG. Smith also shared that he intends to host a workshop with coaches on Friday with the aim of highlighting how to build programmes. 

Former athlete Noel Campbell also shared that his aim is to give back to small communities while Veronica Franklin noted that she will be dealing with health issues after the meet. 

The race will start and end at the Guyana National Service ground on Carifesta Avenue, with action getting underway at 06:00h. The winner of both the male and female categories will bag $40,000 each.