George Jules took the early lead Sunday in the 26th Virgin Islands Half-Marathon–The Race Against Drugs, and held it to the end and became a multiple winner of the race with a time of 1 hour 15 minutes and 40 seconds.
For the first time the race started and finished at the Sunterra Carambola Beach Resort, the host for the event, and traveled east to Salt River Road and back. The early morning start on the scenic route provided a challenging head wind at Rust Op Twist, the four mile mark.
By that time Jules, a strong hill runner, was well ahead of Calvin Dallas and Marlon Williams, both also multiple winners of the event over the years. The race for second place between Williams and Dallas was a repeat of the classic meeting of these two, with Williams running conservatively throughout and closing to take the spot with about a half mile to go with a time of 1:20.47 to 1:21.02 for Dallas. Leopold Frederick had a very strong performance with a time of 1:27.22.
Jackie Morgan, a sophomore at the University of New Mexico and a St. Croix Country Day School grad, repeated her first place female performance of 1998 with a strong 1:32.12. The race is held in St. Croix on even numbered years and St. Thomas on odd numbered years. Morgan made the trip to St. Croix especially for the race and finished fifth overall. Theresa Harper took second in her first effort at the longer distance, in 1:43.50; Jo Shim was third in 1:44.06 to become the Master Female winner.
The Finishers Male: 1. George Jules 1:15.40; 2. Marlon Williams 1:20.47; 3. Calvin Dallas 1:21.02; 4. Leopold Fredericks 1:27.22; 5. George Cannon 1:32.39; 6. Kevin Burton 1:39.25; 7. Gunnar Sanden 1:40.45; 8. Jamie Bate 1:43.57; 9. Doug Brown 1:46.59; 10. Will Franks 1:53.11; 11. Rey Ruiz 1:54.33; 12. Owen Elliot 1:55.46; 13. Van Wood 1:56.37; 14. Wes Whitehurst 1:56.55; 15. Roger Hatfield 2:03.22; 16. Jesus Espinosa 2:05.39; 17. Paul Radix 2:16.48; 18.
The Finishers Female: 1. Jackie Morgan 1:32.12; 2. Theresa Harper 1:43.50; 3. Jo Shim 1:44.06; 4. Grace Toma 1;51.19; 5. Cathy Mc Murtrie 1:59.22; 6. Denise Blanchette 2:01.31; 7. Anna Kowalski 2:16.48; 8. Lorraine Durand 2:21.28
Age Group Results Male: . 30-39 1. George Jules; 2. Leopold Fredericks; 3. Kevin Burton 40-49 1. Marlon Williams; 2. Calvin Dallas; 3. George Cannon 50-59 1. Doug Brown; 2. Will Franks; 3. Rey Ruiz 60+ 1. Gunnar Sanden
Age Group Results Female: 20-29 1. Jackie Morgan; 30-39 1. Theresa Harper; 2. Grace Toma; 3. Kathy McMurtrie 40-49 1. Jo Shim 50-59 1. Anna Kowalski; 2. Lorraine Durand
The next event on the V.I. Pace schedule is The St. Croix Metric Mile on Dec. 10 at 5 p.m. For more information call V.I. Pace Runners at 777-0258 or click here.
