Christopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer:
Adam Stewart, executive chairman of Sandals Resort International, is recommending that a half-marathon be part of next year’s 10th anniversary staging of the Jill Stewart MoBay City Run (JSMCR) 10K/5K walk-run event, which was renamed in honour of his late wife, Jill Stewart, in 2024.
Stewart made the suggestion while addressing Monday’s media launch of the JSMCR at Sandals Montego Bay in St James, where plans were also announced for the annual sporting event to be launched in Miami and New York, in the United States, for its 10th anniversary. This year’s staging of the event will take place in Montego Bay on Sunday, May 4.
“If you say it publicly, then it has to happen, so we should make this event a half-marathon next year and bring it to the next level. I think it would really be ‘next level’ to the town of Montego Bay, so we have the 5K and the 10K walk, and we extend it to a half-marathon,” Stewart told the launch, drawing cheers of approval from the attendees.
“This will bring the ‘next level’ to the town. That is what we do: push boundaries and take it to the next level,” Stewart continued, referencing the potential impact of the proposed change to the JSMCR on Montego Bay.
A half-marathon is a road running event with a distance of approximately 21 kilometres, or 13 miles. If implemented, it would be more than double the current maximum distance of 10 kilometres covered under the JSMCR’s 10K and 5K route.
Stewart also expressed renewed appreciation to the JSMCR’s organisers for upholding the memory of Jill Stewart, who was a major supporter and contributor to the annual event prior to her death from cancer in July 2023. The run, which was launched in 2013 and was formerly named simply the MoBay City Run, was renamed in her honour in 2024.
“This event pulls our city together, and it unifies us overall. It is marrying wellness, clarity, state of mind, and, of course, benefiting education,” said Stewart. “My wife was a trained educator. She believed in education, and her passion was sport, and particularly, running. This is everything that Jill would have wanted to be a part of.”
Meanwhile, in his address at Monday’s launch, Montego Bay Mayor Richard Vernon said the week leading up to this year’s staging of the JSMCR on May 4 will be treated as a wellness week in recognition of the health and wellness aspect of the run.
“Where health is concerned, we have had some challenges, with cardiovascular disease and hypertension being among the leaders. Events like these help us to focus on health and wellness, and that is why I am happy with the new model that has been adopted for this event, where great emphasis will be placed on that component of our productivity,” said Vernon. “With the privilege I have in the office of the mayor, I want to declare the week leading up to the culmination of the run the Jill Stewart MoBay City Run Wellness Week.”
The route for this year’s 5K run and walk will see participants going from Harmony Beach Park in downtown Montego Bay, along Howard Cooke Boulevard going towards Alice Eldemire Drive, and then making a U-turn at the Coconut Drive roundabout to return to Harmony Beach Park. Participants in the 10K run will go from Harmony Beach Park to the Montego Bay Freeport Police Station and back.
