Jill Stewart MoBay City Run has seen a meteoric rise in entries, with women doubling their participation for the start of the race on Sunday, May 5, 2024.
Race Director Janet Silvera credits the increase to a new level of awareness of Jamaicans, instigated by the involvement of several of the islands’ top athletic talents and artistes.
According to Silvera, on Wednesday (May 1, 2034), two days before Friday’s cut-off date, approximately 4,000 entrants have already been received, with the number of women scheduled to participate increasing more than 100 per cent.
“We improved our marketing this year because we were competing with another run. We had athletes Shericka Jackson, Megan Tapper, Asafa Powell and his wife Alyshia, and artistes Agent Sasco, Tarrus Riley and Benzly Hype, helping us to get the word out.
“We did a lot of work this year for Jill Stewart MoBay City Run because we knew we had competition. It inspired us. For us not to lose people who we felt would have attended this… race, we engaged popular social media people,” she said.
Silvera contends that the event adopting the Jill Stewart name this year also figured in the increase in participants, with many individuals becoming affectionately close to her during her year-long battle with cancer before her passing in July.
Stewart was the wife of Sandals Resorts International and Appliance Traders Group Executive Chairman Adam Stewart.