Centerline Road from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay will be closed during parts of Saturday morning so runners participating in the 18th annual 8 Tuff Miles race can safely get from one end of the island to the other.
Jeff Miller, a member of the race organizing committee, said the Cruz Bay end of Centerline Road will be closed at 7:10 a.m., just before the 7:15 race start.
He said Centerline Road going west from Coral Bay toward Cruz Bay will be closed shortly after the race starts to assure the road down to Coral Cay is clear through the construction zone. It will reopen by 10:30 a.m. at the latest.
The road will be reopened from the Cruz Bay end of Centerline Road as the runners pass by on their way toward Coral Bay.
Miller acknowledged it’s a big inconvenience to close the only paved road in and out of Coral Bay.
“Certainly the race organizers appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding that safety is of utmost concern,” Miller said.
About 1,300 runners are expected to participate, Miller said.
It’s not too late to sign up. Miller said people who want to make the 8.38-mile track from Cruz Bay to Coral Bay have until 8 p.m. Thursday to register. The fee is $50. There will be no registration Friday or race day.
The race begins at the V.I. National Park Visitor Center, heads up the road past Boulon Center and on to Centerline all the way to Coral Bay. It ends at the Coral Bay ballfield.
Miller said the only new challenge on the course comes from the two locations where crews are making major repairs to the road just outside Coral Bay. However, he said that by the time the racers get to those locations, the pack will have thinned the area will be easy to navigate.
The awards ceremony will be held at 3:30 p.m. at Mongoose Junction shopping center in Cruz Bay.
Water stations staffed by volunteers are located at frequent intervals along the route, Miller said. “There’s more than one per mile.”
He expects participants from 43 states, Washington, D.C., Canada, Germany, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.
Since the event began, Miller said there were 8,111 finishes.
“Some people finished multiple times,” Miller said.
In 2013, Ruth Ann David of St. Thomas took top honors for women with a time of 58 minutes and 49 seconds. David Riddle of Cincinnati was the fastest man with a time of 45 minutes and 46 seconds. It took three hours and 11 minutes for the slowest person to reach the finish.
For more information, visit the website www.8tuffmiles.com.
