Hundreds of women, children, babies in strollers (and even the occasional man) braved the heat Sunday, running along the Caribbean coast through Frederiksted for the St. Croix Women’s Coalition’s 26th annual Women’s Race.
The community run, held to raise awareness of rape and domestic violence, is the brainchild of former St. Croix librarian and long-distance runner Wallace Williams, who has played a central role in its coordination for more than two decades now.
Although the route varies from year to year, Sunday’s starting line was at Buddhoe Park. The course then wound its way north through Frederiksted to Sunset Beach Condos before returning to town to finish in front of the cruise ship pier.
Ninfa Barnard, a freshman at the University of Arkansas–Pine Bluff who’s home visiting for the summer, took an early lead and won going away with a time of 12:22. This is her third time in the top three—after coming in first in 2008 and second in 2007 as a student at St. Croix Educational Complex.
Mireille Smith finished second in 13:45. Smith is Barnard’s teammate and coach with the St. Croix Track Club. Smith’s eight-year-old daughter Mikaela Smith finished a very close third in 13:59. You read that correctly: the third place winner is eight years old.
The longstanding charitable event has become a major tradition for hundreds of women in the community. From 3:30 p.m. on, they began trickling into Frederiksted, signing in and putting on their official numbers. This year, 382 participants registered for the race, Williams said afterwards. Another 86 ran without registering and dozens more just showed up to give moral support. Of those, 243 finished with official times and about another 85 finished without an official time.
The youngest registered runner to cross the finish line was seven-year-old Josephine Calhoon. The oldest was Margery Tonks, 90, and the second-oldest was Edith Gumbs, 80.
The Women’s Coalition raises funds from runners and sponsors, but really the race is about raising awareness and showing solidarity against domestic violence, said Clema Lewis of the Women’s Coalition afterward. And it is about having a fun, safe time, she said.
"We had everyone doing the Electric Slide together and the mocko jumbies were out," she said. "It was a good violence-free day of family fun, with everyone having a good time."
The race sponsors, who donate cash and materials to the St. Croix Women’s Coalition, this year included Banco Popular, Bank of St. Croix, James River Capital Corp., HH Tire and Battery, Sonya Ltd., Territory East Asset Management, ADT, AARP, Hovensa, Marshall and Sterling, Quality Auto Parts, Dr. O. Ann Treasure, Acuren Inspection and Scotiabank.
For full race results, visit www.virginislandspace.org.
