When race organizer Zary Evelyn reps Run Barbados at international marathons, people are always drawn to the famously sunny and friendly destination.
“So, we lead in with Barbados, and then you convince them to come for the run,” Evelyn told me as we sat at the George Washington Coffee House in Bridgetown, Barbados. “The run is sort of like the deal clincher. The reason why they choose Barbados over somewhere else.”
Indeed, during my five days in Barbados, I could see why runners from around the world would be attracted to the scenic island. Especially since Run Barbados makes it worth travelers’ while by offering a three-day event.
“It’s come for a holiday and indulge your passion for your sport at the same time,” said Evelyn. “So, it’s not geared primarily at elites.”
This year, the event kicks off on Friday, December 6, with a nighttime one-mile fun run around the historic Garrison Savannah. In the early 1800s, Royal Engineers drained a swamp to become a parade ground for soldiers. Now, Garrison Savannah is the island’s horse racetrack.
“You come dressed up in fluorescent colors,” Kamal Springer, manager for sports tourism at Barbados Tourism Marketing, Inc., told me. “You have music, food, drinks. We try to make it more of a fun opening to the activity.” The 2023 race marked the run’s 40th year and involved lots of glow sticks.
Saturday and Sunday, runners move to the rugged and hilly east coast for longer races. On Saturday, they can choose between a 5K or 10K. On Sunday, the options are a half or full marathon.
“If you do all three days, you get special challenge medals,” Evelyn said.
For the fun mile, 10K, and marathon, you get a gold challenge medal. Runners win silver by either combining the mile, 5K, and marathon or the mile, 10K, and half. For the bronze, runners must complete the mile, 5K, and half marathon.
“But you get a medal in any case for every race,” Zary said. Medal collectors will love Run Barbados.
Before COVID-19, Run Barbados was the Caribbean’s biggest running event, with 2,765 participants in 2019. Now, it’s climbing back up toward pre-pandemic numbers. Most of the visiting runners come from North America and the Caribbean. Springer hopes the new Barbados Tourism Marketing, Inc. office opened in Panama last year will attract more Latin American runners.
“We know that Ecuadorians and Colombians typically are long runners, so we’ll try to encourage more of them to come,” said Springer. “And then Panama has a close tie with Barbados, so we’ll try there as well.”
Wherever you’re from, if you want to roll sun, water sports, Caribbean food, and music into your running vacation, start planning for December 6-8.
Disclaimer: While this article was not sponsored, Outdoors Wire did visit Barbados during a press trip with Visit Barbados. As always, Outdoors Wire operates independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.