TORTOLA, BVI – Mar 7, 2019—On Sunday, March 10th, the British Virgin Islands will welcome more than 30 world-class runners—ages seven to 81—for the O’Neal Webster BVI Marathon, one of six locations and seven marathons on the Eastern Caribbean leg of their quest to run a marathon in every country of the world. The Tortola stop on the trip, organized by Z Adventures, is hosted by BVI Runners and sponsored by the O’Neal Webster law firm. Plenty of local marathon runners are expected to take part in the race alongside the marathon globetrotters.
Sunday’s group includes runners from around the world with exceptional running resumes. Nine of the 12 runners who have completed a marathon in 100-plus countries will be part of the challenge. Combined, the runners have completed over 4,000 marathons in 180-plus countries around the world.
Founder and CEO of Z Adventures, Ziyad Rahim, stated: “We have a star-studded line up of marathon globetrotters on this trip. The oldest competitor is 81 years young and the field includes ten World Record holders in various categories. Runners on the trip have run marathons all over the world. However, these are all new countries for them, and they are eagerly looking forward to this adventure. We hope local runners will take part as well, as it would be a great experience for them to meet our group. All our runners are amateurs. Some are doctors, lawyers, teachers, diplomats, and bankers. But we all have one thing in common: The love for travel and running. In short, we are a United Nations of runners, hopping from island to island, country to country, and sharing the tarmac with like-minded people all over the world.”
The Eastern Caribbean Challenge will start with a marathon in Guadeloupe on March 8th. Runners will then board the cruise ship COSTA MAGICA and run the second marathon on a 183m running track on the cruise ship while traveling to the British Virgin Islands. The ship marathon entails running 233 rounds of the track; possibly the hardest of the races due to repetition and moving ship.
On Mar 10th, they will reach the British Virgin Islands and take part in the O’Neal Webster Marathon. Runners will start on the Road Town waterfront between the cruise ship pier and admin building near Pancake Paradise and continue on a course of 20 loops between the Pier Park and around QE2 park. Local BVI runners are welcome to join for all or part of the marathon. The O’Neal Webster Marathon water stop will be set up at the QE2 park in the shade, manned by volunteers from the BVI Runners, O’Neal Webster, and Cedar School students.
After BVI, the runners will sail towards the beautiful islands of St. Maarten and run the marathon on the French-side of the island. The final three races of the challenge will take place in Dominica, St. Vincent, and Martinique.
About Z Adventures
Z Adventures, founded in 2015 by Ziyad Rahim, aims to organize bespoke running adventures around the world. Participants seek to run a marathon in as many countries as they can.
About O’Neal Webster
Since its establishment on Tortola in 1989, O’Neal Webster has held a commitment to providing high-quality legal counsel, serving the British Virgin Islands and international clients in complex commercial litigation; corporate, banking, finance, and investment funds; trusts and estates; intellectual property protection; real estate transactions; admiralty and shipping; and corporate restructuring and insolvency matters. The firm has offices in Road Town, Tortola, BVI; London, UK; and New York, NY, U.S.