Run Barbados: Sun, sea, beer and rum, and three days of running in the blistering Caribbean heat

Picture the scene; the finish line in sight, crowds either side cheer and applaud.

Calves, hips, ankles, soles, knees and lower back no longer ache, while that cheese-grater of a freebie technical t-shirt rubbing against your nipples turns to velvet, as the fire in your burning lungs is put out by the encouragement of strangers.

And then… the real reason for the whoops from the sidelines.

You see, it isn’t me they are willing towards the finish line.

Out of nowhere, a little girl, who can’t be more than 12 years of age, sprints past on my right and gobbles up the ground to the tape.

If this was a cartoon, I’d be choking on the smoke in her wake. I’m Wile E. Coyote, outsmarted once again by the Roadrunner, just waiting for the anvil to fall on my head.

As I cross the line, she has vanished.

What a shame. Come the Olympics in eight or 12 years’ time, when a Barbadian runner lands a podium finish in the 5,000m, I’ll never know if she was the young girl that overtook me at the death in Barclays Park on the east coast of this beautiful Caribbean island.

But I’ll claim an assist, regardless, in this future champion’s development into a world-class athlete.

Stills taken from an effort to record my finish to the 5k - From top left: turns camera to self, it's so f**king hot!; it's a clear road to the line; wait... what's that?; there's no catching that future Olympian!
(Image: Mark McCadden)

There are no Olympic or Diamond League performances on my horizon.

But I’ll settle for a few more finisher’s medals in 2025, as I continue my side-gig to this writing business as an average runner, running average times over average distances.

I’ll tell you one thing, though, when it comes to an experience, it won’t get much better than last month’s trip to Barbados.

The pitch: Fly to the Caribbean for six nights; all you have to do in return is a bit of running.

And so we landed on this tropical paradise, ready to take part in the Run Barbados Marathon Weekend. Three days, five distances and plenty of rum and sea water paddling to speed up recovery.

There was no obligation to take part in three days of events, but the organisers, realising that the running community was basically made up of magpies, grabbing at as many shiny things as possible, offered an extra bit of bling for anyone who completed all three.

We had:

The Bronze Challenge - Fun Mile, 5k and half-marathon
The Silver Challenge - Fun Mile, 10k and half-marathon
The Gold Challenge - Fun Mile, 10k and full marathon.





It was all worth it for these four gorgeous Run Barbados medals!
(Image: Mark McCadden)

Yours truly opted for Bronze. Were it not for a series of injuries and an absence from the running scene of almost 18 months, we might have been a little more ambitious.

The Fun Mile took place at the Garrison Savannah, the home of horse racing in Barbados, and the 8pm run took place long after sunset.

Ahead of the Run Barbados Fun Mile
(Image: Mark McCadden)

Don’t be fooled by the absence of that bright yellowy thing in the sky - temperatures here rarely move outside of a 28-32 degree zone, regardless of the time of day or night, so one mile was more than enough to get the sweat glands working overtime.

I took it handy enough, as I was still unsure of the structural integrity of my lower limbs, and there were two more races yet to come.

That yellow orb was glaring down at us the next day, when the 5k and 10k runs were held under the blistering evening sunshine. If I ever find a sauna big enough to run around, I’m sure it wouldn’t be much different to this.

So, when that little girl raced past me metres from the line, there was nothing left in the tank to catch her.

Lining up at the start of the 5k run
(Image: Mark McCadden)






Ahead of the 5k, from left-to-right: Pat, Hannah, Cloda, Adam, Tanya and Chima
(Image: Cloda Scanlon)

My paces for the Mile and the 5k were 5:05-per-kilometre and 5:12-per-kilometre respectively.

As I wrote earlier, average runner, average times. But I was happy enough in the conditions, and in the knowledge that the half-marathon was just over 12 hours away.

A little dip in the sea afterwards and a couple of beers to aid recovery, and then it was back to our hotel and off to bed for an early night.

Recovering after the 5k run
(Image: Mark McCadden)

Alarm clocks were set for 3.30am and breakfast (porridge and coffee) was served in the same bar that, thanks to our all-inclusive stay, was home to a constantly restocked fridge of Banks, the local lager.

Some late-night revellers wandered in with pizzas and shot us strange looks as they grabbed as many cans as they could carry, before retreating to their bedrooms.

We made it back to Barclays Park ahead of the 5.30am start, did a few stretches and, before we knew it, we were away.

There was no escaping the heat, despite the early start, and once the sun appeared over the Atlantic horizon, not long into the race, it was a case of head down and get on with it.

We took a left at one point and moved inland, facing the island’s hilly terrain head-on, but never quite making it to anything like a steep incline.

As the heat intensified, the vest came off. At first, I tucked it into my shorts. Meanwhile, at each of the many water stations, I grabbed a cup, took a sip and poured the rest over my head.

Getting hot as the sun rises during the half marathon
(Image: Mark McCadden)

There rarely seemed to be more than a kilometre or two between stations, so to put the heat and growling ferocity of the sun into context, my hair was almost fully dry by the time I reached the next one.

I decided then to wear my vest like a scarf, wrapped around the back of my neck, and started to pour water on it. That helped cool things down.

Ultimately, this was the slowest half marathon I’d ever done by over 20 minutes, but getting to the finish line gave such a feeling of euphoria that the time (2:15:38, or 6:25-per-km) didn’t matter.

Adding to the good vibes were the distractions along the way - the beautiful landscape and the ocean views, as well as the support from locals and a handful of goats.

When it comes to support during the Run Barbados half marathon, these little fellas were the GOAT
(Image: Mark McCadden)

Many of those looking on were in their Sunday finest, on their way to mass in one of the many beautiful churches we passed during the run.

Just one member of our group opted for the Gold Challenge, including the full marathon, and that was a Newport-born travel agent, also called Mark.

Mark Gardner from Newport and Mark McCadden ahead of the Fun Mile
(Image: Mark McCadden)

The full marathon on this occasion was two loops of the half marathon course. Seasoned runners might not like this, but there were no complaints from Mark as he cruised across the finish line for the second and final time.

Time for more beers (it wasn’t long after 8am!), and some incredible food, including chicken, flying fish and macaroni pie.

We’d done it. Three days of running in the Caribbean heat, and four medals - along with a couple of bottles of rum - to add some extra weight to our luggage on the way home.

After a year and a half of inactivity, this has reawakened the (average) runner in me, and here’s to many more years picking up finishers’ medals.

I have a new goal now - to still be an average runner running average times by the time that little girl from the 5k is competing for Olympic bling.

*****

The growth in sports tourism is something that can bring visitors flocking to Barbados, says tourism chief Kamal Springer.

He is the manager for sports tourism on the Caribbean island’s tourist board - and he is working hard to bring more runners to the tropical paradise to build on an industry that already brings in cricket lovers and ocean enthusiasts.

Springer is looking to spread the word about Run Barbados, the island’s marathon weekend, a three-day festival of running that includes a fun mile, a 5k and 10k run, and then a half and full marathon.

With more and more people mixing up their holidays to incorporate a big fitness event, the opportunity to bring more visitors to Barbados is one that Springer is eager not to miss.

“We have just had a strategic review on where we should focus our interests, and the two top ones that came out were culinary and sport,” he said.

“It has been made very clear to us that people are not just coming to sit on the beach anymore, they want to participate in something exciting.

“Sports tourism can bring hundreds of people in, and it has the potential to bring in thousands.”

Springer has already negotiated partnerships with the PGA, World Surf League and National Cricket Council in his bid to market Barbados as a sports tourism destination.

Almost 600 people flew into the island for last month’s Marathon Weekend, with around 1,500 registered in total for the events, but he wants to increase foreign numbers to 900 this year.

“I would like to breach 1,500 within four to five years. A realistic target in five years is 1,700 to 2,000 visitors,” he said.

“We will grow locally too over the next two or three years. We could have a marathon of 5,000 or 6,000 people in the next five years.”

Information about next year’s event will be online shortly on the Visit Barbados website.