BELAIR--The Tri Sport Over 60 Lions Relay Team is a new incarnation of what used to be the team of veteran runners of certain ages that used to compete every year at the Around-the-Island Relay Race on November 11.
This year, for the 38th edition of the relay, there’s a new twist. The Lions team is a group of familiar faces who will be pushing the boundaries of human endeavour. Age is just a number, but making the difference for this Over 60s team is the decades of running experience, even marathons or triathlons, the team has collectively accumulated and the commitment to maintaining conditioning into advanced age.
The stellar cast of athletes includes Frits Bus, now 70, co-founder of the Around-the-Island Relay Race with the late Malcom Maidwell, who has run every single Relay on November 11. Others in the team are Jelle Jansen, Mary Wrigley, Ernst Looser, Sam Bashir, Jerome Reltien, Liesbeth Halbertsma, Buwe Halberstsma, Giampo Piscione (Juan Pablo), Edgar Gronovius, and Bienvenido Montas.
The team captain is Susy Piscione.
“It’s a really strong team and our objective is to show that the new 60s are the old 40s. The team is stronger and fitter than even and aiming to finish in the top 20 this year,” says Susy. “Some of the runners like Frits, Giampo, Mary, Bienvenido and Jelle have been running in the relay since the 80s. We would like to see a new category of teams over the age of 60 with the French side counterparts.”
The running order of the team as understood by press time is as follows. Leg 1 Jerome Reltien, Leg 2 Buwe Halberstma, Leg 3 Ernst Looser, leg 4, Jelle Janssens, Leg 5 Mary Wrigley, Leg 6 Juan Pablo Piscione, Leg 7 Liesbeth Halbertsma, Leg 8 Bienvenido Montas, Leg 9 Sam Bashir, Leg 10, Edgar Gronovious, Leg 11 Frits Bus.
The relay race is fully subscribed with 60 teams, including two teams from the organiser, SXM Roadrunners. This year the race goes clockwise, starting and finishing at the Belair Community Center. The start is at 7:00am.
