Winners of the opening College Classic Series race on Virgin Gorda, Reuben J. A. Stoby (left) and Kathleen Brownsdon. Photo: Provided

VALLEY, Virgin Gorda, VI- Some 37 runners, including two from Tortola, took to the start line for the opening race of the College Classic Series on Virgin Gorda on Saturday September 24, 2016.

Reuben J. A. Stoby registered a personal best in taking victory while Kathleen Brownsdon was first for females.

Stoby ran a blistering pace to complete the two-mile distance in 10:38.23, smashing his personal best of 11:22.

“I came here to run under eleven minutes and am so excited to have run that personal best time,” said Stoby, who found himself coming just 10 seconds short of the course record, 10:28.1.

“I had no idea what the record was and I just wanted to run under 11 minutes. I ran a personal best 11:22 last year on Tortola so to now run more than 40 seconds faster is quite remarkable,” said Stoby.

Finishing a surprise second was youngster Aaron Leslie who clocked 11:33.3, while veteran road runner Emrol Amsterdam took third in 11:50.1.

Marlon Felix (12:32.1) and Deron Leslie (12:49.8) were fourth and fifth respectively.       

Meanwhile, Brownsdon’s time was 14:08.1. Mariah Christian took second in 14:38.2 and J'Sally O'Neal third in 16:09.4.

‘Marathon woman’ Philomena Robertson travelled over from Tortola and recorded a fourth place finish in 16:23.9           .

The next race of the College Classic Series on Virgin Gorda is October 15, 2016.

Full results can be accessed on Webscorer: https://www.webscorer.com/racedetails?raceid=81258