THE Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports Independence Half- Marathon Male and Female Open Champions Cleveland Forde and Euleen Josiah both regained their titles respectively when the Ministry in collaboration with the National Sports Commission (NSC) and the Athletic Association of Guyana  (AAG) staged the annual event.
The competition which first got started in 1967 but suffered a 16 year hiatus was reintroduced last year with both Forde

and Josiah taking the titles.
The field which included some 110 athletes according to one of the members on the organising committee, Leslie Black saw a very competitive race despite their being no major upsets.
Black speaking to Chronicle Sport said that he is very pleased with the overall performance of the athletes noting that the competition will help greatly in keeping athletes fit while providing added avenues for improving the sport.
“I am pleased overall as you may have seen that the response was very good and what is heartening id that a number of the athletes ensured that they completed the course. Forde and Josiah did what was necessary to regain their toiles,” Black said.
Despite Forde getting stiff competition from several athletes Josiah ran virtually unchallenged to regain her title that she had captured last year after the competition was reintroduced.
Forde won in a time of 1 hour, 14 minutes and 33 seconds with Johnson following in a time of 1 hour, 14 minutes and 37 seconds. Josiah, the USA based athlete who had ran a time of 1.29.41 seconds last year took the title this year in a time of 1 hour and 30 minutes.
The race which got off to a late start saw the athletes all getting off to a relatively slow start however at Lusignan Forde, Kelvin Johnson, Dennis Horatio and Lionel Dhanraj burst out from the others and kept a pack going.
The race saw a very determined Johnson and Dhanraj attempting to take the lead from Forde who was being hard-pressed for his title
. However, the lead was shared by both Johnson and Forde who continued to trade places as the pace continued along the East Coast. However while in the vicinity of the University of Guyana Forde signaled his intentions when he began to increase the pace of the competition along with the lead that he was putting on the others.
As the race got nearer to the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports in middle Street  where it ended Johnson made a last ditch effort to capture the title however a well-seasoned and experienced Forde finished in his usual style and fashion very strong
. The victory by Forde was very convincing as he once again entered his name in the sporting limelight  with yet another impressive and important victory.
Johnson was forced to settle for second while third, fourth and fifth was occupied by Dhanraj, Thomas and Horatio respectively.
Junior running sensation 18 year old Samuel Kaikan who hails from the Rupununni running in his very first Half Marathon took a well-deserved sixth place. Kaikan ran a very tactical race however with limited experience and a number of seasoned athletes running he had to settle for sixth with Director of Sports, Neil Kumar showering him with lots of praises for his performance during the difficult race.
In the female open  category Ashanti Scott despite not giving a very competitive challenge did enough to take second with third, fourth and fifth place being occupied by Adama Roberts, Jevina Straker and Samantha Williams.
In the Masters Women  category  multi sporting talented Alisha Fortune won another title to her bulging collection of athletics titles here in Guyana when she beat Cymeen Phillips and June Joseph into second and third respectively. In the Male Masters 55 and over categoryLlewellyn Gardener took the title with Maurice Fergundes and Carlton Stephenson taking second and third receptively.
Meanwhile in the Male Masters 40-55 category Surinamese national Guillermo Udenhout in his second visit to Guyana once again won gold when he comfortably won his category. The man whose previousvisitwas to compete in the COURTS 10 K won the race from Eon Arcjhilbald and Barbados based Orin Josiah who took second and third respectively.
Despite only having one overseas athlete in Udenhout competing, the race was graced with at least four other overseas based athletes in  Orin Josiah based in Barbados with his sister Euleen based in Statan Island in the United States of America while Johnson and Dhanraj are based in Trinidad and Tobago.
Forde in commenting on yet another victory said that he will have to review his performance however noting that he did enough to win the title. He said that while Johnson was taking the race to him he remained calm and persistent to regain the title.
Euleen Josiah  who was elated to win the title bemoaned the fact that she did not have really stiff competition thus resulting in her running a much slower time than she did last year when she first won the title.
She said that her time in last year’s race was 19 seconds slower, noting that had she gotten stiffer competition she would have certainly reduced her time.
Among those in attendance to watch the conclusion of the race was Senior Vice President of the Athletic Association of Guyana, Gavin Hope, Director of Sport Neil Kumar, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony, Permanent Secretary Alfred King, Deputy Permanent Secretary Steve Ninvalle, the Mexican Ambassador and former national cricketer Lennox Cush among others.