Athletes should not be surprised if an exotic animal or two pops out during their 26-mile run this November. Running the trails of Santa Mission is divine and mysterious as it is beautiful. Crisp dead leaves blanket the ground, while green multi-shaped trees create a cover from the sun— maybe this is why US born Sevak Tsaturyan fell in love with the area earlier this year.
He wasted no time to pitch the idea of holding a marathon, and Toshao Aubrey Samuels saw the potential and readily agreed.

Santa Mission, which is located up the exotic Kamuni Creek off the Demerara River, has been promoting its own tourism over the years; it is a beautiful community, with friendly, proud indigenous people. Samuels feels that having the marathon there will be very beneficial for the inhabitants, since they will be able to showcase their art, craft and exotic dishes to a completely different clientele.
For the organisers, the Guyana Trail Marathon (which also includes a half marathon and a 10K) is a way of giving back, since all proceeds will go toward the school in the mission.
Tsaturyan, who is now based in Guyana, decided, with the help of a group of friends, including national long distance runners Cleveland Forde and Alika Morgan, to create a facebook page and a website. The initial hope was to attract the attention of a few avid runners. The result was better than expected; information indicates that 100 persons have signed on to compete on race day.
At the official launch last Saturday in the Region 3 indigenous community, during the Heritage Village celebrations, the November 14th marathon was well received. So much so that both ministers in the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Ministry, lead minister and Vice-president Sydney Allicock, and minister within the ministry, Valarie Garrido-Lowe, endorsed the event.
Fifty persons (mostly Guyanese) registered for the 10K race, while 15 signed up to compete in the half marathon (13 miles), including Forde. The full marathon (26 miles) has a total of 35 registered individuals—most are international runners.
Overseas participants, according to the organisers, will come from the US, Canada, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname.
Initially two Kenyans had indicated their interest to travel, but they are yet to register.
Leaving out the benefits of health and community development, Tsaturyan feels that the event can also have an impact at the national level and could become a key fixture on the tourism calendar.
“This event is significant for Sports Tourism, as it will bring amateur runners from all over the world who would not otherwise visit for any other reason. It will help those athletes to experience the beauty of Guyana and especially the Amerindian village, and take a piece of Guyana back with them.”

To ensure that the athletes take more than just memories and photographs with them, the organisers have designed a participant medal made from Guyana’s own purple-heart wood, which all runners will receive at the end of the race.
The race itself will start and end at the mission hub.
By Faizool Deo