Thirty-year-old Celine Lestrade was the only runner from Trinidad and Tobago (TT) who competed yesterday in the 118th edition of the Boston Marathon in the United States (US).
This year’s marathon was a significant one, as last year’s marathon was ruined after two bombs exploded near the finish line killing three spectators and injuring 264 people.
Last year, four TT runners escaped unhurt — Marlon Bascombe, 23, of Brooklyn, New York; Christopher Battoo, 25, of Brookline, Massachusetts; Ingrid Mathison, 50, of West Hempstead, New York; and Learie Lezama, 53, of St James, Trinidad, Due to the bombings, security was beefed up for yesterday’s marathon which saw 36,000 runners from across the world registered to compete.
To ensure a safe event, runners were asked to use clear plastic bags for their belongings and spectators were asked to leave strollers and backpacks behind. The Boston Athletic Association said more than 100 cameras were installed along the route and close to 50 observation points were set up to monitor the crowd.
According to the Boston Marathon website Lestrade, of Cocorite, who ran under bib number 11277 arrived at the 5k mark (3.1 miles) at about 10.50 am and completed the race at about 1.45 pm with a total time of 3:18:20. The website stated that Lestrade, placed 6002 out of the total runners who competed. Lestrade is no stranger to the local running circuit as she has competed and won many races. She has also represented TT in regional competitions. In 2010, she won the 11th edition of the Venture Credit Union Co-operative Society’s 5k Road Race. In 2011, she won the Granny Luces 15k in a time of just under one hour and one minute and the Scotiabank Women Against Breast Cancer 5k. Lestrade, in her teens, was also a swimmer.
The athlete is currently employed at BP Trinidad as a risk analyst. According to her LinkedIn profile, Lestrade attended the University of Toronto, where she received an Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree with distinction in Environmental Studies and Natural Resource Management and a minor in Political Science. She also holds the NEBOSH Level 6 National Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety.
Other Caribbean countries that were represented included Bahamas, which had two runners, one from Barbados, 19 from Bermuda and one from the Cayman Islands.
Winning the men’s division was Meb Keflezighi of the US. In the women’s division, last year’s winner Kenya’s Rita Jeptoo kept her title. In the wheelchair division, Tatyana McFadden of the US won for the second consecutive time in the women’s division while in the men’s Ernst Van Dyk of South Africa placed first.