MONTEGO BAY, St James

ORGANISERS of the seventh staging of the CUMI (Committee for the Upliftment of the Mentally Ill) Come Run are expecting 800 runners for the three races.

The event will be staged at the Tryall Club in Sandy Bay, Hanover, on September 19.

Organisers said during the media launch for the event, at Pier One in Montego Bay last Thursday, that they exceeded last year’s target of 600 participants by 53. They said the bar has been raised to 800 for this year’s staging, set to start at 7:00 am.

Junior Taylor, chairman of the CUMI Fund-raising committee, said expectations are high for the event which is the major fund-raiser for the organisation.

Last year, he said, the run raised $2.6 million “for CUMI to bolster the CUMI Trust Fund and support the rehabilitation of the mentally ill in St James and its environs”.

It was also announced at the launch that Wisynco, through its Wata and Coca Cola brands, are the new title sponsors.

There will be a 5K and 10K run, and a 5K walk over the scenic golf course which has been described as “challenging”, as the two major hills is a big difference from the normally flat course for most races of this kind.