Last Saturday’s incessant rainfall was no deterrent for the over 10,000 people who showed up to wheel, run and walk in the 2019 staging of the Digicel 5K Run for Special Needs.

The Digicel Foundation is the only corporate foundation which focuses primarily on assisting the special needs community.

“We do this 5K for the special needs community, and we are very happy for their continued participation,” said Karlene Dawson, CEO for Digicel Foundation. “With this 5K, we are able to raise money for special needs while also giving persons with disabilities a platform to raise awareness and show that they can participate and compete on a high level.”

Fun fact: the Digicel 5K hosts one of the largest contingents of special needs participants of any local race.

The event began with the wheelers first leaving the starting post followed by the runners and walkers, respectively. The runners clamoured at the starting line, and in a dash akin to a Black Friday sale, started the race with enthusiasm. However, the thousands of runners were no match for Keveroy Venson, who completed the 5K in an astounding 12 minutes and 56 seconds, making him the overall winner of the race. To put Venson’s win into perspective, last year’s winner Garfield Gordon of G C Foster College completed the race in 16 minutes and six seconds.

For the second year in a row, Holmwood Technical track star Samantha Pryce won the women’s race. This year she crossed the line in 16 minutes and 29 seconds, shaving over three minutes off her 2018 winning time.

Paralympian Alphanso Cunningham led an exceptional team of wheelers and this year conceded his winning title to team member Navardo Griffiths, who finished in 21 minutes and 14 seconds. Cunningham finished second, 24 seconds behind Griffiths. When asked about the difficulty of the race, Griffiths calmly responded, “It was easy.”

The walk races were dominated by Duwell Allen in 27 minutes and 10 seconds and the women’s walking champion was Natasha McKenzie in 35 minutes and six seconds. Regardless of winning times, each participant was happy to be a part of an event that directly supports special needs organisations.

The Jamaica Visually Impaired Cricket Association was one of the five special needs organisations that will benefit from the proceeds raised from the 2019 staging. This year, Digicel Foundation launched a call for applications, allowing more organisations to share their special needs projects with the foundation. The other grant recipients are Community Based Rehabilitation Jamaica; the STEP Centre; Early Stimulation Plus; and the Best Care Foundation.

“It is with the help of our business customers, partners, and sponsors that we are able to give back to these great causes,” said Dawson. “We will be donating $2.5 million to each of these organisations — they need funding, and we are proud to be able to impact them in this way.”

The 2019 Digicel 5K was made possible with the support of Running Events Jamaica, NSWMA, UDC, Marksman Limited, Express Fitness Jamaica, Innovative Signs, Gatorade, Crystal Punch, National Outdoor Advertising, LASCO, Dairy Industries, Minott Services, Jamaica Producers Group, Consolidated Bakery, Tru Juice, Honey Bun, GraceKennedy, World Brands, Pure National Ice, Image One, and The Lab.