Burger King has increased its prize pool to $2 million and introduced a Crown Challenge for this year’s staging of its annual BK 5K and Relay.

Scheduled for Sunday, November 9 and starting at Emancipation Park in New Kingston, this year’s event will now include not only students, but also communities, corporate teams, and sports-focused organisations such as a gym or club.

“This is our 20th staging, and it promises to be our biggest and boldest yet. The Burger King 5K and Relay has been growing from strength to strength, initially focused on youth development and originally slated on the calendar as part of the preseason preparation for Jamaica’s future track stars,” Nadia Kiffin-Green, head of sales and marketing at Restaurants Associates Limited (operators of Burger King) told the Sunday Observer at the launch on Friday, October 17 at Liguanea Club.

“This promises to be one of Jamaica’s most anticipated community fitness events, uniting students, athletes, corporate teams and clubs across the island, not only in healthy competition, but also to invest in building their communities and themselves through the various prizes and camaraderie.”

Also new to this year’s event is the Burger King Crown Challenge and will feature prizes for communities. There are also prizes related to team size and pace and at the individual level.

Prizes will also be awarded to the top male and female coaches, male and female runners, relay teams and winning school teams across race categories.

Trishauna McGowan, a former 400m hurdler and silver medallist in the BK 5K and Relay, shared her experience with the audience at the launch.

“Nowadays unnu a get nuff money,” she said. “When I participated we ran from Papine Square to Jamaica College. At that time it was a 1K race. What that experience taught me was to keep showing up. You never know what direction things can lead to. And now you’ll be getting millions of dollars in prizes and more. What other thing you need but to just show up and train and get the job done. These events are a big deal that our student athletes can get to participate in and I’m really happy about that.”

Alfred “Franno” Francis, race director for Running Events Jamaica, shared the route for the event.

“The route takes us along Oxford Road, starting outside Emancipation Park, turning left onto Belmont Road, continuing along Worthington Avenue and left onto Trafalgar Road then left at Knutsford Boulevard and right onto Trinidad Terrace and right onto Grenada Crescent before coming back onto Knutsford Boulevard and then a left onto Trafalgar Road and left at Ruthven Road before taking a left onto Half-Way-Tree Road before finishing at Oxford Road just outside of Emancipation Park once more. I believe this is a wonderful route,” said Francis, who also gave the event organisers credit for investing into the community.

“This is a fantastic giveback by Burger King,” he said.