Bermuda International Mile and 10K

I can't say enough about how incredible Bermuda is to visit. I just can not recommend it enough. The weather has improved every day we have been here. It was raining on Wednesday when we arrived, but every day after that has been perfect. We took in the sunrise on Thursday morning at Horseshoe beach. Later we headed to the west edge of the islands to the Dockyards. We bought some rum cakes, some hand fired plates, and some local rum products.
The dockyards from the ferry.....

Later Thursday night, we were invited to a party at Bacardi's world headquarters in Hamilton....complete open bar and dinner.....

We are staying at the Fairmont Southampton and it has ocean views from all rooms. The view from our room.....
The hotel has its own beach next to Horseshoe beach.
The water is crystal clear. The bottom is completely visible even in even deep water.
Friday night was the Bermuda International Mile. This is run down one of Hamilton's main downtown streets on the waterfront. They invite several elite men and women milers and there is a 10,000 dollar purse for anyone who can break 4:00. No one has done it yet, but everyone thought there was a good chance this year because the weather was perfect. The Bermuda Triangle Challenge people went first. Kim and I were in the first wave so it felt strange being the firs to go with the balconies and street lined with spectators. The mile was something I really was not all that excited about, but it turned out to be a lot of fun....cruised in at 7:42....which was a little faster than I wanted to go, but with the atmosphere, I couldn't make myself go any slower. They had several divisions of the local kids from grade school,middle school, highschool and Bermudian adults(everyone in these heats had to qualify to be eligible). The elites ran and no money was given away....4:04 was the winning time.

Saturday morning brought the 10K. It did not start until 10 am so it was a little warm and this course was tough with several hills. I ran hard the first half and then eased back a lot on the second 1/2, ending up with a 1:01:52. we were starved...headed back to the hotel and cleaned up and then off to the only local brewery...the North Rock Brewery. We sampled two of their beers and had a hamburger to fill our stomachs....
We finished the day off with some ruins exploration....some man made caves carved out of the rock walls on the ocean....

Tomorrow is the marathon....It could be a long one with all the walking we have done!