22^nd Toast-To-The Captain Road Race
A Black History Month activity

Runners line for start of  2008 Toast-To-The Captain 8.4 mile road race 2008


Teddy Seymour welcomes runners at awards/breakfest 2008


The some of the finishers at awards presentation hosted by Capt. Teddy Seymour

Marlon Williams takes first place... 

2-9-08 St. Croix, Virgin Islands--In 1926 Carter G. Woodson is credited with starting the celebration Black History Week which eventually became Black History Month.  On February 24, 1986 Teddy Seymour started initiated something that would be recognized during that month. On June 19, 1987 Teddy Seymour, a Captain in U.S. Marine Corps., a Vietnam Veteran, a college cross-country All-American, a member of Pioneer Track Club, sailed his 35 foot sloop, Love Song in to the Frederiksted pier and officially finisher his solo circumnavigation of the world.  “It was a mementos occasion for the few friends who greeted Ted that day, a day when he became officially, the first black man to sail around the world alone. “I alerted all the media in the Territory that day of Ted’s return. The media was absent as all of them were somewhere between the Alexander Hamilton Airport and Christiansted covering the arrival of Vice-President of the United States, George Bush” according to Wallace Williams, fellow runner and friend of Seymour and founder of the Virgin Islands Pace Runners.  

As a tribute to Captain Seymour and his voyage, the V.I.Pace Runners organized the Toast-To-The Captain road race which has continued over the years from 1986 on the same 8.4 mile East of Christiansted looped course.   

On hand Saturday were over 30 runners including Captain Seymour, who had excellent conditions (by V.I. standards) for the race followed by a breakfast/awards function at the Kalima Center hosted by Captain Seymour, a teacher at the Joseph Gomez Elementary School.   

Marlon Williams, four-time Olympian and Vice-President of the Virgin Islands Olympic Committee, was the overall first place finisher for the race with a time of 54 minutes and 56 seconds; De Wayne Smith a trainer at the Beeston Hill Health and Fitness Complex, St.Croix, was second in 57:37; Chris Cockrell and visiting student from Arkansas at UVI, was third in 59:15; Richard Jeanpierre of HOVENSA, was fourth in 62:46 and Will Piel of Country Day School was fifth in 62:55 

Theresa Harper, a teacher at Country Day School and V.I.medal winner in Central America and Caribbean Cross-Country Championships, was the first woman in the race and sixth overall, she ran it in 63:06; Carol Murphy was second in 70:12; Sara Gambee was third in 75:84; Amanda Warehime was fourth in 77.59 and Elizabeth Nurnberger was fifth in 80.50 

The Finishers Male: 

1.Marlon Williams 54:56; 2. De Wayne Smith 57:37; 3. Chris Cockrell 59:15; 4. Richrd Jeanpierre 62:46; 5. Will Piel 62:55; 6. Trey Holloway 63:22; 7. Matt Halk 65:55; 8.Bob Halk  64:47; 9. Scott Frick 66:55; 10. Chris Pitre 72:20; 11. Brad Chafee 72:57; 12. Mark Kennedy 73:04; 13. Charles Martin 74:13; 14. Errol Chichester 75:53; 15. Teddy Seymour 77.22; 16. John Harper 77.24; 18. Fred Flint 77: 56; 19. Todd Nurnberger 81:15; 20. Julio Sanchez 81:19; 21. Luke Fredericks 81:37; 22. Rey Lutz 85:59; 22. Paul  Radix 87:55; 23. Chad Robacker 91:00 

The Finishers Female: 

1.Theresa Harper 63:06; 2. Carol Murphy 70:12; 3. Sandra Gambee 75:54; 4. Amanda Warehime 77.59; 5. Elizabeth Nurnberger 80:50; 6. Ellen Donovan 82:32; 7. Angela Alonso 84:00; 8. Mandi Roberts 86:50; 9. Julie Eckard 86:51; 10. Elizabeth Armstrong 87:55

The next race on the schedule is The annual Queen Mary Highway/UVI 5K on Friday March 14 at 6am from Sunshine Mall to UVI followed by the annual Flight #64 Four Mile Road Race on Sunday March 16 at 7am at the airport.

Results The 21^st Annual Toast-To-The Captain 8.4 Mile Road Race… 

2-17-07 St.Croix, Virgin Islands--Captain Teddy Seymour was honored on Saturday with the 21^st running of the Toast-To-The Captain 8.4 mile road race which started and finished at the National Park in Christiansted..  Although less competitive than last year, the scenic and challenging course offered the group of dedicated long distance runners a chance to post times and test their level of conditioning.  Bill Bohlke and Erica Sweitzer top honors as Bohlke took the lead from the start to finish with time of 49 minutes 38 seconds Sweitzer was the first female finisher in 61:01.  Four-time Olympian Marlon Williams was the second place finisher in 57:28; Chuck Hamell was third in 58:40; Richard Jeanpierre was fourth in 60:36; Mike Klein was fifth in 61:01.  Theresa Harper was the second female in 63:24; Heather White was third in 67:40; Dulcie Crowther was fourth in 73:12; Elizabeth Nuringurger was fifth in 78:02. 

The 8.4 mile race celebrates Captain Teddy Seymour, the first Black man to sail around the world alone.  The V.I. sailor and elementary school teacher in the Virgin Islands public school system, set sail on February 24, 1986 from the pier in Frederiksted, St.Croix where he returned on June 19, 1987.

The Flight #64 Four Mile on March 11.  For information contact: The Virgin Islands Pace Runners 340-643-2557; logon to: http://virginislandspace.org 

The Finishers Male: 

1.Billy Bohlke 49:38; 2. Marlon Williams 57:28; 3. Chuck Hamell 58:40; 4. Richard Jeanpierre 60:36; 5. Mike Klein 61:12; 6. Paul Evora 63:57; 7. Bob Halk 66:35; 8. Scott Fricks 68:57; 9. Charles Martin 72:03; 10. Roger Hatfield 74:48; 11. Teddy Seymour 76:05; 12. Dan Levy 79:58; 13. Rey Lutz 82:32; 14. Julio Sanchez 83:38; 15. Todd Nurinberger 87:52 

The Finishers Female: 

1.Erica Sweitzer 61:31; 2. Theresa Harper 63:24; 3. Heather White 67:40; 4. Dulcie Crowther 83:12; 5. Elizabeth Nuringerger 88:02; 6. Amy Harris 88:11; 7. Leah Cooke DNF.

Toast--To-The Captain Honors go to Robles and Dusich...

2-06 St.Croix, Virgin Islnds--Juan Robles, a junior at the St. Croix Central High School won his first Toast-To-The Captain Road Race and became the first high school runner in memory to do so.  Robles the top scholastic runner in the territory in cross-country, road running and middle distance on the track where he is a medal winner at CARIFTA, continues to mature with hopes of moving up to the college level.  He was unchallenged Saturday on a difficult course with rolling hills, his time was 51 minutes 49 seconds.  Letitia Dusich, back in St. Croix after a year in New York, returned to her winning ways with a very strong first place finish in 58 minutes 59 seconds and third place overall to become only the second woman in memory to run the course under and hour. Richard Jean Pierre was the second place finisher in the race with a time of 58:59; Bob Halk was the third male finisher in 67:40; Mark Kennedy was fourth in 70:22; John Harper was fifth in 71:16; Teddy Seymour was sixth in 73:33; Scott Fricks was seventh in 74:32; Errol Chichester was eigth in 88:53. 

Dusich challenged Jean Pierre the entire race for second overall as only 10 seconds separated them at the finish.  Theresa Harper had a strong second place finish in 63:41; Betsy Gladfelter, who has competed for the Virgin Islands national team regionally and internationally including the World Cross-Country Championships back in the 80’s paid tribute to Captain Teddy Seymour Saturday with a tie for third with Denise Blanchette in 1:42.20. 

The race, organized and conducted by V.I.Pace runners, honors Captain Teddy Seyour, the first Black man to sail around the world alone.  On February 14, 1986 he set sail from Frederiksted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands on his solo voyage.  On June 19, 1987 he completed his trip and landed at his starting point in Frederiksted where he was greeted by a small group of close friends and fellow runners. The runners enjoy an informal breakfast/award ceremony, compliments of the Captain Seymour, on the waterfront following the race.

Jules and Dusich repeat wins
in Black History Month Road Race 

2-5-05 St.Croix, Virgin Islands--Some things in life can only be done once.  Teddy Seymour, a 4 minute miler, national cross-country champion, Quantico Marines track star, Captain U.S.Marines, Vietnam Veteran, Captain of the sailboat Love Song in which he became the first black man to sail around the world alone, knows what it takes. 

Some people like to repeat themselves.  In the Virgin Islands Pace 19^th Annual Toast-To-The Captain 8.4 mile road race, a Virgin Islands Pace Runners Black History event to honor of Captain Seymour, a few good runners repeated their performances on one of St.Croix’s coolest mornings of the year.   

George Jules took first place for the second year in a row in 49:32, almost two minutes faster than last year and in a competitive field of runners that included two-time Olympic marathoner, Calvin Dallas (second in 51:25 a minute faster than last year) and four-time Olympian Marlon Williams who are top masters runners.  Early on a lead pack including Jules, Dallas, prep runner Juan Robles and Marlon Williams cross the mile mark at near 5:40 second pace.  At Southgate and the first aid station, Jules had open a small lead over Dallas who had separated himself from Robles (third in 52:01, a whopping 10 minutes faster than his 2003 time) only by a narrow margin.    This is the order of finish for the top three medals with Williams taking fourth in 53:03 and prep star Hansel Estepan finishing fifth in 56:17 for his first try at long distance. 

Tish Dusich and Theresa Harper have “been there done that” also.  They finished one-two Saturday with times of 61:07 and 62:43 respectively as they matched their first and second place finishes of a year ago.  Tesha Distad ran the race for the first time and took third place in 70:31; Earthla Augustin was fourth in 71:00; Louise Stapleton was fifth in 73:36 and Patricia Brown sixth in 80:22.   

The Finishers Male: 

1.George Jules 49:32; 2. Calvin Dallas 51:25; 3. Juan Robles 52:01; 4. Marlon Williams 53:03; 5. Hansel Estepan 56:17; 6. Paul Erickson 60:40; 7. Mike Klein 62:21; 8. Gunnar Sanden 66:04; 9. Bruce Daugherty 69:18; 10. Angel Morales 70:08; 11. Errol Chichester 71:44; 12. John Harper 71:46; 13. Mark Kennedy 72:45; 14. Larry Williams 76:36; 15. Rey Lutz 76:59; 16. Mike Hall 85:56 

The Finishers Female:  

1.Tish Dusich 61:07; 2. Theresa Harper 62:43; 3. Tesha Distad 70:31; 4. Earthala Augustin 71:00; 5. Louise Stapleton 73:36; 6. Patricia Brown 80:22 

The next race on the V.I.Pace Runners calendar is The annual Flight 64 Four Mile Road Race on Sunday March 13 at 6am.  For information and entry form call: 340-643-2557 or logon to: http://virginislandspace.org or http://virginislandspace.com

Jules and Dusich Victors in 18^th Toast-To-The Captain Road Race...

St.Croix, Virgin Islands 2/7/04 --Under clear skies and a bright moon runners gathered on Saturday morning in the historic town of Christiansted and Old Custom’s House at the National Park Service, for the start of the 18^th Annual Toast-To-The-Captain Road Race. 

In the early going it would be George Jules, a multiple winner of the event; Calvin Dallas, former V.I. Olympian in the marathon and World Cross-Country team member and currently the Bronze Medal winner in the World Championships in the Marathon and Leopold Fredericks a two-time V.I. Cross-Country National Team member.  Each of these runners, knowing victory in this race, were on a sub-six minute per mile pace as they approached the mile mark.  From two miles on Jules and Dallas were stride-for-stride until about 50 meters from the finish where Jules with his younger legs, sprinted to the finish in 51 minutes 38 seconds to outlast Dallas for second place in 51:43.  Fredericks improved on his fourth place finish from a year ago to take third in 55:07; Bob Halk was fourth in 61:34 (a huge improvement on his 99’ time of 67:58); Gabe Webber was fifth in 65:59. 

Tish Dusich, the dominant female runner in St. Croix presently, had a great race as she finished first for females and fourth overall in 57 minutes and 34 seconds.  Theresa Harper had her usual steady race, second in 62:38; Earthla Arthur had a personal record and was third in 69:41; Susan Armstrong nipped Sue Brown at the tape for fourth in 71:32 (a huge improvement on her 99’ time of 76:49); Brown, the V.I. top female cyclist, was fifth in 71:33. 

The race honors Teddy Seymour: 

On who on February 24, 1986 Teddy Seymour, elementary school teacher in the Virgin Islands public school system and former All-American Cross Country runner at Central State University in Ohio, "took to the seven seas" in his 35-foot sail boat "Love Song". His goal? To sail around the world, alone.  He completed his voyage on June 19, 1987 at the Frederiksted, St. Croix pier, the port from which he started.  With this accomplishment he became the first black man to circumnavigate the world solo. 

The Finishers Male: 

1.George Jules 51:38; 2. Calvin Dallas 51:43; 3. Leopold Fredericks 55:07; 4. Bob Halk 61:34; 5. Gabe Webber 65:59; 6. Mark Kennedy 68:43; 7. Dale Scope 77:48; 8. Rey Lutz 78:02; 9. Doug Brady 78:17; 10. Stuart Ketchum 83:58; 11. Bob Guilford 90:56; 12. Doug Inman 91:43 

The Finishers Female: 

1.Tish Dusich 57:34; 2. Theresa Harper 62:38; 3. Earthla Arthur 69:41; 4. Susan Armstrong 71:32; 5. Sue Brown 71:33; 6. Leslie Hamdorf 73:07; 7. Louise Stapleton 84:35; 8. Karen Heckman 90:36; 9. Kathy Bennet 92:55; 10. Debra Aronstein 93:45 

The next race on the V.I. Pace Runners calendar is The Fair Race For Children on Saturday February 14 at the ribbon cutting of the annual Agricultural Fair.  This is a race for children 13 and under over a 1000 meter course in the fair grounds.  Registration starts at 11:00 am.  Participants should report to the west gate for entrance.  For more information and entry form logon to: http://virginislandspace.org.  or call 340-777-0258

The Best V.I. Long Distance Runners Pay Tribute
to Captain Teddy Seymour in Closest Finish Ever… 

Race Distance 8.4 miles  Start Time 6am 

St. Croix, Virgin Islands—2-8-03--The 17^th Annual Toast-To-The Captain Road Race over a scenic loop east of Christiansted was the most competitive in years.  In a sport where many improve as they age, the field of runners in this year’s race and the top finishers were some of the best  runners in V.I. history.  The stage for this challenging run was set many years ago when the likes of Jose Rodriquez, Marlon Williams and Calvin Dallas took turns at first place.  Later George Jules appeared and dominated the event for a few years. He is back into training and has plans to reach previous form.  All were back on Saturday to test their fitness level and make a fitting Black History Month tribute to a hero Teddy Seymour, the first Black man to sail around the world alone.   

Jules, Dallas and Rodriquez went to work from the start.  They would be like one, stride- for-stride past the Buccaneer to Southgate through Tipperrary and Mt. Washington.  At the turn at Sally’s Fancy back to town a little past the 5 mile point, it appeared that Jules, who honed his skills on this very route and with Dallas at his side, put about 30 meters on Rodriquez.  At the 10k point at the top of Lowry Hill things were the same.  Down the hill and into Tide Village, Rodriquez regained contact as the three again became one going into the last mile.  Rodriquez eased to the finish first in 50 minutes 10 seconds only 4 seconds ahead of Jules who in 50:14 edged Dallas by a mere second in 50:15.  Marlon Williams, in retirement and until the past few weeks ran only three times per week, finished fourth in 54:33.  Leopold Fredericks was finished fifth in 56:05; Alexander 6^th in 63:05; 7^th Juan Robles of John H. Woodson Jr. High School  in 63:55; 8^th Miguel Mirandar in 65:18; 9^th Michael Hurst in 71:46; 10^th Teddy Seymour in 75:54; 11^th Ray Lutz in 80:55; 12^th Warren Stansbury 87:51.   

Rachel Witty and Theresa Harper are tuning up for the Central America and Caribbean Cross-Country Championships and the Boston Marathon finished, they finished one-two for women in the race Saturday.  Witty’s time was 60:44 for 6^th overall;  Harper ran 62:18 for 7^th overall.  Jo Shim took third place in 75:08; and  Francis Gaskin walked the race and finished in 2 hours and 19 minutes.   

Many runners in the race are headed for St. John for The 8 Tough Miles Road Race later this month.  Marlon Williams won the race a couple of years ago and likes the challenge it brings, so he’s going back.  Dallas, Jules, Fredericks are committed.  Harper, Shim and Witty are possibilities.  The St. John race has joined the annual The Women Race as the race with the largest field of participants in the Territory with between 300 to 500 participants. 

Fredericks and Harper Take First
in 16th Road Race...

St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, 2/09/02--Leopold Fredericks improved on his placing last year and won first place in the 16th Annual Toast-To-The Captain 8.4 mile road race in St. Croix Saturday morning.  Fredericks ran the race in 54 minutes and 40 seconds and is preparing for the annual 8 Tough Miles Road Race in St. John later this month.  Theresa Harper defended her placing by finishing first in 61:27 almost a minute faster than last year.  She is preparing for the Boston Marathon in April.  Sixty-two year old Gunnar Sanden was the second place finisher in 61:56; Bill Gladfelter was third in 71:33; Teddy Seymour, for whom the race honors, was fourth in 72:03; Bob Halk was fifth in 72:04; Rey Lutz sixth in 85:59 and Clement Lafond seventh in 87:56.

The race honor Teddy Seymour, the first Black man to sail around the world alone. He started from Frederiksted on February 24, 1986 and finished at the same spot on June 19, 1987.  The race started and finished in historic Christiansted near the Customs House on the weekend of the 50th Anniversary of the National Parks Service celebration.

Results 11^th Annual Toast-To-The Captain Road Race 

2-15-97 St. Croix, Virgin Islands--Sara Foley was the overall winner of the 11^th Annual Toast-To-The Captain Road Race held on St. Croix on Saturday morning to honor Teddy Seymour, the first Black man to sail around the world alone.  This is the second time in a year that Foley has been the overall winner of a road race, her first was the Memorial Day Two Mile in May of 96’.  Jabari Goodwin took the early lead in the race but was passed by Foley and Jo Shim before the two mile mark.  Shim led the race by seconds until the five mile point when Foley took the lead and held on by seconds for the remainder of the race.  Foley’s time for the 8.4 mile race was 1 hour 10 seconds; Shim was second overall in 1 and 55 seconds; Henrik was the first male finisher in  1:08.45; Teddy Seymour was fourth in 1:11.13; Jabari Goodwin fifth in 1:13.26; Tanya Bell was the 3^rd female in 1:29.23; Warren Stansbury was the 4^th male in 1:29.24; and Bill Bull was the 5^th male in 1:33.28

Toast-To-The-Captain Race To George Jules 

2-10-96 St. Croix, Virgiln Islands--Athletes who compete in more that one sport  the same season often suffer the perils of tissue damage to the very muscles which propel them to record speeds and game winning moves.  It appears that such is not the case with long distance runner cum soccer player, George Jules.   

In the 10^th annual Toast-To-The-Captain 8.4 mile road race Saturday morning in St. Croix, Jules set a new course and race record on what is considered to be a very difficult course which runs in the form of loop through the scenic hills East of historic Christiansted. 

In what was a two-man race for two miles, Jules and Marlon Williams ran the first mile as one in 5 minutes and 18 seconds at Altona.  At the entrance of Buccaneer Hotel and 2 miles,  Jules surged ahead and at the 5k (3.1 mile) timed at 16:30 he established a lead and maintained it till the finish in 45:55, under the course record 46:16 set by Calvin Dallas several years ago.   

“My goal was to break the course record this year”, said Jules after the race.  “I’ve only been able to run twice in the past few weeks since my leg injury from soccer”, he added, “I went hard from the start”. 

Second place went to Marlon Williams in 48:31, one of the few races not at the marathon distance he has run since this race last year.    He expressed optimism as he prepares for an Olympic marathon trial in Trinidad in May.  Tim Wion returning for a St. Croix visit to Queen Louis Home for Children where he and and wife Cindy were Cottage Parents for several years, was third in 53:33.  Rich Beukema a former platform diver, was 4^th in 53:36; George Cannon was 5^th in 56:09; Victor Hoover was 6^th in 1:19.16; Brian King was 7^th in 1:19.17. 

Two of four St. Croix  women Boston Marathon qualifiers, Jo Shim, led women runners through the course by two minutes in 1 hour 1 minute and Sarah Foley  2^nd  ran 1:03.25.  Ironman finisher, Jude Woodcock  was 3^rd in 1:06.10; Crisandra Polus was 4^th in 1:26.25 and Patricia Brown in her first time at a distance over 3.1 miles, was 5^th in 1:35.16. 

The race, organized and conducted by V.I.Pace runners, honors Captain Teddy Seyour, the first Black man to sail around the world alone.  On February 14, 1986 he set sail from Frederiksted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands on his solo voyage.  On June 19, 1987 he completed his trip and landed at his starting point in Frederiksted where he was greeted by a small group of close friends and fellow runners.