Annual 8 Tuff Miles sells out in 'record time'

ST. JOHN - It was a typical morning on Sunday for 8 Tuff Miles race director Peter Alter. He woke up with the sunrise, laced up his running shoes and went for an 8-mile jog.

Had it been 15 years earlier, he might have been the only runner working Love City's meandering hills, but with only five weeks left until the 16th annual St. John 8 Tuff Miles Road Race, Alter was anything but alone.

"You would not believe how many people were out here this morning running the island," Alter said Sunday. "It just feels great. I love it. As race director it feels awesome, but just to see so many out here running on a Sunday morning, it just feels great."

The annual road race is as popular as ever, Alter said. The past two years, only 1,000 runners were allowed to register, but the entry list was bumped up to 1,100 runners for this year's event - which will be held Feb. 25 - and the local community responded by selling out the race in record time.

The last entry was sold Jan. 13 and that was after more than 300 bibs were allotted to runners outside St. Thomas and St. John in December.

"It was absolutely the fastest they have ever sold out and the most numbers ever sold," said Alter, one of only three runners who have competed in every race since its inception in 1997. "I guess it speaks for itself. People love this race and around here, it's the thing to do in January and February."

In order to boost the entry list for the largest participated road race in the territory, Alter asked permission from the National Parks Service on St. John, obtained an additional permit and had to get the V.I. Police and St. John Rescue Squad on board.

"The start of the race is on the National Parks Service property in Cruz Bay so they were the first people I went to," Alter said. "They've been happy with what they've seen the last few years so they approved it. In the past, we clean up the start area by 8 a.m. so it looks like we were never there."

Chris Reis, a Cincinnati resident, won last year's race in a record 46 minutes. It was his second attempt at the notorious up-and-down course and Reis beat the old record by 26 seconds. The 30-year-old running shop manager is expected to run again next month.

On the women's side, St. Thomas' Ruth Ann David trimmed 24 seconds off her winning time from 2010 and repeated as women's champion. She was the top women's finisher for the fourth time - she also took home top honors in 1999 and 2008 - and was 11th overall last year with a time of 57:39.

More than 35 runners showed up for the first Geiger Tuff Tune-Up Run on Jan. 14, which was a 2.5-mile run that started at Mongoose Junction and ended at George Simmons Terrace Apartments.

Two more training runs are scheduled before the race and Alter is encouraging all registered runners to participate so they can get a feel for the arduous course and see where their fitness level is.

"I feel like the first one was a good wake-up call and some people found out what they were up against," Alter said. "These runs are more about camaraderie among runners and a good time for people to trade ideas on training habits."

The second Geiger Tuff Tune-Up Run will be held Saturday, about one month before the race., The tune-up will start at 7:30 a.m. where the first tune-up ended and finish up on Bordeaux Mountain Road.

St. Thomas residents are encouraged to take the 6:30 a.m. ferry out of Red Hook and then grab a bus up the hill toward George Simmons Terrace Apartments.

The third and final Geiger Tuff Tune-Up Run is scheduled for Feb. 11 at 7 a.m. It will combine the first two tune-up courses into one 5.5-mile run, which means it will start at Mongoose Junction and end at Bordeaux Mountain Road.

Alter said water stations will be available on the courses and a SAG wagon will be on duty for each tune-up run.

For more information, call Alter at 779-4035 or visit online at www.8tuffmiles.com.

- Contact sports writer Aaron Gray at 714-9102 or email agray@dailynews.vi.

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