The KPMG Tortola Torture, a 33.4 mile ultramarathon, will take place in the British Virgin Islands on April 16, 2016. In its second year, the event’s course on this mountainous Caribbean island is 33.4 miles with 6,587 feet of climbing over 12.8 miles, and 13.1 miles of descending. There will only be 7.5 miles of flat running for the entire course.
This view-laden race starts in Road Town, the capital of the British Virgin Islands, and winds its way clockwise around Tortola. The course takes runners along the south coast of Tortola, around the trails of Steele Point and Smuggler’s Cove, along the north shore of Long Bay, Little Apple Bay and Carrot Bay.
Leaving Carrot Bay, runners then start the long 2.7 mile climb from sea level to Sage Mountain, the highest point of the race at 1,523 feet. Runners then head back down to sea level and into Brewer’s Bay before climbing back up to the top of Tortola where they join the Ridge Road.
Running along the Ridge Road, competitors will head all the way to the east end of the island eventually descending down to Beef Island, home of the airport, finishing on the beach at Trellis Bay.
The KPMG Tortola Torture is already affectionately referred to as “The Torture” by last year’s participants due to the distance, heat, humidity, and gradients, over the 12,000 feet of climbing and descending. The steepest gradient is 33.33% and it was described by one Marathon Des Sables finisher as the toughest one day running event he had competed in.
Seventy competed in the inaugural 2015 race including 27 individual entrants. 23 individuals finished.
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- 1) Bridget Klein
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- 2) Kat Brownsdon
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- 3) Pam Terry
The top three finishers were women, with Bridget Klein from St Croix sweeping the men off the roads of Tortola with a time of 5 hours, 25 minutes and 59 seconds. Kat Brownsdon from Virgin Gorda was second (5:43:30) and Pam Terry, also from St Croix, was third (5:57:53). A US runner, Tom Cripps, was the first man with a time of 6 hours, 2 minutes and 43 seconds. The last individual got to the finish line five hours after Bridget.
The KPMG Tortola Torture is open to individuals, two-person, and three-person relay teams. Entry fee is $85 per person and includes a ZootSports official tee shirt, finisher’s medal, five water stops, and pre-race pasta party.
Title sponsor KPMG provides audit, tax and advisory services together with industry insight to help organizations negotiate risks and perform in the dynamic and challenging environments in which they do business.
“KPMG’s commitment to the BVI community is at the heart of how we conduct business and to truly make a difference to that community is one of our core values,” said Russell Crumpler, managing director of KPMG BVI.
“The Tortola Torture is one of the more fun and challenging events that we support, and we will be fielding a number of runners to fly the KPMG flag at one of the toughest events in the BVI, and perhaps the Caribbean!”
Mourant Ozannes, platinum sponsor, is a leading offshore law firm, advising on the laws of the BVI, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey and Jersey. It will be presenting the “Best Second Half Award” for the best performance from Sage Mountain to the finish at Trellis Bay, and manning the water stop at Sage Mountain.
Red Bull is the official energy drink, Highland Spring, the official water, and ZootSports is the official apparel supplier.
Follow the event: http://www.twitter.com/TortolaTorture, http://instagram.com/TortolaTorture, http://www.facebook.com/TortolaTorture/
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