The Mourant Ring Of Fire on Sunday ended with a photo finish as Jermaine “JJ” Ricketts and Sam Thompson sprinted downhill to the finish in Brewer’s Bay; JJ won the race by a hair. They completed the race 7.78 mile to Sage Mountain and back in 1:09:17. Michael Killourhy was third in 1:11:24.
Sam and JJ were close all the way, with Michael getting into the mix too. Sam was first to Sage Mountain, making the climb from Brewer’s Bay in a swift 44 minutes and 41 seconds. Michael was 45 seconds behind, and JJ 29 seconds behind him. JJ reeled in Sam (and Michael) on the descent back to sea level, and caught him on the final bend. In a high-risk sprint to the finish on the sand-sprinkled road, the two thundered down to the finish, with JJ just taking it.
Rosmund Johnson was first woman, and 8th overall, with a time of 1:23:22 and Vicki Francis (1:24:26) was 9th overall and second woman.
JJ and Sam shaved 4 minutes and 3 seconds off last year’s winning time of 1:13:20.
20 of the 25 runners signed up made it to the start line of the 7.78 mile (12.53km) race with 4,760 (1,460m) feet of elevation change that started and finished at Nicole’s in Brewer’s Bay. The runners climbed out the eastern side of Brewer’s Bay, ran along the Ridge Road, up to Sage Mountain car park, and back down to Brewer’s on the western side.
The 1.5 mile uphill slog out of Brewer’s Bay which starts with a gradient of 24% and averages 12.5% kept most of the pack close together. But the runners spread out along the undulating run along the Ridge Road up to Sage Mountain which features plenty of false flats and a couple of nasty 30% grades to the top of the course.
The Mourant Ring Of Fire is part of the Tortola Torture Triple, a series of three feeder races for the Tortola Torture ultramarathon on April 20. Next up is the Teneo Prison Break on February 25, a longer race at 9.81 miles but with less elevation change at 3,400 feet. This is followed by the KPMG West End Wobbler on March 24, a more challenging 13.48 mile race with 10,600 feet of elevation change.
The Tortola Torture Triple is open to any runners. Entry fee for the next two races is $20 per race.
Tortola Torture entry fee is currently $110/person. Entry fees includes: finisher’s medal; Tortola Torture Triple entry; HydraPak SpeedCup; six environmental-friendly water stops; post-race swim in Caribbean Sea and party.
Our Sponsors
Mourant, platinum sponsor, is a leading offshore law firm, advising on the laws of the BVI, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey and Jersey.
Teneo, another platinum sponsor, provides full-service financial advisory, with a specialist expertise in cross-border restructuring and insolvency assignments. Fastest time to Sage Mountain from Stoutt’s Lookout Aid Station will win the Teneo KOM Award.
KPMG, another platinum sponsor, provides audit, tax and advisory services together with industry insight. Fastest time from start to West End Aid Station will earn the KPMG Sprint Award.
The Tortola Torture banned the use of disposable bottles on the race course in 2017. By using reusable five-gallon jugs and coolers, organisers eliminate the use of over 1,200 half litre bottles per race.
