Taylor Simoneaux from New Orleans, Louisiana, won the 9th edition of the Tortola Torture on Saturday, April 20, 2024. He completed the 33.74-mile (54km) course in an impressive time of 4 hours 56 minutes and 54 seconds. Sarah Latham was third overall and won the women’s division in 6:34:29.
Sean Reardon-John, in his first Tortola Torture outing, took second overall and in the men’s division in 6:13:48. Philippe Leroy, 63, was third in the men’s division in 6:38:54. Vicki Francis was second woman with a time of 7:10:10 while Nora Zedick, part of a running contingent from St Croix, was third in 7:29:44.
Taylor and Sarah also received the KPMG Sprint Awards for their times from the start to West End (1:13:34 and 1:28:59); and also Teneo KOM and QOM awards for their climb from Stoutt’s Lookout to Sage Mountain (27:26 and 37:08).
Describing his experience, Taylor said: “54kms of Torture in paradise. Perhaps the best time I’ve ever had running, spiritual really. Unbelievable place and course and the most violent inclines I’ve ever seen. I was surprised I held together on the hills.
“It’s hard to feel bad for yourself when you’re suffering when you got these views. You can’t say it enough it’s absolutely beautiful breathtaking every time you turn in the corner.
“I executed the strategy of [heart rate] 165bpm all day and was able to secure the dub and join the sub-5 club. Such a good day.”
With the start later in the month than previous years, the sun rose quickly on the runners, but intermittent cloud cover gave the runners respite in the first half of the race. However, as the race wore on the sun came out with a vengeance. The climb out of Brewer’s Bay at mile 21 set the tone for the rest of the race with heat as each runner’s companion to the finish. The prison road and Little Mountain loop proved, once again, to be a brutal climax to the race.
In the 2-person team racing “Not Fast Just Furious” (Priya Mattu, Ben Giblin) was first with a time 6:58:15, “Farmer Donovan” (Shane Donovan, Chris Warner) was second in 7:21:51, and *“Three Four Zero Fucks Given” (Jaclyn Robak, Kristin Tomasulo) from St Croix was third in 7:45:46.
The combo of Jose Banay, JJ Ricketts and Lennon Dabreo won the 3-person team division with a time of 5:16:06. Finishing in 7:22:51, “The Good, the Bad, and the Oldie” (Bijorn Bullock, Sjoerd Koster, Justin Smit) brought home second place. “Cirque Du Sore Legs” (Tristan Creque, Vicki O’Connell, Edward Alvis) was third in 8:27:01.
The Tortola Torture is open to individuals, 2-person, and 3-person relay teams. It’s a 33.74 mile (54km) ultramarathon that circumnavigates Tortola with only 22% on the flat and the rest on hot and humid hills with 12,000 feet of elevation change. The steepest gradient is 33.33%. It has 6,587 feet of climbing over 12.8 miles, and 13.1 miles of descent. There is only 7.5 miles of flat running for the entire course.
Avery Collins from Colorado set a new record in the 2018 Tortola Torture. With a time of 4:35:47, Avery took a handsome nine minutes and 18 seconds off Eric Senseman’s 2016 record-setting time (04:45:05). Bree Thorpe holds the womens record with a time of 04:58:26 set in 2017.
Roddy dos Santos and Guy Williamson hold the 2-person team record with a time of 5:04:04 set in 2018. The 3-person team record of 4:58:06 set in 2017 is held by Julius Farley, Rosmund Johnson, and Reuben Stoby.
VISAR (Virgin Islands Search & Rescue) provides on-course medical support.
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 won the Teneo KOM and QOM Award.
KPMG, another platinum sponsor, provides audit, tax and advisory services together with industry insight. Fastest time from start to West End Aid Station earned the KPMG Sprint Award.
Nora Hazel Point (NHP), a luxury private estate on Tortola, is a gold sponsor.
The Tortola Torture banned the use of disposable bottles on the race course in 2017. By using reusable five-gallon jugs and coolers, organisers eliminated the use of over 1,200 half litre bottles at the six aid stations on the course. All racers are given a reusable HydraPak SpeedCup for use on the course to eliminate plastic cup use on the course.
