Mbelenzi On Wrong Turn, Race Weekend & More
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Dennis Mbelenzi said a wrong turn while leading the Gosling’s Rum to Beach race last weekend proved costly but stressed he alone was responsible for the error.
The Kenyan-born runner was leading when he followed the lead motorbike off course along South Shore, a mistake that dropped him to 47th place and left him searching for the correct route for more than 15 minutes.
“The race volunteers do a great job,” Mbelenzi told Bernews.
“There’s no blame on them or the lead bike. The athlete needs to know the course, so if anyone bears responsibility, it’s me.”
Mbelenzi said he had assumed the route was unchanged after previously running the race twice.
“I’d run it before and assumed the course was as it had always been. I should have checked,” he said.
“I probably would have run that way even without a lead bike.”
Mbelenzi returned to live in Bermuda last summer after previously residing on the island from 2007 to 2019.
He won the PwC Bermuda Marathon in 2023 and 2024, with a personal best time of 2hr 29min 55sec.
He is entered in the Chubb Full Bermuda Triangle Challenge this week and will compete in the Butterfield Mile on Friday and the Allshores 10K on Saturday, with the marathon remaining his priority on Sunday.
“My main focus is the marathon, but I want to be respectful to the mile and the 10K,” Mbelenzi said.
“I’ll give full effort in all the races.”
He added that he is targeting a third marathon victory.
“I expect to be tested and know I’ll be up against some good runners,” he said.
“Obviously, I’d love to win the race for a third time. I love Bermuda, love the people, and it’s been all love since I returned.”
