IN 1973, a small group of committed individuals achieved what was close to impossible. They organised an international competition - for a relatively new sport - on a tiny dot in the middle of nowhere. Thirty years later, with the appreciation of competitive racing and the talents of its athletes at an all-time high, what has become an annual event - the Bermuda International Race Weekend - continues to thrive, with many attributing its success to the generosity of sponsors and the superb efforts of volunteers. This week, photographer ARTHUR BEAN and reporter HEATHER WOOD sat down with race secretary Pam Shailer to get her take on the event, its participants and all that falls in between.

Q:So I understand that you single-handedly organise International Race Weekend every year?

A:It is organised by the Bermuda Track and Field Association (BTFA), through its volunteers who sit on the comittee. There are a lot of volunteers and I just basically do the secretarial stuff. I'm not the only volunteer. There's a big committee and a lot of us have been (helping out) for many years. We all know our jobs and so we're able to get on with them and it helps that we work really well together.

Q: How did you become involved?

A: I believe the first was run in 1973. It was very small at that time. It was when the running craze really started. But I've done it since the early 80's. Clive Long and Helen Rowe were friends of mine and they asked if I'd join the committee as secretary as that is what (my vocation is). So I began picking up people from the airport and it evolved from there. I took a break of about four years, when I went to Europe, but I returned to Bermuda and immediately got involved again. I just enjoy it so much.

Q: Are you a runner? Were you then? Does anyone in your family run?

A: I ran a three-mile race with friends once and decided at the end of it that running was not for me. But I do walk. No-one in my family runs competitively although my husband, Barry, has run in the (May 24th) Marathon Derby. But that was more for recreational fitness than anything else.

Q: What are your responsibilities as race secretary?

A: I do all the correspondance, the minutes of the meetings, basically, what a secretary does. I am a volunteer and fortunate enough to be at home which is good because (race entrants) know there's someone they can contact with any questions.

Q: So, you don't run, no-one in your family participates, you don't get paid and there's a lot of work involved. What fun do you get out of it?

A: I guess it's the excitement of it all and it's also fun that people come to the island to do it. I like the idea of helping to promote Bermuda as a destination, even though it is a race, if you look at the bigger picture, the event promotes the island. It's helping tourism. A lot of visitors are repeat (entrants) and so, from year to year, I see familiar faces and they come over and say hello. As secretary it's great because I get to meet the runners and get to know them a bit and hear about how excited they are to be here.

Q: Do you have a nine to five job or is this it?

A: I'm a housewife. I drive for Meals on Wheels once a week. I have helped the Centre on Philanthropy in the past and have done the usual parent things.

Q: Have you noticed the growth of the event?

A: I think back in the 1970s, people thought of running as a fad; something that would pass. But it's maintained its momentum. Races are huge. Marathons are huge. Look at the New York Marathon, they have 30,000 runners. It's a good fitness regimen, so I've been told (smile). But especially for those who have been involved (with International Race Weekend) from the beginning, to get to the race starts and see everyone who has come to compete, how it has evolved - it's an accomplishment. It's become an event for the entire country. Not only does it encourage (residents) to keep fit, but it's also a tourism event. It brings people into the island during one of the quietest times of the year.

Q:How do people hear about it? Largely through word of mouth?

A: There is a bit of that I suppose but as far as I can remember, it's always been organised as an international event. The Department of Tourism is one of our sponsors and has been very helpful in promoting Bermuda as a destination. There is a lot of competition out there. Marathons are held everywhere. There was a runner here last year who was then participating in his 290th marathon. (Our races) fall on the same weekend as the Houston Marathon but I think we have an advantage in that people like going overseas to run in a race. But we're still a small race and because of that, people have commented on the fact that we're able to give a personal touch. They don't feel that they're just another number.

Q: So all advertising is done through the Department of Tourism?

A: (They) promote (the event) but each year (International Race Weekend representatives) go to the Boston Marathon and the New York Marathon and the Peachtree Marathon in Atlanta. They have expositions and we get the word out through them. Also Marathon Tours & Travel, an agency in Boston, have been organising (Race Weekend) packages to the island for over 20 years. And now, the internet is everywhere.

Q: And generally, the response is good?

A: Last year there were 1,400 entrants. That was a really good year. This year there's about 1,000 or 1,100, including about three or four hundred local participants - many as walkers - who come out over the weekend. But the number always goes up and down. And if you look at the economic situation in the United States at the moment, it's had an effect. I don't think people are travelling as much as they were before.

Q: And the event is organised as a charitable one?

A: Yes. And we partner with other charities as well. The 10k walk we partner with the Diabetes Association but there are also charities, such as the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, which come in from overseas. They have a big national programme in the United States where, if volunteers raise over $3,000 (for a specified charity), they send them on a trip to places like Bermuda and Hawaii to compete in marathons. They have so many people who do it and we're just one country that they come to. In 2001, the Bermuda event alone raised a $1 million.

Q: For you I suppose, there is no January, only International Race Weekend?

A: I have two children - Amanda, 21, and Andrew, 24. Usually when the kids are at home and the phone rings, I don't even bother to answer it. However every year, the week before Race Weekend, they know that more than likely, it's going to be for me.

Q: What countries are represented?

A: This year, we have people competing from Canada, England, a couple of entries from Germany and Wales and, of course, we have our elite runners from Europe and America. In the past, we've had people from as far away as Japan.

Q: And what do the winners get?

A: The winner of the Invitational Mile receives $2,000; the winner of the marathon, $3,000 and the winner of the 10k, $1,000. If the winner breaks the record in the marathon or comes in under four minutes in the Invitational Mile, they receive a bonus of $10,000.

Q: Any common complaint from race participants regarding the route?

A: The hills are their biggest complaint. There's a course profile which we send to every participant and on it, McGall's Hill - peaking at 39 metres on the vertical scale - looks awful. I had one guy call and say the only way he was going to get over that would be with the help of a rope and pickaxe. However, there are others who say they prefer that kind of climb to a hill which has a long, gradual ascent.

Q: Has bad weather ever forced cancellation?

A: One year, it must have been two or three years ago, we were up at the Stadium and we had a hailstorm before the start of the race. People kept asking, 'What happens? Do we cancel?' But (with all the people who've travelled from abroad) when else would we hold it? There is no other time. Similarly, there was once a torrential rainstorm when again, people kept asking, 'Do we cancel?' Runners can run in any kind of weather. With (torrential rain and hail) it just becomes a bit more uncomfortable for them. The wonderful thing that many of them have noticed about Bermuda is that while there might be hailstorms at the start of the race, they'll get to the (halfway point) and there'll be beautiful blue sky. For the overseas people, many of them will have just left snow and so they love the fact that they can see nice greenery and a blue sky and blue ocean.

Q: Do you ever get to relax, sit off and enjoy the event?

A: I generally do not get to watch any of the races in their entirety. I usually get down to the race start and then have to move on to whatever it is I have to with the race next although I do watch the winners come in.

Q: Do you have your favourites that you secretly hope win?

A: Years ago, runners would stay with host families so, if I had (a billet) I would, perhaps, want them to win but today, they're all staying in hotels. It's just another example of how the community comes together to help out. And it shows how, through people helping out, the event becomes even more of a success.

The Bermuda International Race Weekend will be held between Friday, January 17 and Sunday, January 19 and will consist of an Invitational Mile, a 10k race and charity walk, a half marathon and a marathon. For information regarding details of the scheduled events or fees, telephone the race committee at 236-6086 or visit the website at www.bermudatracknfield.com.