HAPPY belated Bermuda Day. Hope everyone had a great day off. While I would have preferred to have the holiday on a Monday or Friday, thereby extending the weekend, the benefit of having it on Wednesday is that you don't have to work on "hump day", the day in the middle of the week. So, it still shortens the week.

Congratulations to Terrance Armstrong on his "three peat". It would have been nice if Jay Donawa could have run. I suspect that if Jay had been there he might have pushed and possibly beaten Terrance this year. However, they both better watch out for the Marshall brothers who are getting better with every race they run and who might be even further advanced at this stage of their careers than either Terrance or Jay were in their late teens and early 20s. So the future of distance running in Bermuda looks bright. It was great to see a few people running to raise cash for Wolde Bartley and we wish him well in his recovery. What an amazing young man.

However, the real winners, and I'll admit my bias, are the 25 soldiers from the Bermuda Regiment who did the marathon to raise funds for local charities Hope Homes, the Sunshine League and Friends of Hospice.

More on this after the Top 20.

Holding at the top is What You Know by T.I., a hot hip hop track. Way up to number two is 4 Minutes, a beautiful slow joint by Avant. Up to number three is Poppin' My Collar by Three 6 Mafia. Down to number four is Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It by Dem Franchize Boyz featuring L'il Peanut and Charlay. Temperature by Sean Paul falls to number five.

Now, this week's biggest gainer and DJ LT's favourite joint at the moment. Soaring to number six is Bad Boy's latest phenom, Cheri Dennis with her monster R&B/hip hop hit I Love You. This track has the sweetest melody, the smoothest beat and is simply well produced. Bad Boy isn't back; they never left. They just can't stop dropping hits.

Down to number seven is Best Friend by Olivia and 50 Cent. Dropping to number eight is Yo (Excuse Me Miss) by teenage sensation Chris Brown, who will be here next weekend. Falling to number nine is Busta Rhymes' latest hit Touch It. Tumbling to number 10 is Rihana's latest hit SOS.

Now back to R&B. Down to number11 is the Queen of R&B, Mary J. Blige with her hit Be Without You. Up to number 12 is Why You Wanna by T.I, the hottest name in the rap game these days. Improving to number 13 is Chris Brown's Your Man Ain't Me.

Up to number 14 is Enough Crying, the latest from Mary J. Blige. Climbing to number 15 is Gimmie That by Chris Brown. Do you see a theme with this guy? He has three hits in the chart.

Up to number16 is It's Going Down by Yung Joc, a relatively new player in the business. Advancing to number 17 When You're Mad by Ne-Yo.

We usually hear all the new soca joints around Bermuda Day, if you haven't heard them already. Two of them got lots of play over the holiday and therefore make the list. New at number 18 is Roll It by Allison Hinds featuring Machelle Montano. This is one of the soca hits you'll be hearing all summer and this week's essential new joint. In at number 19 is Park It, another soca jam, but this one is from Jamesie P. Check out the lyrics to this one, it will make you smile.

And rounding things out this week at number20 this week is Beyonce's hit with Slim Thug, Check On It.

Now back to this week's word-the Bermuda Regiment raising funds for charities. Once again we see an example of the Bermuda Regiment doing positive things in the community. The Regiment wants the public to realise, see, feel and hear that the Bermuda Regiment is YOUR REGIMENT.

Most of the troops who completed the Marathon are not distance runners and don't normally train for this type of event. Although as soldiers they are required and do maintain a certain level of fitness, military fitness is a little different from running a half marathon. Thus, they should all be congratulated. Also, the fact that they chose to run it to raise funds for worthy charities shows that there is hope for the young men of this country. Too often we hear the negative, but today I give you the positive.

Through their military experience, these young men are learning to give back to their community and are getting fitter at the same time.

Three of the men who did the run on Bermuda Day will be taking this to the next level, when they compete in the Florida Ironman Triathlon on November 4.

This gruelling event will see the three men complete a 2.4 mile swim; a 12 Mile bike ride and a three mile run, in tough conditions. We wish them well. Members of the public will be able to donate to this cause as well, since this too will be done to support a local charity.

So, Bermuda, don't ever forget that the Bermuda Regiment is YOUR REGIMENT.

Also, tomorrow, Saturday afternoon will see the Regiment's Change of Command Ceremony, an auspicious event to be held at the National Sports Centre, when Lt. Col. Eddie Lamb will hand over the battalion to Lt. Col. William White.

This is a great event for the entire family, which is free to all. We look forward to you supporting YOUR REGIMENT.

Stand at, ease.....