Some mistakes were made during this year?s International Race Weekend but it is onwards and upwards according to Clarence Smith, the man at the helm of the new-look organising team.

A week ago the Island?s annual three-day road running festival sprang to life with the explosive KPMG Invitational Mile races along Front Street. In the two days that followed some of the fastest athletes from around the world competed alongside hundreds of ordinary competitors on the roads of Bermuda in a 10K, half-marathon and marathon.

The overall response from competitors and spectators has been positive and there is a feeling that, after a couple of troubled years, race weekend is showing signs of rejuvenation, something Bermuda Track and Field Association president Smith noted this week.

The only negative to hit the headlines involved the shuffling of some elite athletes between three hotels in the space of 24 hours. That raised eyebrows and left a number of the overseas runners bemused. When those concerns became known the race committee visited the athletes and explained what had happened and why.

Fairmont Hotels provided complimentary rooms for the guest runners at the Hamilton hotel but had to move the athletes to the Fairmont Southampton on Sunday afternoon because the city hotel was fully booked. Fairmont, one of the event sponsors, did provide transport back to the Hamilton hotel so the athletes could attend the awards ceremony on Sunday evening.

?When the athletes went to the Southampton hotel they thought it was an upgrade because they had places to go running, such as the beach,? said Smith.

That?s exactly what Kenyan double-winner Emmanuel Chamer and his fellow countryman and mile specialist Geoffrey Rono were doing on Monday when their belongings were removed from their room and put into storage in preparation for another hotel move, this time to Grotto Bay Beach Hotel as the Fairmont Southampton was now also fully booked and management was not aware the runners required a further night.

Smith said: ?They (Chamer and Rono) were out training on the beach and it was difficult for anyone to find them.?

The episode caused a number of residents on the Island who knew the athletes to call the asking why the guest runners were being moved in such a fashion. Once aware of the concerns members of the race committee went to see the athletes and reassure them about what had happened. Smith also personally spoke to the athletes before they left the Island.

Apart from that episode, the Race Weekend appears to have picked up kudos in all other departments.

There were quality international athletes on show. For the first time the race used ComputerChip technology to record runners? finishing times and positions, and overseas and local athletes alike have commented upon the friendliness of spectators, supporters and race volunteers.

The summery weather added to the overall feeling that something good was happening to race weekend after years of declining competitor numbers and near cancellation in 2005.

Smith said: ?I?m not going to say that nothing went wrong. But we are going to work on those mistakes. We have a lot of big ideas that we would like to have done but it all takes money. We have to work on a shoestring budget.?

The new BTFA team picked up the International Race Weekend baton in the middle of 2006. Former top Island runner Peter Lever acted as race director for this year?s 10K and has already said the impact of the new team will come in 2008 when they have had a full year to promote and refine the running festival.

Smith agrees and would like to see race weekend return to its glory days where it attracted upwards of 1,000 competitors. With the right amount of support and backing he sees no reason why that can?t be done.

?When you look at the other races going on you see that road running is one of the biggest tourism things going on. Look at the New York Marathon and Boston, they attract thousands and thousands of people,? he said.

?The aim is to increase the numbers. The numbers were equal to last year and we made a couple of changes here and there. Our intent as a committee is working towards next year. I feel very confident from the reports that we are getting.?

Although Smith has been involved in the race organising board in previous years this is his first experience of being at the head of the organisation.

?Based on the feedback from the overseas athletes and spectators it has gone well,? he said, adding there had been good support from the hotels, the Tourism Board and sponsors.

Promoting the event around the world through attendance at Expo events for major overseas road races is one avenue the race committee will be pursuing this year. Ironing out the few glitches that showed up this year has begun. A post-event meeting to address some matters has already taken place.