Arriving and Preparing for the first Caribbean Run tomorrow

A small team of runners arrived in Jamaica and began preparing for the first of a series of island runs through the Caribbean. Kingston is the most populated city in Jamaica and the seat of government. The heralds one of its most famous Jamaicans with a statue, museum and a number of murals dedicated to Bob Marley. His music is universally recognizable and heard around the world, capturing the spirit of Jamaicans: "One love, one heart," and "Don't worry, about a thing, cause every little thing's gonna be alright..."

Today we went to the office of the Jamaican Amateur Athletics Association where we met some aspiring Olympic hopefuls for the famous Jamaican Olympic Track Team. Usain Bolt (below) is tall, young and fiercely focused, training for the 200m with an impressive personal best of 19.93. He's aiming for the Beijing Olympics and is traveling tomorrow to New York to compete.

Floyd Mayne (below) is training for the 1500m and 5000m, and we were surprised to see him running on the road later in the afternoon. There must be something special going on because we also saw Usain (above) by a grocery store later in the day as well.

Last night we stayed at the Knutsford Court Hotel and were graciously provided a room with a view of a beautiful mango tree outside our window. The manager and head chef came out for a photo with the torch.

For the next two nights we will be staying at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel where we are making final preparations for our first run this year in the Caribbean tomorrow for Jamaica. Manager Nancy McLean and Director of Sales and Marketing Prudence Simpson posed in front of the Pegasus sculpture. Representatives for the Jamaica Tourist Board made these great hotel arrangements.

Finally, we would not be anywhere in Jamaica if it weren't for the tireless dedication and organisation of David Fitz-Henley (dark shirt below), a glowing example of the dynamic heart of Jamaica. With a skilled background in advertising, he has done an amazing job puling things together single-handedly in a very short period. Our sincerest thanks go out to David for being such a great catalyst and host.

We haven't even had the run yet in Jamaica and we are already feeling grateful and inspired by the reception here in Kingston. Ya mon!

- Homagni, Ketan, Natabara, Sakshat