Kari-Ann Wanat won the lottery.  Literally!  At the Reggae Marathon booth at the New York Marathon back in 2010 she filled in a ballot for a trip to Negril for Reggae Marathon.  And won!  Since then she’s been back every year!

“I’m a true New Yorker from New York, NY. I’ve been running for 7 years.

When I went to Jamaica for a vacation in February 2010, I saw a sign for The Reggae Marathon. That’s when I set my goal to return.  I decided then  that I was going to return in December 2010 to run the half marathon despite never having run more than 2-3 miles for sports as a child. It took me a while to get motivated to start running but in June 2010, I started to become depressed with work and life in general. I started to run as form of therapy. Since then, I haven’t stopped running.

I fell in love with Negril, and now Jamaica as a whole. In addition, when I attended the NYC Marathon expo in November 2010, I entered the lottery to get free entry and a hotel for the Reggae Marathon and I won. I knew that I was meant to go back and run!

Since then, I have made many friends who make the yearly trip to Negril for the race.  Three years ago, a few friends from New York City came down with me and some continue to come back!

Every year I go to the Reggae Marathon, I meet new people; people who are now my friends. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit them in Minnesota, Maine, Illinois, and California…all while traveling the country to run a marathon in each state. I love Reggae Marathon and will continue to promote it and come back every year. There aren’t many race where you get a fresh coconut, Red Stripe, and the Caribbean at the finish!”

Kari-Ann, we’re looking forward to seeing you in your ‘second home’, Negril, this December. Thanks for sharing your Reggae Marathon Experience.

Until next time…