When Bermuda’s three-day running festival goes under starter’s order in January, The Royal Gazette’s involvement will go beyond providing reports on the road races.Because The Royal Gazette Ltd has been named as the title sponsor for the Bermuda Triangle Challenge.The event is celebrating the 45th anniversary of its roots, and has a new name and four new sponsors.The weekend features races over one mile, 10K, half-marathon and marathon.Previously known as the Bermuda Marathon Weekend, and before that the Bermuda International Race Weekend, it is now called The Royal Gazette Bermuda Triangle Challenge.“The Royal Gazette is proud to join as the title sponsor of the Bermuda Triangle Challenge,” said Jonathan Howes, chief executive officer of Bermuda Press (Holdings) Ltd, the parent company of The Royal Gazette. “This is a significant annual event on the island’s sporting calendar and we are excited that our title sponsorship will be supporting the numerous local runners, fans, volunteers and visitors to our islands. The Bermuda Triangle Challenge is an exceptional three-day running event and we are certain that our islands and our visitors will be thrilled with the competition and the camaraderie of the 2020 event.”Butterfield Bank is title sponsor of the Front Street Mile races, and has reinstated a $10,000 bonus for the first person to run a sub four-minute mile on the course. The fastest time to date is 4min 2.6sec by Kenya’s Leonard Mucheru, which he achieved in 2002.BF&M is the title sponsor of the 10K walk and run, while PwC is the title sponsor of the half-marathon and marathon.The event started in 1975 when seven competitors lined up for Bermuda’s first international marathon. A 10K race was added in 1978, with mile races introduced in 1989, and then the half-marathon in 1993.A multi-distance race series that allowed competitors to tackle the mile, 10K and then either the half-marathon or marathon, was created in 2008. It is known as the Bermuda Triangle Challenge and lends its name to the new overarching title for the weekend, The Royal Gazette Bermuda Triangle Challenge.Freddie Evans, chairman of the event, said: “We consider ourselves extremely fortunate to name The Royal Gazette Ltd as our title sponsor of the Bermuda Triangle Challenge. Because of their generosity, our runners, residents and our visitors will all benefit substantially through a greatly improved three-day running weekend. “We sincerely applaud The Royal Gazette’s commitment to this year’s event and are thrilled to welcome them as our title sponsor.”In past years, the event has attracted some of the biggest names in the sport, including former Olympic marathon champions Joan Benoit Samuelson and Frank Shorter, and former world marathon champion Douglas Wakiihuru. Other big-name competitors have included Geoff Smith, Ron Hill, Kathrine Switzer and former world record-holders Steve Cram and Steve Jones.Norway’s Grete Waitz, a nine-times champion in the New York City Marathon and the inaugural women’s world marathon champion, loved taking part in the Bermuda 10K and won the women’s title eight times during the 1980s.Mr Evans said: “Our ultimate goal with the Bermuda Triangle Challenge is to move it from being a good event to a world-class event that every runner wants to have on their competition calendar. “With the benefit of The Royal Gazette and our other new sponsors and our management team, we are repositioning and building on the past successes. “This is a long-term vision which our new affiliation with the Bermuda Tourism Authority will allow us to build this event.”The tourism authority has designated it as one of its signature events. Olympian Hazel Clark, sports marketing director at the BTA, said: “The Royal Gazette Bermuda Triangle Challenge is an opportunity for Bermuda to showcase its rich running history, energetic local fans, beautiful landscape and ability to deliver world-class sporting events. “In 2020, the focus will be on further developing local involvement, enhancing participant experience and the development of our elite section ensuring the event continues to grow and thrive”.Guest speaker at January’s event will be Suzy Favor Hamilton. She is a three-times Olympian, and on the all-time rankings is the fifth-fastest American woman at 1,500m, having run 3:57.4 in 2000, the same year she was named USA Track & Field’s Female Distance Runner of the Year. After her running career, she stepped forward to share her story about her experiences with bipolar disorder, as well as her struggles with life during and after running. Her autobiography Fast Girl — A Life Spent Running from Madness was published in 2015 and became a New York Times bestseller.Ms Favor Hamilton will speak at the pasta dinner, presented by Chubb, at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club on January 18. Register for The Royal Gazette Bermuda Triangle Challenge events at www.bermudaraceweekend.com