Royal Castle launches 2026 Chick ‘N’ Run

– expands event to include duathlon

Royal Castle has officially launched the 2026 edition of its annual Chick ‘N’ Run, produced by Stride592 Guyana, promising an even bigger and more exciting event for participants across Guyana and the wider region.

The launch took place on Thursday afternoon at the Georgetown Club, Camp Street, Georgetown, and formed part of the company’s continued efforts to promote fitness, youth engagement, and national sporting development.
Speaking at the launch, Royal Castle Managing Director and CEO Yudhister Samaroo explained that the event, which has grown in popularity since its inception, will once again feature both the 5 kilometre (km) and 10 km runs.
However, for 2026, the company will be taking things a step further by introducing a duathlon component – adding a cycling element to the existing run.
“So, it is our intention to further develop what we fondly call the Chicken Run – the 5K and 10K event; it’s an annual event. We had it this year, and now we’re moving into 2026. We’re inviting participants from across the country, and we’re opening it up to regional participants as well.

The site is open as of today, so you can register right now for 2026. Regionally, anyone who wants to take part – both professional athletes and amateurs – can go online and sign up.”

Samaroo added that Royal Castle plans to market the event throughout the Caribbean to encourage greater participation and regional collaboration.
“We’re going to start advertising it throughout the region,” he said, citing his remarks as something patrons should look out for.
While addressing the purpose behind the event, Samaroo stressed that the Chick ‘N’ Run is not a commercial initiative but rather a community-driven project designed to give back and promote inclusivity among Guyanese youth.
“The funds that we receive from our sponsors – many people ask what we do with that – well, that helps us run the event. For those of you who took part this year, you’d know the amount of management that went into it. But that also helps us do something most important, which is our main focus: that money allows us to give free entry to kids and schools.”
He added, “For example, one of our sponsors here today had their sponsorship package used to help four classes of a school participate in the Chicken Run for free – and we thank them for that. So, a round of applause to our sponsors.”
Samaroo was keen to emphasise that the Chick ‘N’ Run is about national impact, not profit.
“This is not a profit-generating thing for Royal Castle; it’s our way of giving back. For 2026, our goal is to have 500 schoolchildren – both under 12 and over 12 – participate free of cost. And we’re hoping that our sponsors assist us in doing that. Besides everyone else who takes part, of course, you still have to pay to register – sorry,” he added with a laugh.
Meanwhile, lending his perspective towards expanding on new elements for the upcoming year, Samaroo revealed that the company will introduce a duathlon, adding a cycling component to the event.
“As I mentioned to one of our sponsors a few minutes ago, not only is it our objective to host the 5K run, walk and 10K run, but we’re also going to develop a duathlon. How many people here know what a duathlon is? It will be a run, a transition to a cycle, then back to a run. So that will be part two. After the 5K and 10K are finished, we’ll move on to the duathlon in different categories.”
According to the CEO, this new addition is also meant to broaden the appeal of cycling in Guyana and encourage wider youth participation.
“This will further aid in expanding the appeal of cycling to the general public, A lot of companies sponsor cycling, but those are mostly road races, which aren’t necessarily aimed at kids or teenagers. If you don’t have a race bike, you can’t take part in those. But for the Chicken Run, we don’t care – we want you to come even if you have a mountain bike. We want everybody to take part.”
He said the broader goal of the Chick ‘N’ Run is to help develop national sport and give athletes – both amateur and professional – a legitimate platform to build their skills and credibility.
“That’s how we want to develop national sport across Guyana,” he explained. “We want to widen the range of sporting skills in our youth. We’ll once again be partnering with Odyssey Timing, a regional timing organisation that is internationally recognised. So athletes – amateur and professional – will get an official printed-out time that they can use as a pre-qualifier for other events.”
Looking ahead, Samaroo shared that the company plans to engage both returning and new sponsors to expand the event’s reach and impact.
“We’re going to be reaching out to our previous sponsors and new prospective sponsors to widen the scope of our sponsorship packages,” he said. “We want to embrace a more holistic view of how sport is supported, managed, and celebrated here in Guyana.”