ABOUT THE COMMITTEE
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The Bermuda Half Marathon Derby is Bermuda's longest-standing race, dating back to 1909. The event has become one of the island's most popular cultural and sporting events and takes place annually on Bermuda Day.​
Runners from all walks of life accomplish this right-of-passage race attracting hundreds of supporters who line the street each year and even camp out the night before to secure a prime viewing spot along Front Street. The annual event also has a charitable focus, which changes each year.
Like the annual Cupmatch, since 2015 the starting point of the Derby route switches each year between St. George's and Somerset. Participants can choose between running the full Derby or joining a relay team.
HISTORY
The Siblings Trophy was established in 2016 as a tribute to Neil and Neville Virgil, "The Virgil Twins” to highlight their spirit of sportsmanship and acknowledge their contributions to the Bermuda Day Half Marathon Derby. This legacy was conceived by Ted and Susanne Knowles, who first met Neil and Neville when the entire Knowles family made their first visit from Boston to Bermuda in 1969.
For the past 50 years, Knowles family members have consistently visited Bermuda and have contributed to the community in various ways, including purchasing a home and donating their time to local small business events. A chance family vacation, sprinkled with “The Virgil Ambassadorship, fused into a half-century of visits between Bermuda and Boston and the development of a lifelong friendship between that crossed the ocean.
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Sadly, Neville passed away on April 24, 2015. As is often the case, the “identical twin genetic connection” prevails and Neil passed away 5 months later, on September 20, 2015.
As part of the healing process, the Knowles and Virgil family continued to connect and founded the Siblings Trophy, as a tribute to highlight the Virgil Twins' accomplishments, in particular their spectacular 1964 "One-Two Finish" when first-born twin, Neville won the Marathon Derby and “10-minutes younger” Neil, was the “second-in-command drafter,” who pushed Neville to keep going. Their 1964 record has never been broken; it proudly still stands today.
In 2016, the Siblings Trophy made its debut and was awarded to the first set of siblings to cross the line with the lowest combined time. In 2019, in recognition of Neil and Neville's love of ambassadorship (where everyone is a cousin), the Sibling Trophy will be expanded to include a second category.
Celebrate our heritage; connect with family and carry on the legacy of The Virgil Twins!
