Sport
30 June, 2025
Local legend to be honoured at marathon
A MASSIVE team of 78 locals will be running in honour of the late Kevin Davies in the upcoming Cairns Marathon.
From ages five to 67 and everywhere in between, members of the “KMs for Kev” team will participate in the 2km, 5km, 10km, and 21km events at the Cairns Marathon next weekend, with many competing in their very first race.
Mr Davies’ dear friend and running partner of over 10 years Tracy Marcel decided to “put a call out” to see if anyone wanted to do the event in his honour, and the response was overwhelming.
“I honestly didn’t think we’d get this many people, I was happy when we got to 20,” she said.
“Then the team just kept growing and everyone jumped on board and now we have 78, I was just so surprised.
“There are people that have never ran before. Running a race is such a big deal to a lot of people that have never run one before, and to do it for him, it’s just humbling.
“I think it just proves that he meant so much to so many people, on so many different levels, and it just shows that no one wants to lose the memory of him.”
Ms Marcel and Mr Davies first met at a race in Port Douglas many years ago and went on to become close friends and running partners for over a decade. The pair entered the Cairns Marathon every year since it began in 2017.
“We actually met at a race in Port Douglas. I passed him just at the finish line and beat him,” she grinned.
“Then we sort of got chatting at the end. He knew who I was, but I didn’t know who he was, and it just went from there. He was like ‘When do you run? Let’s run’. So, we started running together.
“We’d run together three times a week, every week. He was so passionate about exercise and running.
“We did the marathon every year and we would run and literally just laugh and have fun the whole way. So, I wanted to put together a team to do it in his honour and just remember him.
“Because I think the best way to remember someone is to never stop talking about them and never stop sharing their memories.”
She then reminisced about the time she beat him (again) without even running.
“One year when we had entered (the marathon), I had Covid and I was in isolation for the week,” she said.
“My race bib came, but I couldn’t do the race, so Kev wore it in his race belt.
“So, technically I still ran with him, except my race bib crossed the finish line before his. I didn’t even race and I still got a faster time than him!” she said laughing.
This year will be the first time she has done the marathon without her running buddy, but she is proud that so many others will be joining her and doing it in his honour.
“It’s going to be an emotional day, but I’m super excited,” she said.
