AN American couple have been on an unexpected Island adventure – after signing up for a fundraising run that they initially thought was in New Jersey.
Kandy Salazar and her husband, Nick Garcia, travelled to the Island to take part in the 13k Durrell Challenge last weekend.
They decided to take part after a colleague at Delta Air Lines told Kandy about the race and she thought it sounded fun.
‘He was going to go over to do it and I thought I would too. We live in the mid-west and I assumed it was New Jersey – he didn’t mention that it wasn’t and did nothing to correct me,’ she said.
Kandy (44) started training, but a few weeks later her colleague said he could no longer make the trip. However, she decided to continue and persuaded her husband to take part too. But Kandy was shocked when she saw the registration form.
‘I saw the map and a lot of ocean, and I thought where is this? But by then I was emotionally invested in the trip and I didn’t tell Nick about the mistake right away – I waited a few weeks. But here we are and we’re so glad we came,’ she said.
Nick (43), who works for a transportation company, admitted finding out it was the ‘wrong’ Jersey was ‘absolutely a surprise’.
He added: ‘She didn’t let me know specifically where it was right away and let me believe it was a mistake. I only found out a couple of weeks before we came,’ said Nick.
The couple are based in Cincinnati, Idaho, and had to fly to Salt Lake City before catching a flight to the UK – a journey of around 16 hours. Had the race been in New Jersey, it would have meant a two-hour flight.
The pair completed the race only ten seconds apart, in just over 90 minutes – in spite of the hilly course.
The couple – who have been staying at De L’Etang at Havre Des Pas – are flying back home today, and have been delighted with their trip. And now they know where Jersey is, they plan to come back next year.
Kandy said: ‘We’ve enjoyed it so much and now we’ll be ready for next year. Hopefully next time we’ll have a few more days to spend here.’
