Sisters Rachel McGinnis and Laura Cerge made it a double celebration as they won the women’s titles in both the Hannover Re/BNAA Half-Marathon and 10K yesterday

In the longer race, McGinnis, 36, ran a time of 1hr 27min 50sec to finish second overall, just over a minute behind men’s winner Maritz Theron.

In the 10K, which was held in conjunction with the main race, Cerge, 32, was sixth overall in 41:43. The winner was Seamus Fearon in 36:00.

McGinnis and Cerge hail from just outside Philadelphia, and for the elder sister it was her first trip to Bermuda.

“I didn’t know what to expect. My sister is working on the Island and was doing the 10K, so I figured I would do the other race,” McGinnis said.

The sisters had hoped for a 5K option, but with none available Cerge decided to step up in distance and enter her first 10K. McGinnis has past experience at longer distances, including a 1:20 personal best for the half-marathon, and was comfortable with the 13.1-mile race.

For the first four miles they ran side by side. At the top of McGall’s Hill, on South Road, Devonshire, Cerge turned around to follow the 10K route back to the finish line opposite the Botanical Gardens.

“It was my first 10K and it was hot and hilly. I don’t like anything over 5K,” said Cerge, after winning the women’s title. At college she and her sister competed over shorter distances and cross country.

As Cerge crossed the finish line, her older sister was halfway through the half marathon and involved in a three-way battle with the men leading the race, Theron and Trevor Lindsay.

Theron, 30, who has been a regular competitor in Island road races during the past two years, was looking to go under 1:30.

His closest rival, Lindsay, stayed with him until McGall’s Hill, at which point Theron opened up some daylight between them and started to edge away.

But Lindsay, 53, dug in and kept Theron on his toes for the remaining eight miles, never drifting more than a few hundred metres from the leader.

“He was tracking me all the way. Sometimes he closed the gap to 100 metres,” said Theron, who had to maintain a quality pace to ensure victory in 1:26:46.

McGinnis eventually overhauled Lindsay to secure second place. In the closing miles she was aware that Theron was not too far ahead, but was unable to get him in her sights.

A determined run by Lindsay was rewarded with third place overall and a personal best of 1:28:46.

“I never looked at my watch during the race. It was a nice, cool morning and the guys in the 10K pulled me along. Then I stuck to my usual pace. I’m putting in the training and it’s paying off,” said Lindsay.

Second woman in the half-marathon was Vivienne Lochhead, who also ran without a watch. She glimpsed the leading women near the turnaround point on Paynter’s Road.

At that stage in the race the top two had a sizeable lead, however Lochhead, 41, maintained a consistent pace and moved into the runner-up position in the final two miles.

“I’m coming back from an injury, so it was more of a training run,” she said.

Third man home in the half-marathon was Jon Smith in 1:34:35, third woman was Sharlene Sousa, the former race champion, in 1:43:30.

In the 10K, Neil Lupic was second in 38:33, and Ronae Burgess was third in 40:02. Second woman was Kristen Palmer in 45:27, ahead of Sharon Craig in 47:35.