Tommy Marshall and Zoe Hasselkuss won their first overall titles in the Heritage Day Junior Classic race yesterday.

Marshall, second to Quincy Kuzyk last year, led the field to claim his first boys’ title, finishing the two-mile race from Front Street to Bernard Park in 11min 10.52sec ahead of Seth Hardtman in 12:18 while T’Syi Showers finished third in 12:21.

Marshall’s time was four seconds faster than a year ago, the 13-year-old setting the pace early in the race. “It was really fun, I knew I came into the race as one of the top athletes so I tried to go out fast and keep the lead as fast as I could,” Marshall said.

“It was very hot and humid so that made it hard but not too bad.”

Kuzyk, 16 and too old now for the junior race, ran in the Bermuda Day Half-Marathon, leaving Marshall as the favourite in the boys’ race.

Tajai Goater and Khari Sharrieff completed the top five males overall, Goater finishing fourth in 12:27 and Sharrieff fifth in 12:38.

In the girls’ race, Hasselkuss was first and thirteenth overall in 13:24, just ten seconds ahead of Shayla Cann with sister Jasmin Hasselkuss third and eighteenth overall in 13:38.

“I’m tired, it was really hard, especially the last little bit,” said Zoe, 13, who was relieved to see the finish line. “The crowd are always cheering for you, even if they don’t know you.

“Last year I didn’t finish because I wasn’t training enough and got asthma. This year I’ve been training Tuesday and Friday mornings, we did some hill work and that helped a lot. Now I’m going to hang out with my friends.”

Katherine Bean-Rosario, who won the 8-10 year age group last year in 13.45, shaved a few seconds off her time when she also clocked 13.38 in a photo finish for third with Jasmine Hasselkuss. Liani Medeiros was the fifth female, just three seconds behind Hasselkuss and Bean-Rosario.