ROAD race champion Kavin Smith levelled the score with Canadian teenager Blair Paul when he broke clear a mile into the Swan's Flat Five Miles race and never looked back.

Two weeks after being beaten by the young visitor for Canada, Smith made sure there was going to be no repeat of the shock defeat in the Fidelity Couples' Race when Paul made a late surge in the final mile to claim a notable win.

Since that day Smith has been running the gauntlet of comments from those wondering if the nine-times May 24 Marathon Derby champion was finally slowing down as he head towards his 40th birthday.

But as the runners lined up at West Pembroke Primary School for the five mile race along North Shore Road to Shelly Bay, Smith had a clear idea what tactics to use and after tagging along with the youngster for an opening mile in five minutes and 10 seconds he assumed the lead and kept up the punishing pace.

The early evening race was held in temperatures above 80F, which proved difficult of Paul, 19, who normally trains in South Carolina where he is a marine sciences university student.

Smith on the other hand was in his element and maintained the blistering pace for the entirety of the race to finish in 26 minutes 59 seconds.

Finishing the final road race of the season, Smith said: "I was hoping Paul I wasn't going to turn up for the race. I watched him in the Couples' Race ? I saw how he ran that race so I learned how he runs.

"After the first mile in 5:10 he settled back and I knew I had had to put the wind up him. Today the humidity was high and I took up the pace and he did not respond. It was a hot day and he had to come with me, but didn't." Paul crossed the finish line second in 28:46.

He said: "The heat killed me. I could not keep up the pace with the heat so I turned it in to a steady run." After finishing at Shelly Bay, Paul rested before turning around to re-run the route back to West Pembroke to complete a further five miles as part of his training as he aims to build up to 80 miles a week by the end of summer before returning to North America to compete in 5k and 10k race.

Smith has been running constantly for 30 years and acknowledges he has to be careful to avoid injuries and strains, one of the reasons why he does the bulk of his training on grass surfaces, such as golf courses. This weekend he has an important date himself when he marries fianc? Dawn Symonds, who was on hand to support her future husband during last Sunday's five mile race.

After that Smith focus will be maintaining a 35-week marathon build up, of which he is already five weeks into, as he focuses on running a marathon in Miami on his 40th birthday on January 28 next year.

"On that day I'll turn 40 and join the Masters category. I'm training for that, that is my goal," he said.

First woman to cross the finish line in the Flat Five Miles was Marathon Derby champion Dawn Richardson. The English runner started conservatively and ran a steady pace to finish in 32 minutes 07 seconds, despite nursing a few bruises after being knocked from her bike the day before.

Richardson intends to run the Las Vegas Marathon in December with a party of runners from Bermuda.