Minutes after winning his eighth Marathon Derby yesterday, Kavin Smith threw down the gauntlet to all eyeing his prize - if you want it, you have to earn it.

"I hope to stay in there and get some good challenges before I become a Master. I throw this out confidently to let you guys know I'm not giving it up. I'm going to hang in there as long as I can so someone can try to beat me while I'm still training," declared the 35-year-old who smashed a field of 475 competitors from Somerset to the National Sports Centre to defend his title.

Stating it would not be the same for his rivals to wait until he is older "and just jogging, not running" to try and get the better of him, he urged all-comers to take him on now.

"C'mon guys, if you're going to take the crown from me, let's race and that way it will be justifiably yours," said the champion, thanking God for another victory.

Regarding his performance, Smith admitted he did not feel great physically but was confident he could triumph based on experience and technique.

"I was running this race based on what I know, not by feeling. It wasn't the best day as far as how I felt physically. I was running well coming into this race and I knew I could run a good technical race because I know the course well.

"The only difference was coming into Front Street and the finish but I knew if I had a good enough lead it would be hard for anyone to close the gap because it's all uphill from there. I didn't want to get down to Front Street close to Jay (Donawa) because Jay is in great shape and his pace is better than mine right now," explained the Bermuda Telephone Company employee.

Donawa, who repeated as runner-up had hoped to go one better this year but it wasn't to be.

Continued on Page 19 "My game plan was to get to six miles as comfortably as possible and from there try to run the second half a bit faster, come on stronger. I just left to too much time to be made up on the last part and Kavin is too strong a runner to try to make up over 200 yards. I paid the price at the end.

"I could see him and I was pushing. I gave it my best and that's all I can do. I am not terribly disappointed but, at the same time, I've been second for the last few years and I wanted to improve on that," said the 29-year-old fireman.

Tracy Wright, 38, was also happy with a successive third-place finish, despite terming his 1:15.59 clocking as "not great".

"For what I've been doing (in training) it was a great run for me. I am happy with what I did today. I was tired after about six miles but I just tried to keep a good pace and stay with it," he said.

Wright, who led the field until being reeled in by Smith after 4.5 miles, stated it was not his intention to be out front early.

"I got caught out front. My plan was just to hang in and just watch those guys but everybody sat back and I have to run my own race so I just ran at my pace and kept it going for a while. I figured they would catch me but if they didn't I was going to go for it."

Professional triathlete Tyler Butterfield provided some extra interest to the competition and showed his class as he took on the 13.3 mile run after placing second in the Sinclair Packwood Memorial bike race about 20 minutes before the run's 9.35 a.m. start. Negotiating his way through the pack, he finished a sensational fourth.

"I made the start of the run but I stayed at the back. I didn't want to go to the front and get caught up with the leaders and go too fast at the beginning. It's my first half-marathon and I'm really pleased. The bike race was almost like a warm-up and the boat ride (to get him back to Somerset) let me cool down and relax.

"The run was great. To run through the crowd and to have people running with me made it more fun. The support along the route was awesome, so many people cheering. It's definitely the best race I've ever done. I'm going to try and do both again next year," said the Australia-based athlete.

Butterfield, 19, said it was good to see "a new generation of runners coming through", including the Marshall brothers (Larry Jr and Lamont).

"In a couple years, hopefully the three of us and some other juniors will come up and be the people to watch," he said.

Larry Marshall Jr., who was again fifth as in 2001, would certainly second Butterfield's sentiments, particularly given the promise he has shown at 19.

"It took me a while to get kicking over but I felt better on Harbour Road and I started moving but I wish I had started better. Overall, I feel pretty good with my performance. My time could have been a bit lower but I will have to put in harder training and work on what needs to be done to break into the top three," said Marshall in his third May 24th race.