He ran the fastest 10K in the history of the Bermuda Marathon Weekend, a time that has never been bettered since it was set 32 years ago, and he is back this weekend to run again.

But Geoff Smith may have to curtail his racing plans after he strained one of his hamstrings while training in the icy conditions that hit the United States, where he lives, during the past month.

Smith set a remarkable record of 28 minutes and 14 seconds when he won the 10K race in 1982.

He returned to Bermuda last year for the first time since his famous victory, and helped out in various roles during Bermuda Marathon Weekend.

This year he set his sights on competing in the three-race Bermuda Triangle Half Challenge, but he has concerns over his strained hamstring.

His main aim is to run the Boston Marathon in April, which will be the 30th anniversary of the first of his back-to-back victories in the event. Rather than risk a setback by overdoing it this weekend, the Englishman is opting to take things one race at a time and see how his hamstring holds up.

“I’ll do the Mile and see how it goes,” he said. “If that’s OK, I’ll do the 10K. And if that is OK, I’ll then look at the half-marathon.”

Smith, 60, has been training since last September. He took part in a 5K race in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and ran a commendable time of 21:50, having expected to go two or three minutes slower.

He is a trimmer athlete as a result of the 30-odd miles a week he now does in training, reducing his weight from 170lbs to about 150lbs.

Two weeks ago, while on an eight-mile run with a training group he admits he “got too competitive” and started to feel the strain in his hamstring. The icy conditions were also a factor.

“The roads were terrible. My feet were slipping a bit,” he said.

Smith had intentions of running about six minutes in this evening’s mile race, and then between 42 and 48 minutes in tomorrow’s 10K and about two hours for the half-marathon on Sunday. He will wait and see what his body allows him to do.

He is happy to be back in Bermuda, but he was saddened to hear of the death this month of Andy Holden, the Bermuda Marathon record-holder. Smith recalls sharing a few drinks with the running great in Bermuda during the early 1980s. In the mid-Eighties, Smith was one of the world’s best marathoners. He fell badly in a training accident in 1990, which ended his competitive racing career. He later had a double hip replacement and had not run since, until last year.

Even if he misses out on the races this weekend, Smith hopes he will be able to return next year to complete the Bermuda Triangle Challenge.

And, just as he did last year, he will be lending a helping hand throughout the weekend, presenting awards and speaking at the Bermuda Marathon Weekend dinner event tomorrow.