It was a bittersweet PartnerRe 5K for first-time winner Joanna Shillington who reluctantly passed Jennifer Alen who collapsed agonisingly close to the finish line through fatigue.Alen looked certain to win but started staggering as she approached the final bend of yesterday’s annual women-only event in the Botanical Gardens.As Alen’s legs gave way beneath her, Shillington broke her stride to try and encourage her friend to somehow drag her dehydrated body over the line for victoryBut her words were in vain, with Alen failing to manage to final few steps of the course without the help of a race official and therefore not did officially finish.There were no celebrations from Shillington as she crossed the line in 19 minutes and two seconds. Instead she had to fight back tears such was her commiseration for Alen’s misfortune.Alen suffered a similar fate in this year’s May 24 Marathon Derby when she collapsed on Church Street, paving the way for Deon Breary to romp home for her first Derby triumph.Breary finished yesterday’s race in a time of 20.38, one position behind Victoria Fiddick who stopped the clock at 20.02.Former Nike Farm runner Tamika Williams came fourth in 20.50.Shillington said her heart went out to Alen who had been the red hot favourite following her age group win in New York’s famous Fifth Avenue Mile last weekend.“I feel sorry for Jennifer because she was in such good form heading into the race,” said Shillington, who finished third in last year’s race.“She had a wonderful performance at the New York Mile and I, like everybody, accepted that she was going to win today.“Had it not been for her misfortune on the final straight then she certainly would have won, it would have definitely been her race. I didn’t expect to win and it’s a strange feeling because of Jennifer’s bad luck.”Shillington said she was delighted to be rediscovering her best form having suffered some misfortune of her own when she broke her leg last December.“It’s been a challenge for me following my injury. I was very lucky because initially my surgeon told me I was going to be out of action for three months but I managed to get back in just 10 weeks,” she said.Now in its 14th year, the PartnerRe Women’s 5K is the only all-female event on Bermuda’s sporting calendar. It also has a 5K walk and a 2K run for girls under 15.Since 1998, the race has raised more than $278,000 for female-related causes in Bermuda, including programmes to fight heart disease, confront physical abuse, support rape victims, educate teenagers, combat breast cancer, and fund equipment and initiatives supporting the treatment of women’s health.