title at the prestigious Falmouth Road Race in Massachusetts.

In a huge field of 8,500 runners, 52-year-old Couper again crossed the line first in the 50 to 59 age division, clocking 48 minutes 52 seconds over the 7.1 mile course.

Her time was just 29 seconds slower than her winning effort in 1995 and exactly two minutes faster than her closest rival.

Bermuda has traditionally been well represented at the mid-summer classic but this year Couper was the only local to compete, having been invited back as a defending champion.

"It's such a great race,'' said Couper yesterday. "The whole town turns out to support the runners. I'll definitely be going back.''