Ben Claridge still had plenty cause for celebration despite being dethroned as Butterfield Invitational Elite Mile champion on Front Street last night.

The British runner, a training partner of Bermudian Dage Minors, had to settle for second this time around but was still buzzing with joy after getting engaged to his fiancée 24 hours earlier at Grotto Bay Hotel.

“I loved it here so much last year that I really wanted to bring my missus out here and she came,” he told The Royal Gazette. “The weather yesterday morning was perfect and I asked the question.

“It’s been really hard to go from trying to celebrate an engagement to running a really hard road mile, but now that’s done and I’m really happy with the result.”

The 28-year-old won the silver medal in 4:09.28, crossing the line more than five seconds behind first-time winner Andrew Ernst (4:05.26) of the United States.

“A.J. [Ernst] is quicker than me over the mile and he was much better than me today,” Claridge said. “But I got second in the mile an I got my fiancée, so it’s been great so far.”

Ernst was thrilled to win the race at the second attempt.

The 27-year-old put on burst of speed to break away from the lead pack with a quarter of a mile to go and kept his foot hard on the gas the rest of the way to take the win.

“It went fast through the half mile and I didn’t know where I was, but I felt very in control,” he said.

“Last turn I spun the gears a little and blew away to get a few seconds on them and kept it to the finish. The crowd was electric. The last 200 they were like ‘go, go go’ and it made it a lot of easier.

“It would’ve been awesome to break four minutes and in retrospect I would’ve given it a little more gas from the gun, but it’s nice to just get out there and win.”

Aaron Willingham finished third in 4:10.36 to round off the podium, while Ryan Outerbridge was the top local in the race, finishing fifth overall in 4:14.99.

Claiming women’s honours for the second time was American Gina McNamara, who also broke away from the lead pack with a quarter of a mile to run to hit the tape in 4:50.60.

“It’s good to be back and I’m incredibly happy with it,” she said. “This win is just as special as my other if not more.

“It’s a challenging course and it felt good just to stay with the pack and then pick up as we went.

“I think everybody got out pretty hard the first corner and after that the pack started to separate. The goal is to stay attached and then everybody starts to wind up in the last quarter of a mile for the finish.”

Britain’s Anna Vess was second in 4:54.47 and compatriot Ellie Stevens third in 4:57.61.

Megan Berry was the first local-based runner home, finishing tenth in 5:25.35.

Also among the elite women’s field was former resident Gayle Lindsay, who was eighth in 5:23.44.

“It feels great to be back on the island,” she said. “It feels like I never went away and it’s good to be back for Race Weekend.

“I’ve had a few injuries so I am not feeling as confident or as strong as I’d like but I’m just so happy to be part of it.

“I was pleased with my performance. I wasn’t sure what to expect so I just went out and gave it my best and I am pretty happy with that.

“I love this race. I go back years with it and every year it just reminds me how much I love it.”