IFrivals are hoping Albert "Jay" Donawa's decision not to let running totally consume his life anymore might mean they can now beat the great athlete they should think again.

When Donawa says he is taking a more mature and measured approach to his training it is all relative.

For the 32-year-old that sagely outlook means getting by on "only" 10 training runs per week.

Runners with pretensions of defeating the newly crowned Bermuda Half Marathon Champion may well be weeping into their training diaries at such news.

Obliterating the race field in last Sunday's BTFA Fall Half Marathon in a time of one hour 11 minutes and one second secured Donawa his second national title in eight days having won the Cross-Country honours the previous weekend.

His focus is now on January's International Race Weekend and beyond that the prospect of a return outing at the IAAF World Cross-Country Championship in Japan next April.

The outlook is a lot better for Donawa than it appeared at the end of May.

He suffered an inconsistent start to the year and was given a tough time from roadside critics as he finished the Marathon Derby Day race runner-up for a seventh consecutive time.

Days later his running was brought to a complete halt in order to have surgery on a niggling foot injury.

His steady route back to fitness culminated in an impressive solo run in last Sunday's half marathon from St. George's to Hamilton that was a mere eight seconds slower than Donawa's lifetime best.

"The foot surgery went really well. It turned out to be Morton's neuroma, an inflamed nerve between two toes that gave me a burning sensation like I had a rock on the bottom of my foot every time I ran hard," said Donawa.

"I've taken a nice slow build up since then. I didn't want to feel pressurised. Sunday was the result of consistent training, I have not done anything differently it is pretty much my normal Fall training.

"It has given me great hope for when the real racing starts in the Spring.

"I'm enjoying my running. It has been a while since I've been enjoying running, but I have in the last few months and I'm not putting pressure on myself, I'm being more open about it." Currently he is drawing up an overseas racing itinerary and has ambitions to race in the NACAC Cross-Country Championships in Florida in March and, if invited, the IAAF World Championships which would be a return to the world stage for Donawa who competed in the 2005 event in France.

"But I've got nothing written down yet. I want to enjoy my running and not let it be a burden that it was years ago. It is a sport I love but I don't want it to ruin me." He is currently doing 10 training sessions a week, running more than once on a number of days, but says this is achievable because of his many years in the sport and conditioning.

"Each year I try to reassess my life. Running has been very good to me with all the experiences it has brought. I'm not bugging myself about being competitive. It used to consume me but I have a more mature outlook now." Despite this his passion for running has not diminished. One title that has alluded him is the Marathon Derby Day 13.2 mile race. When it comes to the ultimate bragging rights that is the race that an islander needs to win. The seven-times runner-up says the May 24th event is on his list for next year.

It is clear he would still dearly like to win Bermuda's feature race, but he'll take events as they come and if he is fit and healthy come next May who knows? Road running remains his least favourite aspect of the sport. Cross-country is his first love, followed by track racing. But in Bermuda it is road running opportunities that dominate.

He intends to run both the 10K and the Half-Marathon during International Race Weekend in January, and said: "The atmosphere during that weekend is quite relaxed, just like it was on Sunday."