Kavin Smith and international triathlete Flora Duffy showed they were in another class after securing impressive individual wins in the Fidelity Couples road race five miler yesterday morning.

Multi-May 24 Derby Race winner Smith may now be 40, but the advancing years have barely slowed him as he took almost two minutes out of his nearest rival, another former May 24 champion Brett Forgesson, to cross the finish line on a steaming hot morning in 27 minutes 56 seconds.

Teenage triathlete Duffy has had a difficult time in recent overseas competitions, but as she gears up for Pan Am Games in Rio she looked the part as she finished fastest woman and fourth overall in a time of 30.56.

While Smith ran as an individual, most of those taking part paired up in man/woman teams to battle for prizes over either 5K, five miles or 5K walk.

Teams were able to choose which combination of the distances they wanted to compete and in which category; open, family, married, masters or corporate.

The race started at the Foot of the Lane and ran along Front Street and on to Pitts Bay Road where the 5K competitors turned around just past Smatt’s Cycle Hire and headed back, while the five mile runners carried on to a turnaround point on St. John’s Road.

Duffy paired up with her father Charles to win the family 5K/ five mile run category.

Afterwards, the 19-year-old international said: “I was pleased with my time. I’ve not been feeling great for the last two weeks but I felt strong the whole way through the race today.”

At the first mile she found herself in a chasing pack alongside second woman Dawn Richardson, Chris Page, James Keyes and Spencer Conway before picking up her pace and opening up a gap as she tried to chase down Smith, Forgesson and Simon Ashby ahead.

Duffy said: “It was a hot day, although not as hot as I’ve experienced in the last few weeks. I was looking to run around 30 minutes and considering the conditions I was pleased with the time.”

Duffy is currently awaiting blood tests this week to see if there is an identifiable cause to a dip in her strength during her two most recent World Cup triathlons.

The 5K run / five mile run was the most popular couples’ combination, and it was Dawn Richardson and Otis Robinson who delivered the fastest time out of the 40-plus teams who did those distances, with a combined time of 49.03.

The pair reprised their 2006 appearance as an open category team, when they placed fourth, with Richardson this time impressing in the five miler as she came home sixth in 31.36 and Robinson winning an eyeballs-out battle with Riaan Naude to clock the fastest 5K in 17.26 from Naude’s 17.28.

Robinson said: “It was hard. I ran the first mile in 5.15 and was five feet clear. Riaan went ahead of me and then I caught him back up and we were neck and neck coming past the Cabinet Building (on Front Street). My legs felt good but I could see I wasn’t going to break my personal best so I decided then it was simply a race to be the winner.”

Robinson took control on the final bend at the Foot of the Lane and sprinted all the way to the finish near the offices of Fidelity. His team partner Richardson is preparing to compete in both the half-marathon and 10,000 metres track race at the Island Games in Rhodes, Greece in early July.

Happy with her race, she looked ahead to Rhodes saying: “I’m concerned that it is likely to be 100 degrees and a dry heat. You have to respect the heat. I’ve never run in those conditions before.”

The winning 5K/5K running team was Naude and Kim McMullen in a combined time of 37.36.

The fastest woman in the 5K was American Alice Louise Uhl, enjoying her honeymoon on the Island, who ran 19.30. She and husband Brandon won the married couples’ 5K/5K race.

The married couples’ double five miler was won by Laura and James Keyes. The 5K/5M was won by Veronica and Peter Dunkerley, the 5K/5K walk was won by Annette and Adrian Cook, the 5K walk / 5K run was won by Gavaska Lodge and Kathleen Lodge and the 5K walk /5M run was won by Ian and Anna Fulton.

The corporate team that won in the 5K/5K comprised Jonathan Briers and Jordan Kuebler.

In the masters’ category 5K/5K run was won by Kim Mason and Errol Cormack, the 5K/5M was won by Zina Jones and Mark Albouy, the 5K/5K walk was won by Marlene Madden and Sinclair Smith, the 5K walk /5M run was won by Mike Osborn and Davina Dickinson.

The open 5M/5M run was won by John Thompson and Sarah Williams.

In the family category the 5K/5K walk was won by Kathy Fulcher and Bernadette Warren, the 5K walk/5K run was won by Rebecca Forgesson and Anna Eatherley, and the 5K/5K run was won by Fiona MacKinnon and Mairi Redmond.

Fastest competitive 5K walker was Sinclair Smith in 32:01 from Anna Eatherley 32:02. In the recreational walk Gaynelle Pace was first in 36.25.