Anna Eatherley has certainly ‘Mastered' the Marathon Derby.

Competing in the Over-40s of the annual classic for the first time, she blitzed all women to win not only her age group but to retain her billing as the female champion.

She clinically disposed of any challenge which arch rival Lynn Patchett and relative newcomer Kim McMullen might have fancied and romped home in one hour, 29 minutes and 56 seconds at the National Sports Centre yesterday.

“I had a great run. I felt good the whole way. I went out very conservatively, well within myself,” explained the petite and soft-spoken athlete.

After warming up in the first three miles, the 40-year-old - who already had a 45-second lead over Patchett - pressed on and hit full stride out of Somerset.

“At ten miles I thought ‘It's only a 5K now' so I tried to pick it up a bit more. The only bad patch I had was at the very very end coming up that hill,” she said pointing to the incline outside the stadium.

Despite her periodic bursts, Eatherley's overall time was slow which she attributed to the testing humidity.

“In these conditions I decided to go for the win,” she said, thanking her husband Brett Forgesson for cautioning her not to go out too fast.

For extra insurance, the queen of Bermuda's roads bathed herself in water throughout the race to counter the increasingly oppressive heat.

Patchett, who was the second female finisher, agreed with the prevailing sentiment about the weather, quipping “there were times when I really questioned what I was doing out there”.

“It was a matter of survival. It was just one of those days. What can I say? After mile four, Anna picked up the pace and I ran my own race to get to the finish.

“It was tough for everyone and I was glad to keep second place and finish stronger than I started,” said the 37-year-old who clocked 1:31:22 to be 20th overall.

McMullen, 34, conceded she was anticipating better of herself given her triathlon experience.

“I was hoping to give them a bit more competition. I usually have a good kick for the second half (of the race) and I was hoping to do that but the heat got to me,” she said after posting 1:33:38 for 26th place and third among the women.

While pleased to wear the Marathon Derby crown once more, Eatherley - who finished 18th overall - expressed disappointment at the lack of young women in the sport.

“I'm hoping new runners come along in the women's category. I feel like it's a battle of the has-beens at the moment. I'm a Master and Lynn is getting on. None of us is going to get any better I wouldn't think.

“It would be great to have some young girls in their 20s coming through, running what I used to run when I was in my 20s which is about ten minutes quicker.”

Noting she would have relished the kind of intensity which the men had, the winner stated that on your own you have to focus and concentrate much more than if you have company along the 13.3 mile stretch.