Albert (Jay) Donawa might have been the one recovering from a visit to the dentist, but it was everyone else in the Fall Half Marathon who was made to feel the pain.

A week after winning the 2005 national cross-country title, Donawa yesterday added the Bermuda Track and Field Association?s half-marathon championship to his ever-growing list of honours.

In many ways it was deja vu as he gave a repeat performance of his 2004 win, although his time of one hour, 11 minutes and one second was nearly a minute faster than 12 months ago.

There was an equally impressive winner in the women?s race as Karen Bordage, fresh from her sub-three hour marathon in Chicago, got her race pace perfect and set a personal best of 1:25:46.

The course wound its way from St. George to Hamilton along the North Shore and for the most part had a favourable breeze coming in from the north east.

During the week Donawa had undergone some root canal dentistry and was still feeling the effects of the penicillin medication during the race.

Not that it seemed to slow him down. Within the first half-mile he had broken clear of the 60-odd race field and was not headed again.

?I was pretty much on my own. I never had a particular time in mind because I?ve been running the cross-country series and you never know how that is going to transfer onto the roads,? said Donawa.

?I?ve run almost a minute faster than last year, so my fitness level is better. I?m trying to stay consistent and avoid any injuries.?

Despite having run nearly all the 13.1 miles of the race alone, he managed to stay focused practically every step and felt that he still had something ?left in the tank? at the end.

?I had a few short bad patches. When we came through Flatts I went through a bad patch for about a minute, but then I re-focused. Coming to the 12 mile-mark there was some traffic congestion and I lost some focus.?

Donawa?s running year was curtailed at the start of the summer through injury, but he is now back on track and is viewing a place in next year?s World Cross-Country Championships as his top short-term goal.

He expects to run the Fairmont to Fairmont 7.2 mile race in early January followed by the 10K and Half-Marathon during International Race Weekend.

Second place in the men?s race went to Sylvester Jean Pierre proving that being in the upper reaches of the 40-49 masters? age category is no bar to turning in a near winning performance.

He has scaled back his training to four times a week because of a hamstring injury, but his quality running sessions provided enough juice to allow him to push on through the final miles to claim second place in 1:18:45 ahead of Leon Bascombe?s 1:19:01.

In the women?s race, Karen Bordage stuck to a plan to clock 6.30 miles and found herself picking off runners steadily for most of the race until she reached the finish line in sixth place overall with a lifetime best.

?I just wanted to go out there and see how I felt. It?s a lot easier to run with someone else so each time I saw someone up ahead I would try to catch them,? she said.

Breaking three hours in the Chicago Marathon in October has given her a solid endurance base and she is now focusing on the International Race Weekend Half-Marathon and then another marathon in Boston during the Spring.

Second in the women?s race was PartnerRe 5K winner Victoria Fiddick in1:28:56, with former winner Anna Eatherley first in the women?s 40-49 masters? age category, clocking 1:35:58.

Race organiser Roger Lambert was pleased with the turnout of more than 60 athletes for the road race and a number of walkers who also covered the full distance or did a shorter four-mile loop,

?The weather was good, sunny and a bit of a breeze,? he said. ?The 40-49 age category runners again showed their mettle with Sylvester coming home in second place.?

The deadline for International Race Weekend entries is this Wednesday, after which late entries will be accepted at a much higher fee. Qualifying trial dates for the Front Street Mile race are Sunday, December 4 and Saturday December 10, both at the National Sports Centre at 1 p.m.