Kenya's front-running Benson Osoro thought he had the Bermuda Marathon in the bag as he went through 24 miles seemingly unchallenged having at one stage gone more than half-a-mile clear of his nearest pursuer.

But a 26.2 mile race leaves a lot of time for surprises and that's what he got, turning into Pitts Bay Road for the final mile when he heard reigning champion and four-times winner El Afousi Boubker closing rapidly behind him.

"I was feeling fine. I didn't think anyone was going to overtake me, and then he was right there," said the Kenyan.

Having settled into a strong pace and appearing only to labour slightly coming off the hills, Osoro looked set to win.

But he had no response when Moroccan Boubker sailed past, putting 20 metres of daylight between the two runners within a matter of seconds.

So quick was Boubker that he opened up a two-minute winning margin during the final mile to stop the race clock at two hours 23 minutes and 59 seconds.

With Boubker running strongly in the final miles it was always likely that he would catch a glimpse of Osoro ahead and try to reel him in, but even he had all but given up hope of seeing again the 29-year-old Kenyan, who has a best time of 2:18.

Then came mile 25.

Up the slight incline Boubker grabbed control and made sure there was no repeat of last year's dead-heat sprint finish.

"I felt good and I was thinking that if I come second I would be happy," said Boubker, 37. "I never expected to see him (Osoro) at 25 miles, I did not believe it. It is good to win for the fifth time. I love coming here and I love the people and I want to come back again."

Wind gusts sent waves of sea water showering over the heads of runners near John Smith's Bay and slowed competitors along North Shore Road.

And a powerful and unexpected blast of wind momentarily caused chaos as Russian Svetlana Baigulova approached the finish line in third place overall and first woman.

So strong was the wind it toppled the finishing line race clock and sent a row of crash barriers being used as a finishing funnel snaking through the air and clattering onto the far side of the road.

Baigulova, 30, was uninjured and looked relieved to have completed the event in 2:47:34. A team-mate for the Russian said Baigulova's time was a personal best.

If anyone deserved tea and sympathy at the end of the race it must surely have been next home, Mary Akor of the USA, who had ambitions of winning the marathon until she arrived on Friday and discovered her luggage ? including all her running gear ? had been misdirected to Maui, Hawaii by the airline.

The petite American had to buy a new pair of running shoes to compete, and did her race warm-up wearing the jeans she had arrived in.

Explaining her race, Akor, 29, who ran 2:51:08, said: "There were five of us together to begin with, but I couldn't get any grip with my running shoes. I could not 'grab onto the road.'

"I was with the leader at 20 miles but I could not drive because of the new shoes. I tried to keep up but I didn't have the bounce of my usual shoes."

The American intends to return in 2007, and will make sure her running gear is taken onto the plane as hand luggage to avoid a repeat scenario of this year's drama.

First local runner was Leon Bascome who was only five minutes outside his marathon best set at Chicago last October. He had hoped to run 2:50 or just under, but was pleased with his 2:57:46 just beaten by Ukranian Victoria Ganushchina after the pair had worked side-by-side during the final miles.

"I was on my own for a long time and then caught up with this Russian woman around the Ducking Stool at about 21 or 22 miles. I then ran with her. I could not speak Russian and she didn't speak Bermudian, so we didn't talk much," said Bascome.

The Paget runner had taken a cautious approach to the first lap. On his second visit to Flatts Village he received a welcome boost approaching the 20-mile point because cheering from the sidelines was his four-year-old son Matisse.

"I felt strong at 18 miles and 19 and picked it up but started to get tired at 20. Matisse saw me and cheered me and told me to 'go beat those guys' and that gave me a boost."

Before reaching Flatts he'd already reeled in early local leader Michael Neville, having perceived the Sandys man's pace was dropping mid-race.

The wind along North Shore Road was a challenge first time around, but more so on lap two and Bascome found himself being blown backwards at one point.

"I'm excited to have gone under three hours again, considering the conditions, but it was probably 10 minutes slower than I wanted to do," he said.

First local woman Glennis Butterfield overcame a temptation to pull out of the race at 23 miles because she knew her mother Florence (Slim) Mackintosh was waiting at the finish line. Having dropped out of the Las Vegas Marathon at 11 miles in December, disappointing her mother who was also waiting to see her there, Butterfield knew she had to finish at all costs.

Her 4:03:02 time was more than half-an-hour outside her best for the course.

"My mother puts up with me going out training at 5 a.m. some days and I wanted to make sure I finished for her. I was not feeling well at 23 miles but I told the people I was with that I was going to finish for my mum 'Slim'," she said, also paying tribute to her training partner Carol Griffiths and brother Eddie Benjamin, who entered the half-marathon and paced her around the first lap, despite taking a tumble along the way.

There was also support for second local woman Lesley McDougall, some 11 minutes in arrears (4:14:03). Her husband Kent turned up at various points on the course to encourage her as she tackled her first full marathon.

Although hoping to run under four hours, she was happy with her performance, especially considering she was one of the runners to be given a salty shower from the waves crashing over South Shore Road.

She said: "When I saw the (Fairmont Hamilton) Hotel near the end I felt emotional."

Otis Robinson, 10th local in the Front Street Mile and eighth local in Saturday's 10K, was satisfied to complete his weekend triple with a 3:34:21 marathon to finish 19th overall and seventh resident.

Having run alongside half-marathoners Harry Patchett and Victoria Fiddick on lap one, the self-employed electrician from Southampton kept up a strong pace to go through the 21-mile point in a time of 2:40, before slowing in the final miles

Judith Simmons, president of the BTFA, was pleased with the day's events. She said: "When you have the wind the finish times are down but the conditions could have been a lot worse. Everything seems to have gone pretty good."