A tremendous athletic achievement, yes. But a competition? Never.

Kavin Smith made sure of that, turning the annual Somerset to Hamilton Bermuda Day classic into little more than a morning jog en route to his fourth win in the past five years.

It was a performance that left friends and foes alike shaking their heads.

Tracy Wright finished second, more than five minutes behind, followed by Brett Forgesson, who was third, another one and a half minutes back.

"Spectacular,'' marvelled Forgesson, the winner in 1995 when Smith didn't run.

How spectacular? Consider the record for the 13.3-mile trek into Bernard Park was one hour, 11 minutes and 27 seconds -- set by Smith in 1993.

Yesterday he did it in 1:09:49.

The race doubled as a half-marathon qualifier for the upcoming Central American and Caribbean track and field championships. The standard for 13.1 mile distance was 1:11. Smith did it in 1:09:10.

Not bad for a guy who earlier in the week said he didn't even care about the record, maintaining the penurious prize made the extra effort not even worthwhile.

But afterwards he admitted his comments were part of a "psych game'' aimed at opponents. As it turned out, none of them bought it -- but a certain sponsor did.

After reading of Smith's lament about the lack of incentive, a Hamilton sporting goods shop offered him $1,000 to break the mark. Smith, proudly wearing the sponsor's jersey during the race, proclaimed the partnership a valuable one for all parties and was unapologetic for his materialism.

The official first prize was an airline ticket valued at $400.

"Everything is money, money, money,'' he said. "That's just the way it is in the world. I'm like anybody else. I need a little something once in a while to keep me going.'' What about representing your country at the CAC Championships in San Juan, Puerto Rico? Smith, 30, said this barely entered into the equation.

"I wanted to break the record. If I did that, I knew the CAC would take care of itself.'' Wright admitted he was gunning for the June 26-28 competition but so dominant was Smith that even runner-up wasn't good enough for the 1990 champion to qualify, not with a time of 1:15:11.

Wright said blisters developed on his feet after six miles and "from then on, I just tried to keep my pace and hang on.'' As for Smith, "I wasn't even worried about what he was doing. I knew he was much fitter than I was,'' said Wright.

Forgesson, third a year ago, conceded earlier in the week that Smith would likely be unbeatable and yesterday nothing he saw changed his mind.

"Kavin's always had the potential'' to blow away the field as he did yesterday, Forgesson said. As for his own result (1:16:42), the veteran Island runner said: "I felt fairly flat the whole race. I kept hoping for a second wind but it never came.'' The knock on Smith has long been that he doesn't apply himself regularly. This was not the case this year.

He was out of the blocks in a hurry, clocking 5:05 for the first mile and taking a five-yard lead on Jay Donawa with Wright another five yards behind by the time they got to Scaur Hill.

After three miles, the lead was 25 yards and after four it was 50. By the time he reached Barnes Corner, he was ahead by 85 yards.

Along Harbour Road, there were no other runners in sight.

"I ran the way I've been training,'' said Smith, who complained afterwards of an Achilles injury suffered on Tuesday. "I surged on the hills and relaxed at the top. That's how I lost everybody. The other runners did exactly what I anticipated they would.'' Smith's extra training showed as he only got stronger as he hit Front Street and the cheering crowds on Cedar Avenue. His time for ten miles -- 52:55 -- put him nearly at an identical pace as his opening split and that pace was nearly two minutes quicker than what he did in winning a year ago, when he clocked a 1:13:02.

The top masters (over 40) finisher was Harry Patchett, tenth overall in 1:21:41.

As for Donawa, he too has been training hard and was seen as one of the few challengers for Smith's crown. But he only lasted nine miles before pulling out with cramps. He wasn't alone: Fifty-nine of the 487 runners entered did not finish.

Photos by Tony Cordeiro, David Skinner and Arthur Bean EASY DOES IT -- Former winners Errol Cormack and Sandra Mewett both appeared to be enjoying their run from Somerset to Hamilton yesterday without being competitive.

CHECK THE TIME! -- Kavin Smith stops his watch as he crosses the line in a record 1:09:49 in yesterday's Marathon Derby.