after a long absence and duly won the men's 800 metres for 40-year-olds at the National Masters Championships in Boston.

It was Watson's first overseas track meet in seven years -- although he was part of the Bermuda team that won a bronze medal in the CAC cross-country championships a year ago.

But he showed he still has a knack, romping to victory in a time of 1:59.48, the only runner in the age group to break two minutes.

In fact Watson's time would have placed him in the top two in both the men's 30 and 35 age groups.

Watson, who has been sidelined recently with an injury, said he intends to run more Masters events this year, possibly participating in the World Masters Games in Oregon in August.

Another veteran runner, Watson's wife, Donna, also took part in the three-day event which attracted a record 815 athletes. She was recruited to run with the Westchester Pumas (New York) relay team and ran a 60-second split in the first leg of the 30-39 4x400 metres which helped the team place third.

Sid Howard of New Jersey, a regular visitor to Bermuda for local races, placed second in the men's over-55 mile with a time of 5:14.07. The winning time in that age group was 5:07.73.

Local track official Mike Charles participated in the over-50 mile on Saturday and then the 800 metres on Sunday.