Dennis Mbelenzi set a record on the way to beating Bermuda Half-Marathon Derby champion Sean Trott in the Hannover Re Half-Marathon on Sunday.

Mbelenzi stopped the clock in 1hr 12min 14 sec, the fastest time since the route was changed in 2023, and had been finished for more than four minutes before Trott crossed the finish line at John Smith's Bay in 1:16:49. Kallan Richardson, an up-and-coming runner, finished third in 1:19:22.

Mbelenzi was delighted to shed more than six minutes from the 1:18:12 he recorded when he won his maiden title in 2018.

“My target in 2018 was to just break 1:20 and I did 1:18 back then,” Mbelenzi said.

“I was very happy to do that and then of course I just kept training, ran a few half-marathons and then went on to the marathons.

“Coming into this one I decided fairly late that I was going to do it and I registered just four days ago.

“The plan was to run fast just to test how my body is responding to training. When you're doing long distances what happens is you train for lengthy periods without testing yourself and it’s not always that input equals output.

“Going into a race like this you’re not sure how the outcome is going to be. I had some hopes because of the marathon I did in October in Toronto and then of course I’d run a couple 5Ks which went well for my age.”

Mbelenzi is keeping abreast of his local rivals and was confident of winning given the difference in preparation between himself and his rivals.

“I know for Sean this is very early in his block,” he said.

“He hasn’t done any specific work for the marathon and is still doing a base training. I knew he was not going to hold that kind of pace for long and for Kallan Richardson it’s still early into his running career.

“Endurance takes time and I know he is inexperienced. He opened a little gap early on and he’s going to learn as he’s very strong.”

Trott indicated that the race gave him an idea of what he needs to work on as the season progresses.

“Overall, I’m not going to be too disappointed by it because usually I start the year at this point,” the Bermuda Half-Marathon Derby champion said.

“By the time we get to May I’m in full fitness, so I’m just going to keep building off this. I realised that at the end of the race my pace was falling off a bit, so I need to improve my strength a bit more.

“I’m just going to do more long runs and things that are going to get that speed down so that I can have the endurance to hang in there next time.

“Dennis was just stronger overall and I know he’s just come off of a really good marathon. He’s doing probably more work than I’m doing and with the miles he's doing, he can just outlast me right now.

“I’m building up my miles, so, hopefully as my miles catch up to him, we’ll be able to align better.”

Marie-lyne Dore showed younger women the way by hitting the finish line in 1:31:21, a time which placed the winner of the female event eighth overall. Closely behind was Teresa Ruiz (1:31:59) while Stepanka Sprincova’s personal best time of 1:37:22 earned her third.

Dore was hoping for a lower time but knew that would not be easily achieved after she competed at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, last month.

“I’m happy but I’m disappointed about the time,” the women’s champion said.

“The conditions were tough. When I saw the time at 7K I thought I’d started too quick. I fought hard until the end because Teresa was just behind me and I could see her every time I was checking, so it was good competition.

“Teresa is 31 and I’m 42, I had never raced against her before so I didn’t know how fit she was. I know she’s good in the 5K, but now I know she’s definitely good at the longer distance.”

Christine Dailey, the women’s winner last year, was thrilled to finish fourth in 1:39:13.

“I’m seven months pregnant so I’m so happy with my run,” she said.

“I was 18 minutes slower than my personal best. My personal best is a 1:21 and it’s crazy to think that a pregnancy makes you that much slower, but it felt good, all things considered.

“I’ve been running probably 30 to 35 miles a week. Some days are not good and some days are better, but you never know when it’s going to be comfortable or not comfortable.

“I think it was hotter than usual for a November day so I just wanted to make sure that I didn’t overheat so I kind slowed right down at the water stops to make sure I was hydrated.”

Dailey was pleased that her title was taken by Dore, who is one of her training partners.

“Marie-lyne Dore is an incredible athlete,” she said. “She works very hard, I train with her and she’s an absolute beast.

“I’m proud of her because she did really well. I think she went out a little too hard, then slowed down a bit at the end, but she had a really good race.”

Ruiz was satisfied with her time in a race in which she held few expectations.

“It felt good considering I was not aiming for a PB,” the women’s runner-up said.

“This is my longest run I've done since May 24, so this is more like a test run, but I feel really happy I did it.

“The hill before Harrington Sound is where I struggled the most, but this gives me a benchmark to improve for the coming races.

Dirk Hasselkuss, the race director, confirmed that the time run by Mbelenzi was the fastest since they changed the course in 2023.

“It was a super fast time on a challenging course,” Hasselkuss said.

“We have McGall’s Hill twice, once in each direction. Paynter’s Road is also a little unrelenting, so it’s altogether a very challenging course.”