Dennis Mbelenzi claimed a maiden Ed Sherlock 8K title on Saturday.

The Kenya-born runner cut a lonely figure out in front after leading from start to finish before crossing the line in 26min 44sec, nearly three minutes ahead of runner-up Shannon Lawrence (29.07).

While Mbelenzi’s dominant showing in the absence of defending champion Sean Trott and Swan’s Legend Series leader Kallan Richardson came as no surprise, his “last-minute” decision to show up on the day was. He initially intended to skip the rearranged race to recover from competing at the recent Shamrock Virginia Beach Marathon two weeks ago, where he claimed masters honours and finished eight overall.

“I am recovering from the marathon that I ran two weekends ago and ideally I should not be racing this one,” he told The Royal Gazette.

“But then I took time off, rested and just decided last minute to jump in and see if my recovery is coming along well, so it was a last-minute decision.

“I jumped in to see if the legs can start to move faster because I am coming from heavy high volume training for the full marathon, and that’s how the decision came about just to access recovery.

“I‘m already registered for the Legends Series so I showed up, but I won’t be doing the last one, so this is my last one of the series.”

The 44-year-old felt he was lucky to have avoided some of the island’s top runners.

“I’m lucky that we did not have the top guys, which allowed me to just run at a controlled pace without having to respond or cover any moves,” he said.

“That allowed it to be comfortable for me and I felt nice and easy through to the end. Of course you work hard in the last mile just because it’s an incline, But overall I was delighted to win and to post a decent time. Anything under 27 minutes here I think is good.”

Peter Christopher (29:50) crossed the line 43 seconds behind Lawrence to claim the final spot on the overall podium and top the men’s 50 to 59 division.

A new women’s champion was also crowned in the absence of last year’s winner Gayle Lindsay as Estienne Coetzee led her division home in 31min 57sec and finished eleventh overall on her race debut.

The South African found the going tough as she grappled with a cold and the heat during the second half of the race.

“I never done this race before and I got lucky that I won because I wasn’t feeling well,” she said.

“I have a cold but I don’t want to use that as an excuse. The first part of the race was good because we were in the shade and then coming back we were in the sun and it was hilly. I’ve never run that side of the island before and it’s really hilly over there.

“I just needed to do my best and finish because I felt very congested when I woke up but I still decided to go. I wasn’t happy with my time but at least I went and ran.”

With the win Coetzee has solidified her lead in the women’s division of the Swan’s Legend Series with one race remaining, which she is eligible for having completed the mandatory three races of the four-race series.

“This is my first time doing the series,” she said.

“I did the 10K (Ludwig Cann 10K Road Race) and both 8K races (Ray Swan 8K and Ed Sherlock 8K) and someone said the last one (Sir Stanley Burgess 5K) is the most important, so I am looking forward to doing that race as well.”

Stepanka Sprincova (32:18) finished runner-up in the women’s division and twelfth overall, while Nina Coetzer (33.24) crossed in third and eighteenth overall to round off the women’s podium respectively.