Lunn was number one in GER O50 race, while Winstone stretched his perfect participation record to 31 races!

​However, there were plenty of other exciting performances from local athletes.

Helpston Harrier Paul Lunn probably surprised himself by winning the over 50 age category.

Better known as a superb triathlete with local club PACTRAC, this was Lunn's first stand alone running race since the Seville Marathon some 20 months ago.

Showing no signs of rustiness he finished 38th in an impressive time of 1.15.24, only just over a minute outside the personal best (PB) which he set in Reading in 2019 when he and his son Josh set the father and son combined half marathon time world record.

Lunn was the second Helpston Harrier home after James Gelsthorpe who crossed the line in 33rd position with a time of 1:14.16.

Jordan Buttigieg was the fastest of a strong Yaxley contingent, placing 46th with a 1:16.16 clocking.

Buttigieg was joined in the top 100 by Darren Wells who crossed the line 80th in 1:19.45.

Danny Snipe placed 102nd with Simon Hearty 112th to reinforce Yaxley's reputation as a club with few superstars, but impressive strength in depth.

Nathan Popple was the first Peterborough & Nene Valley AC man home taking 120th place with a time of 1:23.15.

Ryan Anderson placed 134th just over a minute behind his team-mate.

Peterborough based Hunts AC runner Dylan Tomaselli finished 51st in a time of 1:16.54.

Kayleigh Draper and Philippa Taylor crossed the line as the first and second local ladies, but there were plenty of other fine performances.

PANVAC 17 year-old Olivia Walker finished as 41st lady with a 1:35.28 clocking. Walker wasn't far behind her clubmate Sarah Caskey who was the third local lady home, placing 38th in 1:35.47.

Maddy Long in 48th and 56th placed Elisabeth Sennitt Clough both ran well for PANVAC, though they came in behind Thorney's Zion Demba who took 46th place with a 1:37.01 clocking.

Jayne Connor of Yaxley finished 55th in 1:37.59.

The participation of the evergreen veteran Eric Winstone was in doubt in the approach to the race.

However, as the only athlete to have run in all the previous 30 races, the former Bushfield Academy headmaster was determined to overcome a failing knee and make the start line.

A delighted Winstone also made the finish line to stretch his impressive ever-present record to a staggering 31 races! He finished in 2:22.0, but admitted that the object of the exercise was simply to get round with the time an irrelevance.

In addition to PANVAC's Thomas Preston winning the Anna's Hope 5k, there was more local success with Izzy Hurn of PANVAC finishing as third lady in 21:25.1.

Hunts AC's Peterborough based Brandon Ballard was the third man over the line with a 16:53.3 clocking.

A total of 2793 races finished the half marathon with another 789 completing the 5k.

Many were raising money for charities and good causes and were roared on by a healthy crowd on all parts of the route.

Athletes commented on a the impeccable organisation at this year’s race.

Ellard said of his performance: “I'm very happy with my performance. It was great to have some fast athletes in the race for pacing and competition. It was, by far, my best half both in terms of time and pacing.

“My race strategy was to start off easy and not go off with the lead pack. I've made the mistake of going off too fast numerous times before, and I knew the leaders would be going off at 65-66 minute pace. #

"However, after the gun went off, we eased into the sub 5:10 minute mile pace and it came naturally to me. I stuck with it, and, despite getting a stitch at mile 12 came away with a decent PB.

"The course was flat and fast, and paired with the weather, made for perfect racing conditions."