Buhagiar, St Patrick's wrap up titles

A cold north-westerly on the exposed Qawra promenade was no deterrent to the 100-plus athletes who gathered at the start for the last meeting in four that wrapped up the Road Running League this season.

One likely reason is the popularity of this course, which is quite uniform in elevation and conducted mainly on a smooth surface.

Individual and club positions were clearly at stake, witnessed by the presence of some highly-regarded athletes on the local circuit. The favourites had made it clear beforehand that they were not willing to let anyone spring them a surprise. The clubs apparently were of the same motive.

The ensuing action was a very interesting encounter where Libertas front men, Charles Cilia and Gerald Grech, forced the early pace.

The tactical war of nerves went on throughout, as neither John Buhagiar nor Jonathan Balzan were prepared to relinquish their hold on the top places. Sometimes one, and then the other, were constantly trying, with a good measure of success, to snatch the lead and try to break.

At club level, Mellieha and Zurrieq knew that placing enough of their talent in the top ten or so would greatly increase their chances of a podium position, although each sorely missed the likes of Alex Busuttil and Vince Ghigo, usually leading protagonists for their respective clubs.

However, the results bear witness to the efforts put in, as they are testimony to the reputation of the race. Most of the finishing times were the best recorded yet throughout the season, with many athletes justifiably feeling well-satisfied with their performance.

At the final kilometre, the leaders were really flying but with his customary turn of speed Cilia edged in front to finish five seconds ahead of Birkirkara SJ's Buhagiar on 33.26. Third man in and leading Balzan, Grech made sure of the overall second place behind Buhagiar in the final reckoning, 27 seconds ahead of the St Patrick's man-of-the-moment.

St Patrick's AC again managed three of their team in the top ten but so did Libertas, who for the second time in a row won the race on the day.

In the final count, however, it was St Patrick's who will lift the trophy, more than 27 minutes ahead of their victors at Qawra.

Mellieha, playing their cards right, finished third on the day and leap-frogged Birkirkara SJ to finish 17.41 behind the leaders. However, Birkirkara SJ should feel proud of their overall performance in their first season competing as a club.

To add to Buhagiar's individual crown, the club managed a well deserved third-placing, just 2.42 behind Mellieha. Zurrieq Wolves were fourth, just ahead of Libertas.

As expected, the women's title went to Giselle Camilleri. Winning her third race in as many outings, on Sunday the St Patrick's leading lady finished over two minutes in front of her former team-mate Cecilia Fenech, who in turn preceded another Zurrieq stalwart, Doreen Vella, at Qawra.

In the final classification, St Patrick's also made the third spot their own, Carmen Hili adding another honour to her list following her success at the Challenge Marathon. Fenech was second behind Camilleri.