Familiar faces on top in Dingli

There was a certain degree of familiarity in this year's Dingli 10 which, as tradition dictates, was once again held on March 19.

In the men's category Jonathan Balzan won for the fourth time in five years while Angela Sammut made it a hat-trick of wins among the women.

Last year the Dingli 10 was exceptionally pushed back by a couple of weeks due to the close proximity with the Malta Marathon.

On that occasion Balzan finished second behind Charles Cilia. But it was a completely different situation as on that day the leading runner at St Patrick's AC was struggling with injuries. Now, he finally seems to be recovering.

"This was my first success since winning the International Challenge Marathon two years back. So, obviously, it is an important achievement," a beaming Balzan told The Times.

The race started quite slowly, with the leading group staying together until the sixth mile at which point Balzan and Drew Lang forged ahead.

"I knew that I wasn't going for the course record," Balzan, who finished in 57.29, explained.

"So, the slow start suited me to perfection as I didn't want to have to go chasing someone. I was hopeful for a win but a fast start would have made it all the more difficult.

"I do quite well when running uphills so if I felt that if I was still well placed after the flat part of the race, I would be in with a good chance."

Robert Attard's impression on that slow start, however, was quite different.

"The first six miles were run at a pedestrian pace," he said.

"No one wanted to take a gamble so we ran slowly when we could have done a faster pace. In the circumstances, it was impossible to do a fast time.

"There is also the fact that you don't really recover from the half-marathon. Over the past couple of weeks, my training sessions have been quite low key."

Timely move

Regardless, the Mellieha AC man did well to finish second in 57.53.

Having seen Balzan and Lang pull ahead just after the halfway mark, he kept his nerve and only upped the pace when it mattered.

With him in that final surge, he had Pembroke Athleta's Mario Pisani who finished third in 57.58.

That meant Lang, for so long close to finishing in the top three, had to make do with a fourth place which he described as "the worst possible result" as well as ruing his choice of tactics for a race "I felt I could have won".

Pisani's third place finish helped him fill a void created by the slow time registered at the BMW Malta Marathon.

"During the marathon I sustained a foot injury and didn't run as well as I could. It was frustrating as I reckoned I was in top physical form.

"At Dingli, I took additional precaution to avoid any repeats and the result showed. I knew that if it came to a sprint finish I would struggle but thankfully it didn't come to that."

After placing third at the Half Marathon, Angela Sammut registered her third consecutive win at the Dingli 10 finishing the race in 1.08.08.

"I've hardly done any running this winter because I've had a hamstring injury so this result is particularly enjoyable," she said.

"We cruised till the fourth mile but from then on we had to put in a real effort.

"This isn't my best time but it is a great result all considering."

As with Balzan, she also took time to thank sponsors www. enjoytherun.com, RonHill and Seven Seas Sportflex.

"Their help is vital for us athletes," she said.

Balzan and Attard also both have Diadora as their sponsor.

Cecilia Fenech, of Zurrieq Wolves, placed second with 1.10.37.

Fenech seems to have cut back on the number of races she competes in these days although she can still run well enough.

"I felt unwell before the race so to actually finish was in itself a good result," she said. "I was prudent in the first five miles. Then, I managed to overtake another female runner but not Sammut."

Donatelle Callus surprisingly finished third overall in 1.12.00.