Fair play at Gudja 8K

When Haitem Ksheim set a new course record of 26:33 in last year's Gudja 8K, the consensus was that the new mark was going to be very hard to beat. Fast forward 12 months, however, and that belief was shattered by Jonathan Balzan who ran home in 26:11, an improvement of 22 seconds on the previous best.

For the St Patrick's AC man it was a significant result.

"I wanted to win but more than that I wanted to set a new record," he said, confirming that the result was no fluke.

"I've been feeling very good lately. I didn't want to look at the clock so as not to be too distracted by the time.

"I knew that I was running within record time though and I pushed hard to make sure I got it. However, I have to be honest and say that I wasn't expecting such an improvement.

"I spent six months where I virtually stopped running due to a recurrence of an old injury. Recently, I've been picking up on my training and now I feel that I'm back to my best."

Balzan was well ahead of the next runners as Drew Lang (27:41) won a race-long tussle with Mellieħa AC's Jason Martin (27:44).

"I've been winding down my training because I plan to retire this year so to finish second here is a massive result for me," Scottish-born Lang explained.

Apart from Balzan's record, this year's Errea Gudja 8K had a record entry with well over a 100 taking part. One of those was Joelle Cortis who went on to win the women's race on her debut in Gudja with a time of 32:07.

"This was the first time that I've taken part," she said.

"They told me that it is quite a flat race but there were a number of hills that took a lot out of me."

In truth, it was only in the final 400m that Cortis broke free of Carmen Hili (32:13). Marisa Muscat finished third in 32:56.

"It was a good run," Hili said with a tinge of disappointment.

"I won this race last year but this time I'm training for the Żurrieq Half and the Malta International Challenge Marathon. This means that my training is geared for longer distances."

"We were together for most of the race," Cortis confirmed.

"At the water station I didn't pick up any water but Carmen gave me some of hers. I greatly appreciate her gesture because it helped me a lot."

Hili wasn't the only one with a shining sense of fair play. Indeed, special mention has to go to Athleta Pembroke's young runner Hanna Pace.

Mid-way through the race, she came across another runner who had fallen and was visibly in pain. Pace promptly turned back to alert the organisers and see that medical help was given to the grounded athlete.

As a result of her decision, Pace finished way behind in the standing order, but her race was a commendable one nevertheless.