Veterans shine as Cilia, Walsh claim honours

There's no doubting Carol Walsh's status as the leading long-distance runner among Maltese women.

Indeed a strong case could be made for her being the top female athlete of her time and her status was further enhanced at the 2010 Land Rover Malta Half Marathon as Walsh achieved her 15th success.

"It was very tough because there were other athletes who were pushing hard along the way and I couldn't afford to relax," Walsh, who did the race in 1:23:40, said.

"I have to admit that I feel a certain degree of responsibility to ensure that a Maltese athlete wins here, so I didn't want to lose the title."

Asked whether she preferred to be pushed hard for a win to an easy 'stroll', her reply was typically straightforward.

"If I'm being honest, I'd much rather have an easy race," Walsh said. "However, once you've won, it is much more satisfying when you've had to fight for the win."

Charles Cilia's win in the men's half marathon also came after a very keenly-contested race. The Maltese veteran was pushed all the way by the Briton Martin Lewis (1:13:00) but he held firm to secure his fifth win in the Malta Half Marathon in 1:11:41.

"Up until the 10th kilometre, we were running together but then I managed to open up a gap," Cilia, 45, said. "I'm very happy because the wind didn't make it easy."

Cilia ran the final few metres of his race with his arms spread as he remembered how the Spanish press had described him when he finished third in the Madrid 10K last year.

"The Spanish media said that I was like a falcon landing in Madrid so I decided to mimic a falcon here," Cilia said.

"My last win in the half marathon was in 2005 but I have to say that this one is the most special."

Third place went to Brian Magri (1:13:14) whose build-up to the race had been anything but plainsailing.

"I've endured injuries and also had a traffic accident," Magri said.

"So to finish third was, for me, an excellent result."

Among the women there was the welcome return of Lisa Bezzina, who had been away from athletics for the past two years.

"I was concentrating on starting a family," runner-up Bezzina said. "My daughter Chantelle was born ten months ago and I resumed training two months later. So I have to thank my coach John Walsh because without him, I wouldn't have made it."

Joelle Cortis finished third.