On Sunday, the Malta Amateur Athletics Association (MAAA) brought its 75th anniversary celebrations to a close with a special cross-country race at Marsa. It was a bold attempt by the organisers to stick, as much as possible, to the spirit of such an event with the route stretching over 8kms of grassland.
Judging by the comments of those who took part, the experiment could be described as a success.
No surprise, the winner was Christian Nemeth, a veteran of these kind of races. He has twice taken part in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in the colours of his native Belgium.
Indeed Nemeth, who was using the MAAA race to step up his preparation for next month's European Cross-Country Championships, immediately flashed into the lead and easily dominated all the way, eventually finishing in an official time of 24 minutes 50 seconds.
John Buhagiar (Birkirkara St Joseph) did his best to keep up with Nemeth but had to settle with a second place finish and a time of 26:26. Gerald Grech (AS Libertas) continued with his good form by placing third, 84 seconds behind.
The female category was won by Giselle Camilleri (St Patrick's AC).
She completed the course in a creditable 31.52. Camilleri was followed home by Zurrieq Wolves AC duo, Doreen Vella (34.40) and Marisa Muscat (35.17).
At the end of the day, however, the most significant result was the encouraging turnout of athletes, most of whom were experiencing this type of race for the first time.
It has long been on the "to do" list of the MAAA council. The intention of president Anthony Chircop, in particular, is to give Malta's long distance runners the opportunity to run a real cross-country at least once a year.
That the running technique for a road race is different to that of a cross-country on grass - more often than not in muddy conditions - could be borne out by the difficult experience encountered a few years back when the MAAA entered a team in an international cross-country meeting.
This reason, and the fact that more importantly all athletes and spectators enjoyed themselves tremendously, prompts the association to make a cross-country race an annual fixture on their calendar.
The race was sponsored by EuroSport Adidas and was supported by the Marsa Sports and Country Club and the Kunsill Malti ghall-Isport.