The historical three cities recently hosted the first ever Urban Jungle House of Sport 10K road running race which was attended by over 300 athletes.

The race started off from Vittoriosa, next to the historical Fort St Angelo and headed along the waterfront towards Cospicua before proceeding towards the furthest point in Senglea.

As is typical of these races, the starting line saw a mix of some of Malta’s top athletes such as Mark Herrera, Alixader Schembri, Johan Galea and the husband/wife team Chris Bezzina and Lisa Bezzina.

Josann Attard Pulis and Maria Gerada were some of Malta’s top female athletes to compete.

It was clear from the start that Herrera was not only pushing for the top place on the podium but was also seeking to gain a strong advantage over the other male athletes.

Herrera finished the race in 36 minutes and 19 seconds.

Battling for a place on the podium behind him were Schembri, Galea and Bezzina who had only a few seconds between them throughout the race.

In the end it was Schembri who gave a determined push to cross the line in 38:01. A hard-fought sprint between Galea and Bezzina saw the former take third place.

The women’s race was going to be very much a two horse race between Attard Pulis and Bezzina, who both had just competed in the Malta Amateur Athletics Association Challenge 3 Meet the day before.

Whilst Attard Pulis took a leading position from the start of the race, Bezzina paced herself well enough to overtake Attard Pulis in the final stretch to secure yet another win in the House of Sport 10K Series in a time of 41 minutes 17 seconds.

Attard Pulis finished 30 seconds behind the winner while Maria Gerada placed third in 44:04.

The next edition of the Urban Jungle House of Sport Series is scheduled for September 3 in Burmarrad.