Justin Thomas (Cornwall AC) and Isobel Wykes (Truro Running Club) defied the conditions producing phenominal performances in the men's and ladies' races in last weekend’s 36th Duchy Marathon, writes Alan Rowling.

Justin and Isobel both paced their races to perfection and were rewarded with two outstanding finishing times. In the men's race Thomas was content to let team mate Noel Kindon build up a substantial lead for the first half of the race, with the 2012 winner Ollie Gibson (Newquay Road Runners) clear in second place, but things were about to change as the Cornwall AC runner increased his pace after halfway, passing Gibson at 14 miles and setting his sights on the distant Kindon. As the miles passed by, the gap was closing and at 21 miles, Thomas eased into the lead and continued his relentless pace to the finish, retaining his Duchy Marathon title and crossing the line in an amazing time of 2 hours 35 minutes 23 seconds, seven and a half minutes ahead of Kindon.

The team result could not have been closer with St Austell Running Club and Newquay Road Runners both scoring 46 points, but St Austell's fourth scoring runner finished a few places higher than Newquay's fourth scorer, as St Austell lifted the Penventon Hotel shield by the narrowest of margins. Not to be outdone, the Ladies winner, Wykes, was also quietly going about her business. She relentlessly ticked off the miles, battling the gales twice across the North Cliffs, eventually reaching the finish line at the Penventon Park Hotel in 3 hours 3 minutes 38 seconds, which placed her fifth on the Duchy Marathon All Time List, which dates back to 1978. Runner up Sarah Kenworthy (Hayle Runners) also produced a fine performance in the difficult conditions, clocking 3 hours 9 minutes 31 seconds and moving into the top ten on the All Time List in eighth position. Once again runners could opt for the Duchy 20 mile option, avoiding the North Cliffs on the second circuit and almost 200 chose the slightly shorter distance, an ideal preparation for many as they target a Spring Marathon. At the head of the field conditions again seemed to have little affect on performance, with Colin Snook (Cornwall AC) taking the men's race by storm, accelerating away from Dan Alsop (St Austell RC) after eleven miles.

In the Ladies race, the pre-race favourite Naomi Tier made it a Cornwall AC double, finishing seventh overall and running just five seconds slower than in 2011, when conditions were considerably more favourable. A hardy group of ten Falmouth Road Runners braved the elements, with the Falmouth Ladies team producing a fine result in the team competition, finishing second, their highest team placing in a Grand Prix race for many years. Jacqueline George led the ladies home in 12th place and also finished second in the Veterans 35-39 category, with Tammy Jenkin (17th), Judith Wilkes (20th) and Sarah Webb (21st) completing the prize winning quartet. Judith was also third in the Veterans 45-47 age group.Falmouth’s men could not emulate the success of their ladies and had to settle for sixth position in the team competition, with Richard Keefe (23rd) and Stephen Strachan (24th) both aquitting themselves well.

Duchy Marathon results: Men: 1 Justin Thomas CAC 2.35.23, 2 Noel Kindon CAC 2.42.53, 3 Ollie Gibson NRR 2.44.07, 4 Rob Burnham NRR 2.51.24, 5 Duncan Oakes STA 2.52.00.

Ladies: 1 Isobel Wykes TRC 3.03.38, 2 Sarah Kenworthy HR 3.09.31, 3 Fiona Ruetsch HR 3.26.05, 4 Debbie Burman SDAC 3.27.50, 5 Karen Harrison CAC 3.31.44 DUCHY 20 RESULTS - Men: 1 Colin Snook CAC 1.56.38, 2 Dan Alsop STA 1.58.14, 3 David Tomlin TT 2.00.49, Ladies: 1 Naomi Tier CAC 2.10.22, 2 Suzy Bosustow CAC 2.23.48, 3 Zelah Morrall CAC 2.24.28.