There was an international flavour to the 38th Windsor Half Marathon on Sunday (26 September) as Eritrean athlete Paulos Surafel (Thames Valley Harriers) ran clear of 1,942 finishers in a lightning-fast 1:05:08. Surafel's best of 1:04:12 was set at the Reading Half Marathon in 2019.

The runner-up in this top-quality event was M40 Paul Martelletti (Victoria Park Harriers, 1:09:43). The New Zealander boasts a 2:16:49 marathon best from Berlin some 10 years ago but replicated his current 13.1-mile form here after winning the Manawatu Striders Half Marathon in Palmerston North, New Zealand in May this year with 1:09:28. 

Tom Austin (Poole AC, 1:10:23) led the homegrown challenge and the top six were completed by Daniel Bodman (Pontypridd Roadents, 1:16:02), Ian Bailey (1:16:20) and M45 Rob Foster (Datchet Dashers, 1:16:21).

There was a very experienced women's rostrum as the awards went to W40 Lesley Locks (Aldershot, 1:21:33), W45 Jo Pavey (Exeter Harriers, 1:28:01) – the winner of the Running4Women Windsor Women's 10K 24 hours earlier – and W45 Rachel Masser (Woodstock Harriers, 1:28:34).

Fourth-placed female Catherine O'Connor (St Albans AC, 1:29:10) was among the top-50 athletes who broke the 90-minute barrier on this undulating but exhilarating course through and around Windsor Great Park. There were 700 inside two hours and the final finisher stopped the clock at 4:06:44.

Our image (above) of the National Hindu Students' Forum UK proudly displaying their finisher medals illustrates the diversity and popularity of this annual event, which is sponsored by Saucony and is part of the annual Windsor Running Festival weekend.

Peter Hier, race director, said: "It was great to be back after a year off due to the pandemic. Windsor always has incredible support for the runners and you will not find another race finish to rival the amazing feeling of running down The Long Walk to rapturous crowd support. 

"This is an event that is made special by all the local runners, spectators, and the volunteer support we receive. A wide variety of charities and good causes will benefit from this year’s runners' sponsored generosity. It’s more than a race, it’s a community".

All the results can be studied at runABC South's comprehensive race listing here

Image courtesy Windsor Half Marathon on Facebook