Winners abounded at the KPMG Front Street Mile last night where athletes of all ages lit up a gloomy evening.

The event drew large crowds of spectators, who turned out en masse to support the runners in the first event of the Bermuda Marathon Weekend. Children, some as young as eight years old, competed, as did elite runners who travelled to Bermuda for one of the key dates on the racing calendar.

There was the inspiring sight of Masters’ runners in their 60s, as well as every category in between.

These are the only races held at night in Bermuda, and the event began at about 7pm with the first race in the Bermuda Triangle Challenge series, which allows runners to compete over three races in three days. Those men and women will be racing today in the 10K and again on Sunday in either the marathon or half marathon.

As well as spectators on the sidewalks — many of whom were parents supporting their young school-aged athletes with young brothers and sisters in tow — the balconies overlooking the street were also filled with enthusiastic, cheering supporters. The crowds were at their largest at the finish line, which was in front of the flagpole towering above Front Street.

Premier Michael Dunkley was on hand with his brand new Minister of Community, Culture and Sports Patricia Gordon Pamplin, who was sworn in on Thursday, to hand out awards to the Middle Schools’ top-three finishers, which included another record performance by Ashley Irby, the defending champion. Race commentator Mike Watson added to the enthusiasm of the event with a fast-paced narrative as events unfolded.

At the climax of the races, elite miler Heather Kampf defended her woman’s title with a time of four minutes, 53.32 seconds, only five seconds off Kenia Sinclair’s record time.

David Bishop took the men’s crown in a sparkling four minutes, 20.15 seconds in a race containing just two participants. The Marathon Weekend is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year while last night’s miles was the 28th annual event.

The first marathon took place in January 1975 when seven runners ran the 26.2 mile course. Just five finished. The half-marathon race became part of the event in 1993. The Bermuda Triangle Challenge was created in 2008, while this weekend’s event has attracted a total of 1,300 participants.

Full race reports — see Sport