local road racing lore with a runaway performance during yesterday's Marathon Derby.

Having just returned from a high-altitude training jaunt in New Mexico, a lighter and fitter Smith blazed a trail from Somerset to Bernard Park, smashing his own race record of one hour, nine minutes, 49 seconds with a time of 1:09:36. And in winning the race for the sixth time the lithe runner tied Ed Sherlock for most victories in the annual classic.

The intrusion of fire and medical emergency crews at a housing complex near the start line in Somerset delayed the commencement of the event, but there would be no stalling Smith once the pack of 400-plus competitors got underway.

Pre-race hype had Smith needing but to show up to take the title, and while there was still a matter of the `born-again' Christian actually using his ambulatory limbs to complete the 13.2 mile trek, by the end of the first mile it was over... Appearing fluid, fresh and powerfully confident, Smith devoured miles like a famished Cheetah chasing fresh prey.

By St. James Church he had pulled out to a 50 yard lead over Jay Donawa and Sheldon Thompson and by Barnes Corner had extinguished any semblance of a challenge.

At the six mile mark the clock read 31:50, with Smith 43 seconds ahead of record pace, and still he pressed the envelope, climbing treacherous Burnt House Hill as if it were flat.

Smith incurred a slight drop-off at 10 miles, which cost him any chance at winning the $5,000 bonus offered for anyone besting 1:08:30. However, he soon regrouped. And with the massive crowd gathered in Hamilton in full throng, cheering on the local hero, Smith was able to produce the final burst that ensured a new race record.

"Around mile 10, mentally I started to fall apart, not totally but just a little bit,'' explained Smith, who used the race as training towards an attempt at qualifying for the Olympic Games over the full marathon distance.

"The biggest problem today which belaboured me was not having been home long enough to get acclimatised to the humidity. My body felt well, quite light, quite fluid, no aches and pains.. .it was really just a matter of the respiratory system dealing with this humidity.'' While saying it would have been nice to reach the bonus mark, Smith took special pride in tying Sherlock and looked forward to standing alone in the record books for most wins.

"Yes, the $5,000 would have been great -- everybody likes a few extra dollars in the bank -- but it isn't the main purpose right now and I couldn't allow myself to get caught up and end up blowing up and not run as well as I did,'' he said.

"What I showed today is that I'm capable of maintaining, and hopefully with the strength of the Lord -- for the Word (Bible) says I can do all things through Christ Jesus -- and if it is His will I should be able to qualify for the Olympics on June 17 at the race in Minnesota.

"(Sherlock's) record was one of my goals, because this Bermuda race is very important to me and I want to stand alone with number seven. I've tied with this number six, next year I look to be out on my own.'' Still, for every winner there are losers and the best of those was Donawa, who repeated his showing of a year ago in placing second in 1:17:58.

Rather than try to match Smith from the outset, Donawa ran well within himself as he and Thompson hooked up to form a two man tandem, with the former ultimately breaking free and easily taking the runner-up spot.

"Coming in, realistically the race was for second,'' said Donawa, who has often struggled in the past over the half-marathon distance. "The only chance I had was if Kavin was to go out really hard and just die, that was the only thing I could bank on and you don't really want to win like that.

"Today was a race against myself...it was hot, humid, the times were slow and it felt like I was getting slower and slower and I wanted to quit so bad.

"This race hasn't often been kind to me and I've always paid a price. In years gone I probably would have quit and given up, but I just hung in there and I'm proud of myself more than anything and maybe this will carry on. "I'm still young. I know one day it's going to come for me and I'll win, but I'm running against a real champion here.'' Meanwhile, Thompson's fourth place effort (1:20:36) proved one of the bigger surprises on the day and even though he faded -- being overtaken by former winner Brett Forgesson with a half mile to go -- he showed that he too will have to be regarded in the future.

"I'm happy, the time was a bit slow but this is my best performance so far.

Brett caught me at the end when I had absolutely no leg speed,'' explained Thompson, known more as an 800 metre runner. "My legs were gone and I just dug in and kept running.

"I was glad that no one mentioned my name in the build-up and I was able to stay out of the spotlight. If asked I would just say I'd participate and I participated really well today.'' Another case of `in with the new' was teenager Larry Marshall Jr, who placed a creditable sixth in 1:21:12.

Though no longer a challenger for top honours, Forgesson (1:19:25) showed his mettle in reeling in Thompson and snatching the third spot.

"I had a good battle in the early stages with Sylvester (Jean Pierre) and Jamal (Hart) when Sheldon and Jay were pretty far ahead, but I managed to pull (Sheldon) back towards the end,'' said Forgesson, who won in 1994.

"My time was very slow, something like four minutes slower than last year. It seems like every year Kavin gets further and further ahead.

"You have to admire the guy because it's so hard to run alone out front and he runs 13 miles as a time trial. It just shows how strong he is both physically and mentally that he can do that year after year.'' First male Master was Sylvester Jean-Pierre, but the Jamaican-born runner was not overly pleased by his 1:21:17 clocking, nearly three minutes slower than his time a year ago.

"I was a bit disappointed today because I was really and truly looking to break the masters record of around 1:16,'' said Jean-Pierre. "I felt that with what I did last year in coming fifth in 1:18 I could make a run at the record.

"I decided to work with Brett for the first seven miles, but when we got to Burnt House Hill, my body changed and I said I'd hang in there to the 10 mile mark.

"At 10 (miles) I was on an hour and I knew that I could break the record, but when I came home it was a different story.''