When Vera Lima crossed the finish line as the first local resident woman in the HSBC Bermuda Marathon, it was a moment to savour. Not only was it the first time she had competed in a marathon, she also won the Lady Lully Gibbons Trophy for being the best placed Bermuda woman.Lima was in good company, for her male-counterpart was seasoned marathon man Geoff Blee, who claimed the Dame Lois Browne-Evans Trophy as first local resident in the men’s race.On the testing two-lap 26.2-mile course the pair faced rainy conditions and competition from overseas athletes during last month’s event.Lima, 30, took up running three years ago after the birth of her daughter and had previously competed in shorter races ranging from 5K up to half-marathons.“I used to run, back when I was at school, but I was more of a shorter distance runner, “ she said. “Now, having had kids, I just do it for fun and fitness.”Three weeks before Bermuda Marathon Weekend she was suffering from a bad cold, but was still determined to run the marathon. On race day the wet weather was an added challenge, but her toughest moment came five miles from the end when she felt a pain in her knee.“I had to stop and walk twice, but I wanted to finish — that was my aim,” she said. Lima kept going and was rewarded with a time of three hours 52 minutes and 32 seconds (start-to-finish chip time) and the prestigious first local woman resident title.For first local man Blee, 47, it was all in a day’s work. He is a veteran of 24 full marathons and had put in an impressive performance in the Las Vegas Marathon a month earlier. Blee raced in Vegas after being unable to compete in November’s New York City Marathon when it was cancelled at the last minute due to the damage caused to the city by Superstorm Sandy.This year was his third Bermuda Marathon, on the two previous occasions he had faced strong west-northwest winds on North Shore. This year the main concern was the rain.“The second loop is very tough mentally as one tends to run alone and there are very few spectators, particularly in bad weather,” he said,“Having run the Las Vegas marathon in December, it only gave me seven weeks to recover whilst simultaneously trying to ramp up to run Bermuda. I managed one 20-miler three weeks prior to the race so ran the marathon conservatively.“I had a very good support crew this year with my wife Juanita out on the course the entire time to cheer me on, and she was joined on the second loop by three good friends for added moral support. It gave me something to look forward to every two miles or so and was warmly welcomed.”Blee finished eighth overall in 3.08.57.Since taking up running in 1993, Blee has become a regular competitor in the New York City Marathon, having run the race 11 times since his marathon debut in 2000. He plans to make this November’s race in the Big Apple his 25th marathon.His fastest marathon was a 2.56.30 in the 2011 Virginia Beach race.