Sean Trott won his third Hannover Re Half-Marathon title, but had to work all the way to stay ahead of Moses Mufandaedza.

It was a tight race between the two with Trott, who won the event in 2010 and 2012, opening a small gap in the early miles. The daylight between the two athletes gradually increased, but even as they approached the nine-mile point of the 13.1-mile race, there were only 100 metres between them.

Trott, 30, showed superior racing pedigree to stay in charge, going one better than last year’s runner-up spot to clinch victory in 1hr 16min 38sec.

Mufandaedza was next across the finish line at the Tucker Property, on South Road, in 1:17:15, followed by first senior master Christopher Harris in 1:20:23.

First woman and fourth overall was Izzy Dutranoit, 19, who has dazzled with recent wins at shorter distances and showed she is just as competent over longer. Her winning time was 1:26:37.

Martina Olcheski-Bell was women’s runner-up in 1:34:49, followed by Catherine Matthews in 1:40:27.

The half-marathon celebrated its 49th anniversary. It is the second-oldest continuously held road race on the island, having been first staged in March 1972. One of the finishers in the original race, Mike Rickards, was among the spectators this year.

To comply with Covid-19 regulations, competitors had to wear face masks until the race started, and were handed fresh face masks as they finished. Runners were set off in waves of 20, with chip-timing used to calculate finishing positions. This year’s race had 68 finishers, which was the event’s largest half-marathon field for at least 15 years.