HOW ironic! Perennial runner-up Jay Donawa finally overcomes his nemesis Kavin Smith only to get pipped by his best pal Terrance Armstrong.

It was that kind of Marathon Derby ? the kind the thousands who line the roads every year haven?t witnessed for a couple of decades or more.

No doubt, Monday?s run from Somerset to National Sports Centre was one of the best in the long history of the classic ? an intriguing tactical battle, but moreover a severe test of endurance, determination and mental strength which kept radio listeners and those along the route captivated for the entire race.

Of course, everyone who completed the gruelling up and down 13.2 mile trek in blazing heat and suffocating humidity ? the conditions were just about as extreme as they can get ? can consider themselves a winner.

But the frontrunners made it a race to remember.

Full credit to Armstrong for finally breaking the stranglehold Smith has maintained for more than ten years.

But he, more than anyone else, will be acutely aware it won?t get any easier next year.

Monday?s third place finish left Smith still chasing a record-breaking 10th victory and you can bet your last dollar he?ll be up for the challenge a year from now.

As for Donawa, he?s simply too talented a runner, too dedicated to his cause not to eventually break through.

Whether it will be next year remains to be seen.

But much like golfer Phil Mickelson who for years had to live with the moniker ?best player never to have won a major? until triumphing at this year?s Masters, you have to believe that Donawa will eventually make his mark.

As for Armstrong, he?s another example of a top track runner making the transition to road running with relative ease.

He?s already said this week it?s his intention to shoot for the 2008 Olympics, at the 10,000 metres or even marathon, and while his performance on Monday can?t quite equate to the greatest sports show on earth, it?s not an unrealistic goal.

Bermuda has produced a long line of talented road runners over the years, dating back to the likes of Ray Swan and Cal Bean, and before that Ed Sherlock and Calvin (Baldy) Hansey, but enjoyed limited success on the international circuit, although Swan did lift the Masters title at the prestigious Boston Marathon.

While it?s been said so many times before, the governing body really do need to do more to promote the sport.

Certainly the likes of Armstrong, Smith and Donawa ? not to mention promising teenager Lamont Marshall who finished a highly creditable fourth on Monday ? all need to be given incentives to showcase their talent. Yet road running remains largely a recreational sport, the race calendar having diminished considerably in recent years.

A Bermuda Track and Field Association director ? a former Marathon Derby winner no less ? had the temerity to suggest this week that by organising International Race Weekend each year, the governing body were ?doing road runners a favour?.

With that kind of mentality at the helm, is there any wonder the sport?s stagnating?

There?s sufficient talent in Bermuda to support a healthy programme for both track and field and road running.

Monday?s spectacle proved a wonderful advertisement for the sport. Let?s have more of the same.