Jay Donawa and Anna Eatherley captured the respective men?s and women?s Bermuda Track and Field Association(BTFA) Fall Half-Marathon titles in contrasting style on Sunday.

While Donawa set a new personal best as he stormed to victory over the 13.1 mile course in a time of one hour, 11 minutes and 46 seconds ? almost eight minutes ahead of second-placed finisher Philippe Cosentino (1:19:33) ? Eatherley was pushed all the way to the finish line by Island newcomer Karen Bordage.

There was a noticeable absence of several of the Island?s top athletes for Sunday?s race as many had travelled overseas to race with Swan?s Running Club or opted to rest after competing in the New York City Marathon earlier this month, according to race director Annette Hallett.

But despite not competing since winning September?s Annual Labour Day 5K, Donawa set the course ablaze.

?This was a great opportunity for me to go out there to see where I?m at at the moment in terms of my fitness over the longer distances,? said Donawa, competing in only his second road race of the season.

?Considering how fast I ran yesterday (Sunday), it really wasn?t too bad at all. Actually I think my time would have held up against most local competition.

?It was more of a solo effort as I was pushing myself as much as I could and basically it was more like running a time trial.?

Donawa bettered his previous best time over the same distance by nearly a minute.

?It was like 50 seconds off my personal best which I ran last January during International Race Weekend,? he added.

?So this is a big improvement and I really wasn?t pushed by anyone else.?

Cosentino and Tucker Murphy (1.19.59) rounded out the men?s top three while Mike Osborn (1.33) was the first Men?s Master across the finish line at Bull?s Head car park in Hamilton.

?I haven?t really competed in a whole lot of road races since the Labour Day Race,? Donawa continued. ?I have competed in a few cross-country events and I think my time yesterday was by far one of the better times ever recorded by a local runner in this event.?

Meanwhile, in the battle for women?s supremacy, Eatherley had to dig deep before finally seeing off the challenge of Bordage.

Eatherley (1:28:42) finished 11th overall and also captured the women?s Masters division while Bordage (1:29:37) and Alison Harvey (1:31:25) finished 13th and 15th overall among a field of 53 runners to place second and third respectively among the women.