Veteran runner Mike Rickards continues to enjoy success in overseas road races.

But the retired Police officer says the opportunities for athletes in Bermuda over the age of 60 are few and far between, pointing out that he and the likes of Giorgio Zanol and Mike Whalley, all of whom made their mark in younger age groups, are now rarely recognised in local events.

And he noted that this weekend's second annual Bacardi 8K was among the list of races who don't offer prizes for the over 60s.

"It's a shame because there's still a lot of competition between the over-60s," said Rickards, a former footballer with Police FC.

"Obviously we can't compete with those in their 50s (Senior Masters) but we don't have our own category. There's no incentive."

However, several races in the USA present awards to senior runners and Rickards has been taking full advantage of late, chalking up two victories in separate states.

In Virginia, the 67-year-old notched first place at the Leaf Festival Front Royal 5K, clocking 23 minutes and 50 seconds.

Then in Mystic, Connecticut at the Tarzan Brown five and a half mile race, named after the former Borston Marathon winner, Rickards placed first in the over-65 category and was third in the over-60s, finishing in 42.37.

The event attracted 600 runners including another Bermudian, Kenny Monkman, who placed third in the Masters (over-40s) division.