Kenyan Patrick Nthiwa edged out defending champion Dmitry Maximov in a thrilling finish to deny the Russian a third successive International 10K title on Saturday.

The two runners were neck and neck as they turned into the National Sports Centre, but it was the 20-year-old African who found the strength to break well clear in the last 150 yards despite having competed in the Front Street Mile the night before.

Nthiwa won in 30 minutes, 32 seconds, eight seconds clear of Maximov. Australian Phillip Sly was third in 31:22, ahead of David Maritim of Kenya in 31:36.

The women?s title went to 28-year-old Russian Galina Alexandrova, who crossed the line eighth overall in 35:04, nearly a minute ahead of her closest challenger, Dorota Gruca of Poland.

Conditions were brutal for all 203 finishers in the second half of the race, as they were blasted by a powerful head wind coming off the North Shore as well as intermittent rain.

Terrance Armstrong was the first Bermudian to cross the line, finishing fifth overall in 32:57, just a second and a place ahead of his friend Jay Donawa.

And local men?s Front Street Mile winner Sheldon Thompson capped a fine weekend with a creditable seventh-place finish in the 10K, in a time of 34:58.

Ashley Couper (38:00) repeated the double she achieved last year, by following her local women?s Front Street Mile triumph with top local female honours and 13th place overall in the 10K ahead of Anna Eatherley (39:20) and Victoria Fiddick (41:33).

The four male elite runners broke away from the rest inside the first mile and set a steady sub-five-minute mile pace for the first half of the race, as they headed east along Middle Road, unaffected by the north-westerly winds.

But the pace slowed a little after they passed through Flatts and turned back towards Hamilton on the North Shore Road.

At around the four-mile mark, Nthiwa and Maximov broke away from Sly and Maritim and so began a fascinating duel between the Kenyan and the Russian.

Still together as they turned up Palmetto Road, Maximov tucked in behind Nthiwa to use his opponent as a wind-shield. The Kenyan responded by zig-zagging all over the road.

?I was running zig-zag to let him feel the wind,? Nthiwa said. ?Then I started to slow down to let him go in front but he didn?t want to go.

?At one point I told him to run at the side of me so we could face the wind together.

?It?s a very challenging course with a lot of hills, but our pace wasn?t fast enough for that to really hurt us.?

Nthiwa said he had not felt any fatigue from his fourth-place effort in the mile race the night before.

?I was very happy that I won and I was very happy about the race. But the wind was very tough. I?m not very good in the wind,? Nthiwa said.

?It?s my first time here. I didn?t like the conditions much but I have to thank the organisers for the good job they have done and I hope they?ll invite me back next year.?

Local women?s champion Couper gave an insight into just how difficult the conditions were.

?Once we got on North Shore, it was just a total joke, blowing us around in pouring rain,? Couper said.

?The wind obviously pushes you back but it was so strong it was making it difficult to breathe and I even got stitches. I never get stitches running, I think it was just that my breathing was off.

?I was just trying to enjoy it and I was thanking the crowd for coming out in that weather. But it was fun and I was happy to defend my title as local women?s winner.

?It was also great having my grandmother Deborah Butterfield out here today ? it was the first time she could get out to watch me.?