Is something wrong with this picture? Considering the storied rivalry between the neighbour countries it might be hard to believe, but that is exactly what happened as England's Paul Freary and Glen Stewart of Scotland teamed up to win yesterday's Bermuda International Half Marathon.

Still, it was only fitting that they did as the pair ran side by side throughout, taking the lead from the outset and later battling the severe headwind along North Shore that at times appeared might sweep them off the course.

The end saw Freary and Stewart cross the finish line hands locked together and raised in triumph.

What had started as a mere training run ended in victory, the duo timed in one hour, 10 minutes, 46 seconds.

"We set off quite easily, worked together along North Shore where it was quite harsh with the wind,'' said Freary, who was defending his half marathon title, having become a fixture on the local scene during International Race Weekend.

"We thought `Why battle it out and make it hurt that little bit more', just come in together and enjoy it.'' The early stages saw local Tracy Wright running stride for stride with Freary and Stewart, but the Bermudian soon found the pace of the elite runners to be too much as he dropped off around the three mile mark.

From there it was all Freary and Stewart, as they were never remotely challenged, with the closest runners being a five man group of full marathoners.

For Stewart the win was surprising, as he rarely competes at distances beyond 10 kilometres.

"It was quite tough, that's actually my first half marathon. I've never run over 10K before,'' said Stewart, who admitted to tiring towards the end. "I was struggling a bit, I think the mile and the 10K were still in my legs from the last couple of days.'' Although unable to maintain contact with the leaders, Wright managed to stay among the locals for 12 miles before being caught and passed by Jamal Hart.

Hart went on to claim honours as first local male in 1:15.58 -- good for third overall -- with Wright (1:16.20) holding on for second local -- fourth overall.

"Coming down North Shore it was cold and windy, my legs tightened up and I just couldn't turn them over anymore,'' said Wright afterwards. "I haven't trained much at all for the half and was just out there running, seeing what I could do.'' For Hart the win went some way towards making up for a disappointing third place finish in Friday's mile.

The diminutive army corporal was known to have been gearing himself for the race and his efforts paid off. "I'm very pleased to get first local. I was aiming for a low 1:13 time, but I have to admit that running by myself on North Shore was pretty brutal,'' said Hart, who these days is aiming at the longer distances.

"I had Tracy in my sight the majority of the way, but I couldn't bridge the gap, then luckily I was able to latch on with a Moroccan guy who was just out jogging and we ran together.'' American Carole Zajak blistered the female field as she handily won the division in a time of 1:20.42 and was seventh overall, leading from start to finish.

After being forced into second place a day prior during the 10K, Zajak refused to play second fiddle on this day, although, like most talked to, she could have well done without North Shore.

"It was no fun on North Shore, pretty much like running up against a wall and definitely a big challenge for me because I'm not used to racing that long and in tough conditions like that,'' said Zajak, who weighs less than 100 pounds.

"Usually I do a long run on Sundays and I just go out and put it on cruise control and try to maintain an even pace, which is pretty much what I did.'' Second female was Canada's Tania Jones (1:25.19), while Bermuda's Julia Hawley took local honours, placing third in 1:31.10.

BROTHERS IN ARMS -- England's Paul Freary (left) and Glen Stewart of Scotland lock arms as they cross the finish line together to take top honours in the Bermuda International Half Marathon.