Bermuda's Tony Banks and Ashley Estwanik proved too good for the overseas competition in the Bermuda Triangle Half Challenge over the weekend.

Competing over one mile, 10K and the half-marathon on consecutive days, Banks pushed himself to two lifetime bests in the longer races to stay ahead of his nearest rival, Chadwick Shepard from the US.

Meanwhile, Estwanik emulated the record-breaking achievement of her husband Chris, who took the men's title last year. The Bermudian former Commonwealth Games track finalist smashed the women's event record by almost 20 minutes.

The growing popularity of the Challenge, now in its third year, was underlined with 199 finishers in the shorter version and 55 finishers in the full marathon version. The Challenge sees athletes combine all three races of Bermuda International Race Weekend, running the mile on Friday evening, 10K on Saturday morning and then either the half-marathon or the marathon on Sunday.

The winners are determined by adding up the finishing times in each event.

Both Banks and Estwanik opted for the half-marathon version.

In the mile, Banks was the second fastest of the Challengers, running 5.09.8 which left him just over a second behind Shepard, of Vermont.

In the 10K the roles were reversed as Banks, 36, stopped the clock at new best figures of 35.58 to open a 16-second gap on his American rival.

On Sunday, Banks also raced to a personal best in the half-marathon of 1.18.31 to give him a total time of 1.59.40 and victory by a margin of two minutes.

Of the experience, he said: "The mile was something I'd not done before and I really enjoyed the atmosphere.

"The 10K I ran as hard as possible and I did a personal best. The hills were a nightmare. I was following one of the Jamaican girls."

Going into the final race, the half-marathon, Banks said he was not sure how his legs would feel but was surprised to discover they were able to propel him along at a pace that would eventually give him a new best time for the 13.1-mile distance.

"Even though it was humid I just put my head down and kept going. I had the benefit for running just behind (US elite runner) Sara Slattery for a while. I knew the lad from the States (Shepard) was close behind. I just kept going to win. And I really enjoyed the whole three days."

Shepard was second in a combined time of 2.01.42, while it was another Bermuda athlete in third place, Simon Ashby who clocked 2.04.53.

Fourth in the event, and first woman, was Estwanik. She made the Challenge extra hard by running two Front Street Mile races on Friday. As well as the Challenge race she won the local adult race in a swift 5.17.

The Challenge mile had come earlier in the evening. Estwanik said: "I was going to do the first mile relatively easy, but it probably was a bit fast. I ran 5.34. However, I did not feel it was 'all out'."

In the adult race she was forced to run to her limit, pushed all the way by Tamika Williams, Jennifer Alen and Victoria Fiddick, to win.

Around 12 hours later she was competing again in the 10K. She has previously run one of the mile races and the 10K during a Race Weekend, but this time she said it felt different.

She explained: "Usually it does not feel too bad, but after two mile races the night before I had sore hamstrings."

In the month leading up to Race Weekend, Estwanik had rarely been able to do fast track training and had also vacationed in the Cayman Islands.

The holiday in warmer climes meant she did not have a problem with Saturday's sunny race conditions when the temperature rose to around 20C.

"I felt really tired in the 10K and ran just over 40 minutes. However, the support from spectators was great.

"After the race I said I would just jog the half-marathon the next day. On Sunday I woke up and my hamstrings were still sore, but I just went out and ran. I never really felt warmed up. I'd said I would be happy with anything around 1.30 or just over. I did 1.28.11 and felt much more in my element.

"My dad said I looked better at 12 miles in that race than I had at five miles in the 10K."

Reflecting on the three-race challenge, which she completed in a time of 2.13.58, she said: "It is definitely a challenge and I really did enjoy it. It made for an exciting weekend and if I was to do it next year I will put in more (training) mileage.

"It was all really well organised and there was tons of support around the course."

Second in the women's challenge was Andrea Banks, wife of men's winner Tony, who had a combined time of 2.24.14. Third women was Clementine Stubbs (Bermuda) in 2.28.06.

In the full Bermuda Triangle Challenge, where runners ran the 26.2-mile marathon on the final day, the men's winner was Anthony Russo of Atlanta, in 3.57.56. The women's winner was Reisel Berger, of Baltimore, in 4.20.48.

First Bermuda athlete across the line was 67-year-old Antun Duzevic, who was 11th overall in a time of 4.28.20, while former winner Calvin Steede was 12th in 4.30.32.

First Bermuda woman was Carol Griffith, 29th overall, in 5.36.59.

Full Triangle Challenge

results – see page 20