The only Bermuda resident to cross the line in front in the main races on the final day of the Chubb Bermuda Triangle Challenge was Adam Prunty.

Prunty, who finished second in the PwC Marathon last year, went one better this time after producing a fantastic solo effort to finish in 2hr 42min 9sec with the performance vindicating his decision to concentrate only on the marathon rather than compete in the Triangle Challenge.

“I was second last year and I am more pleased with the time being ten minutes quicker than winning to be honest,” Prunty said.

It’s a lot of improvement so I can’t really complain about that. I wasn’t really sure what to expect as I knew I was in better shape than last year, but the conditions were quite tough out there and it was very windy.“

Prunty, 29, won by nearly eight minutes after making an early break for victory and was forced to battle the conditions on his own for much of the race.

“I was on my own from very early on, about 6K and at that point I realised it was going to be quite a long solo effort,” Prunty said.

“It was very windy coming from the south, so coming down from Dockyard there was a lot of wind in your face and then back along North Shore it was back in your face, and that was pretty tough.

“I had absolutely no idea how clear I was and I was just running my own race. I had a bit of a stitch, which was quite annoying, so I was just trying to manage that. That happened about 18 kilometres, when I was trying to pick the pace up. I seem to always get stitches.”

Prunty is a regular in races on island and may now set his sights on May 24,

“I’m away a bit so I’ll do some of the local races but I’ll have a bit of a rest and maybe do May 24 and I’ll see how we go,” he said.

“I’m enjoying it and I’ll keep carrying on while I ‘m enjoying it, and if I want a new challenge I’ll move on. But it’s a great community and I’ve made a lot of friends from it. Everybody is very supportive.”

While running out an impressive winner, Prunty may have faced stiff competition from third-placed Joe Cooper, who finished in 2:58:20 after sacrificing his race to pace partner Anya Culling to victory in the women’s race.

Cooper has a marathon PB of 2:36 but is used to playing the support role for Culling.

“It’s pretty cool and I always call myself a professional plus one,” Cooper said.

“Clearly she has an amazing story, continues to be successful and deserves all the opportunities that comes with that, but we’re both very fortunate to be here.

“There were a few arguments on the course because I was going too quickly but we run every single day. I work for PwC and that’s why it’s fortunate that my job is Anya’s hobby as well. I work pretty long hours and so all our time together is running, swimming and exercising. That’s what we enjoy doing so it makes it possible to have a job and also train like a professional amateur.

Although he works for PwC this was Cooper’s first visit to Bermuda and he was thrilled with the island’s hospitality,

“It’s been amazing and we’re from London, so we don’t even know our neighbours,” Cooper joked.

“Here everyone is so friendly and it seems as if everybody knows everyone. We’re originally from Norfolk, from a small farming community and I moved to London where it is very different, so it’s really nice to be here.”