Bermuda Half-Marathon Derby champions Lamont Marshall and Gayle Lindsay took advantage of perfect weather conditions to secure victory in the Ray Swan Flat 8K on Sunday.

Racing on the island for the first time since winning the Half-Marathon Derby last year, Marshall crossed the finish line at Shelly Bay Park in 25min 30sec. His time, almost two minutes quicker than that of second-placed Tom Mills, was faster than the 27:14 Sean Trott recorded to win the same race a year ago. David Lunn came in third in a time of 28:32.

Marshall made a return to the race with a target of completing it in under 25 minutes, as he did to see off Dage Minors in a time of 24:23 in 2023.

“I wanted to get under the last time I raced with Dage, and that was a nice push to the end,” Marshall said. “Sadly, I can’t do the next one because I’ll be overseas at that time.”

Lindsay, the women’s champion in the Ed Sherlock 8K last month, stopped the clock at 29:48, with her time placing her seventh overall. She was more than two minutes ahead of Teresa Ruiz and Stepanka Sprincova, who finished 22 seconds apart.

The May 24 women’s champion, who is in line to clinch another Legends Series with two more races to go, was delighted to better the 30:23 she recorded last year.

“I’m really happy because my goal was to try to get a close to 30 as possible, and I’m really happy to achieve it,” the women’s winner said.

“Good conditions on the day worked for me. It can be a tough course if you’re battling a headwind the whole way and I managed to get in with some good runners at the start to get into a good pace.

“It’s great to see the competition between Teresa and Stepanka. I believe they’re getting closer to me, so I've got to up my game and keep working harder.

“I’m doing the whole series, that’s the plan as long as I’m fit and healthy. Just like every runner on the island, the biggest goal is May 24.”

Lunn was pleased to improve from eighth position in the Ed Sherlock 8K to finish third in the second race of the series.

“This one is always a fast one because it’s a flat route,” the 31-year-old said.

“I stayed with Tom for the first two or three kilometres, but then he was a bit too quick for me. Philip Woollins caught me near the end but I managed to get past him and I’m happy with that.

“I’ve been doing a lot of mileage so it’s paying off for me. I’m going to do the whole series, that means I’ll keep training and pushing harder for those two remaining races.

“I’m also doing May 24, where I’m targeting a top ten finish. The last time I did that race I was still playing rugby for Bermuda, but now I’m more focused on running.”

Ruiz, who finished 20th overall in 32:03, was pleased to achieve a better time than the 35:03 she recorded a year ago.

“I’m so glad that I’m keeping up with Gayle,” she said. “My time is better than the one from last year, so I’m happy with that.

“I just came from a race abroad when I ran a half-marathon under 90 minutes. I felt motivated and tried to run the race to the best of my ability.

“This was a progression run for me, I started off with my half-marathon pace. I picked up the pace after five kilometres and tried to go for it.

“I’m training for May 24, but I’m not looking for a place on the podium. I just want to have a good race and enjoy myself without much expectations.”

With Lindsay and Ruiz in the race, Sprincova, the top runner in the female 40 to 49 age group, knew that it would be tough to win.

“I was happy to keep up with Teresa as always,” the 41-year-old said.

“It’s always a back-and-forth battle between Teresa and I. I’m just happy to keep up with her at the start of the race, and I’m satisfied with my finishing time.”