First Gudja honours for Lang and Vella

The recent spell of mild weather has seen many athletes stepping up their preparation after the suffocating summer heat. This applies in particular to those who prefer long distances for whom stamina-building training runs are of significant importance.

Given such circumstances, the Powerade Gudja 8K held last Sunday, should have been the ideal opportunity for many of these athletes to test themselves and perhaps attempt a new personal best.

But instead, an overnight rise in both the heat and humidity levels meant that anyone with such plans had to postpone them to another day. And although the number of athletes who took part registered an increase from last year, few managed to record an improved timing.

That was certainly the case of Drew Lang, who finished the course in 28.08 minutes, 46 seconds slower than last year.

Even so, it was enough for him to register his first victory in the event after twice finishing second besides a third placing on another occasion.

With last year's winner and record holder Jonathan Balzan missing, Lang was always going to be the favourite to win. In fact, he even had an eye on setting a new record.

"At the beginning I tried to go for it but it was very humid and I realised that it was going to be difficult. So I then settled down to winning the race which was my priority," he said.

Having opened up a healthy lead in the first four kilometres, Lang was then caught up by fellow St Patrick's athlete Michael Gellel. The two kept up with each other for the next three kilometres before a final burst of speed ensured Lang of a first place finish.

However, Gellel was visibly pleased with his performance.

"Last week I took part in the triathlon championships so I definitely wasn't expecting to do as well as I did today," he explained.

"I managed to keep up with Drew for most of the race and that was very positive from my part."

Noel Spiteri, of Zurrieq Wolves, finished third with a time of 29.30.

Overall, it was proving to be a very good day for Wolves' athletes who took up two of the top three places in the women's category.

If last year's winner was missing from the men's category, the women's section was bereft of the athletes who occupied the top two places last time round. This meant that there was an open field and it was anyone's guess as to who the winner would be.

In the end, it was Kathleen Vella who comfortably finished first in 35.11. Having finished sixth last year in 37 minutes, she was one of the few who registered an improvement.

"I was expecting to do well," she said. "I've been training for it for a long time and knew who was taking part so I was confident of doing well."

With a gap of more than three minutes over her nearest rival, ultimately, there was never any danger that Vella would miss out on the top prize making her first race in the colours of her new club Zurrieq Wolves a memorable one.

It was an equally eventful race for Katya Camilleri. The young athlete caused a surprise by finishing second and claiming the first honour in her career.

Rachel Galea (Zurrieq Wolves) repeated last year's feat and settled for another third placing.

The 4K and fun run both proved to be entertaining affairs with the former being won by Ian Ellul (Zurrieq Wolves) and Roberta Schembri (Athleta Pembroke).

They were followed by Andrea Camilleri (St Patrick's) and Andrew Vella (St Aloysius), and Maria Sciberras (St Patrick's) and Mona Lisa Camilleri (AS Libertas).