Ben Moreau gave a classy performance in winning the Geoff Moulden road race at Wimbledon Park on Sunday.
Fresh from helping Aldershot, Farnham & District win the South of England six-stage road relay title last week, Moreau shared the pace-making on the opening lap with Grzegorz Sobcyk, with Epsom-based Shaftesbury Barnet runner Kojo Kyereme some eight seconds adrift at that point.
Fourth at the end of the lap was Tom Bedford, who snatched up the £20 prize for being the first runner to reach the 400m point.
Moreau, 27, opened a narrow lead on Sobcyk at the start of the second lap as he approached the All England Tennis Club grounds in Church Road for the second time.
However, he did not extend his advantage until he was back in Wimbledon Park and approaching the finish on the athletics track.
With 800m remaining, he put in a significant burst to pick up the £200 first prize and win in 31 minutes, 10 seconds, from Sobcyk (31:18) and Kyereme (31:55).
Early leader Bedford, a former student at St Mary’s, Twickenham, was fifth in 33:40, 15 seconds ahead of Herne Hill’s Tim Elsey.
“I liked the course. I finished third here last year,” said Moreau.
The first finisher from organising club Hercules Wimbledon was Mike Halman, who was eighth in 34:38, with clubmate Alex Robinson first junior in 34:59 and Joe Toomey, the youngest runner in the field at 17, 15th in 38:22.
Toomey also completed the scoring for the winning team.
Hercules Wimbledon’s Claire Grima took the £200 women’s top prize as she took the women’s race in 39:53.
Stragglers’ over-45 veteran Phyllis Flynn was second woman in 42:29.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here