JEDDAH: The Jeddah Road Runners were pleased to host the annual Mobil-Apsco sponsored run; this year the distance was 16kms, compared to 5kms last year and 10kms in 2008.

A new course had been expertly set by club committee member Hassan Aljufri, whose family contribution was extended with the help by his sons at the water stops.

The course comprised two laps of 8kms each, and this proved useful for those not used to the longer distance, as eighteen runners opted for the one-lap effort.

Twenty-eight runners completed the longer run in very windy and cool conditions. The youngsters from the Saudi running club dominated the top positions, with the exception of a valiant effort by former club champion, veteran Bernardie, who came 4th overall, only a few seconds behind the first three finishers.

Along with 5th placed Suliman, this group of five runners quickly sped away from the others, and for the majority of the run, ran together in a pack.

In an exciting sprint finish, Abdulhafeez pipped Gawani by a fraction, and Bakhraiba was a further fraction of a second behind.

First-time visitor Weindorf topped out in the masters category, Coleman continued her dominance of the ladies, and John Healam was the sole seniors man.

There were some exciting and very close finishes, including Altayeb edging out visitor Carmichael by three seconds, and another battle in the ladies section between Davies and Queck, with the former triumphing this time.

A big round of applause was reserved for the tail-enders Duran and Valles, who persevered with the distance and both completed the run in just over two hours. In the shorter one lap (8kms), Hobson won in a creditable time of 44.33.

The club chairman, Afif, thanked the sponsors of the event, Mobil-Apsco, whose representatives were on hand to distribute the awards and prizes. The club assistants Doman and Mohagab ensured that the event was incident-free, well marshaled, and encouraged all the runners. They were also thanked for their help, as without their support, these runs could not take place. The next event is next week, at the very much shorter distance of 8 kms at the same venue.

Overall Winner: Abdulhafeez (69.18)

Open Category: 1st Gawani (69.19); 2nd Bakhraiba (69.20); Suleiman (70.37)

Veteran Category: 1st Bernardie (69.28); 2nd Hasawi (81.49); 3rd Long (83.49)

Masters Category: 1st Weindorf (82.36); 2nd Wyatt (102.32); 3rd Magalong (104.22)

Ladies: 1st Coleman (83.03); AlTayeb (88.00); Arnold (93.17)

Seniors: 1st Healam (115.59)