RIYADH: Juan Aragones snatched a late victory in the Riyadh Road Runners’ latest event, a five-mile race held at Ishbiliyah compound on Friday morning, and in doing so made amends for missing a turn and losing first place on the same course last month.

Aragones set off quickly but trailed Abdulmajeed Almuayquil and Stephan Wullschleger throughout.

However, with 1.5 km to go he surprised the leading pair when he burst into the lead on the penultimate long straight and managed to hold off Almuayquil for his first ever RRR victory, at only the third attempt. At the finish line the margin of Aragones’ victory was a mere 4 seconds while Wullschleger finished 12 seconds off the winner. It bodes well for some more tightly contested races during the remainder of the season.

Meanwhile in the ladies’ race, Laura Blazek took the lead going into the first corner and never looked like relinquishing it. Claudine Roghi showed her usual consistency and took second place, with Maria Araujo showing her prowess in the shorter races by sealing third place ahead of Marie-pierre Arminjon, who didn’t quite make the podium on this occasion.

The club now returns to the south of Riyadh for its next race, a 10 mile race in support of the 10KSA organization.

Men’s race: 1. Juan Aragones (ESP) 31:34, 2. Abdulmajeed Almuayquil (KSA) 31:38, 3. Stephan Wullschleger (SUI) 31:46

Ladies’ race: 1. Laura Blazek (USA) 34:41, 2. Claudine Roghi (NZ/FRA) 36:34, 3. Maria Araujo (ITA) 37:24