Opening race of 4 race GIAAC Winter Championship series.
Few would have doubted that Sara Queripel would continue her spell of good form to win the women's section but the men's race produced a surprise as Paul Ingrouille eased to a comfortable victory over Marcel le Clerc and Nick Despres.
After a steady start Ingrouille was handed the race as one by one his challengers fell behind a pace, which by his own admission, was 'not as quick as I hoped for'.
With both Nick Despres and Francis Kehoe returning after lay-offs Le Clerc shared the lead with Ingrouille for the opening half of the race but unexpectedly fell behind on the outward stretch towards Rousse Tower.
As the runners rounded the tower, with two miles of the 5.5 mile route remaining, Ingrouille's lead was less than 10 seconds but Le Clerc fell further behind over the closing stages and was a full 40 seconds behind at the finish. "I didn¹t have it in my body or my head " said the reigning champion whose hopes of retaining his title have been dented by a rare off-day.
Despres and Kehoe swapped places several times before Despres made a forceful run for home over the closing mile. It was, however, a promising return to form for Kehoe, whose last serious race saw him narrowly miss out on a medal in the 1999 Gotland Island Games.
Queripel has been raising eyebrows with the quality of some of her recent training sessions and was always in the hunt for a top ten overall placing. She eventually finished 10th over three minutes clear of Debbie Doherty. Sara's sister Tracey also finished well in the 12 strong women's field.
| Pos | Athlete | Cat | Time |
| 1 | Paul Ingrouille | 31.46 | |
| 2 | Marcel Le Clerc | 32.26 | |
| 3 | Nick Despres | 33.07 | |
| 4 | Francis Kehoe | 33.17 | |
| 5 | Jason Le Ray | 34.00 | |
| 6 | Mark Anthony | 34.02 | |
| 7 | Brian Holden | SVM | 35.35 |
| 8 | Martin Spratt | VM | 36.04 |
| 9 | Marcus Prevel | 36.18 | |
| 10 | Sara Queripel | W | 36.35 |
| 11 | John Dedman | 36.50 | |
| 12 | Barry Moroney | 37.07 | |
| 13 | Paul Cherry | 37.13 | |
| 14 | Jean-Pierre Macé | VM | 37.34 |
| 15 | Pete De Bertrand | SVM | 39.13 |
| 16 | Roger Naftel | SVM | 39.18 |
| 17 | Phil Guilbert | VM | 39.41 |
| 18 | Deborah Doherty | W | 39.49 |
| 19 | Chris De La Mare | SVW | 40.51 |
| 20 | David Mahy | VM | 41.11 |
| 21 | Helen Tucker | VW | 41.19 |
| 22 | Brian Johnson | 41.22 | |
| 23 | Robert Burns | SVM | 41.39 |
| 24 | Eric Le Breton | SVM | 41.48 |
| 25 | Ian Bloese | SVM | 42.15 |
| 26 | Patrick Damant | 42.16 | |
| 27 | Katrine Sviklane | W | 42.26 |
| 28 | Tracey Queripel | W | 42.29 |
| 29 | Sally Kail | VW | 43.16 |
| 30 | Terry Greening | SVM | 44.07 |
| 31 | Jenny Elliott | W | 44.15 |
| 32 | Ron Harnden | SVM | 44.27 |
| 33 | Justine Prevel | W | 45.22 |
| 34 | Rob Carre | VM | 45.49 |
| 35 | Graham Le Poidevin | SVM | 45.49 |
| 36 | Ian Garner | 47.28 | |
| 37 | Alan Roger | VM | 47.45 |
| 38 | Doug Whiting | SVM | 47.47 |
| 39 | Tony Galliene | VM | 49.49 |
| 40 | Anne Setters | VW | 49.58 |
| 41 | Millie White | VW | 51.47 |
| 42 | Jill Loveridge | W | 64.31 |