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BATHURST runner Paul Moran has never been far away from the mark in his previous attempts at the 10km race which coincides with the Bathurst Half Marathon.
But after being in and around the top five throughout the last seven years, he got to stand on top of the podium yesterday as he comfortably clinched victory in the event.
Previously, Moran’s best result had been a fourth which he picked up last year, but with defending champion Mitch Williamson not competing yesterday, this year’s race was an open affair.
For most of the distance, Moran was clear of the chasers and he finished in a personal best time for the event, 34.38 minutes.
He was just clear of another local in Brandon Martin.
The first female runner home was Meg Reeves in 40.32.
For Moran, the run was all about gearing up for the Sydney Half Marathon in a few weeks’ time, but he was delighted to pick up the victory.
“It is my first win here, so it is a pretty big result,” he said.
“I used to do a lot of running in high school and have gotten back into it over the last few years, and I’ve got a big race in Sydney coming up soon so I’ve been working hard with that in mind.
“I knew I was in alright shape coming into today but you never know who is going to show up at these sorts of races, so it is hard to target it and say that you’re going to try and win. Sometimes you don’t have any control over that.
“Time-wise I was aiming to run under 35 minutes and I did that, so win or lose that’s a pretty good outcome.”
Moran spent a lot of time alongside eventual half-marathon winner Brendan Davies who set a good pace himself, and gradually he was able to increase his lead over the chasers.
He explained that he wasn’t particularly conscious of where his rivals were but simply put his head down and raced the clock.
“Brendan was in front of me by 100 or so metres for most of the run, but it was good to be able to try and keep pace with him and maintain my speed that way,” he said.
“This is the distance that suits me best though, and I was able to put on a bit of a kick towards the end.”