COVENTRY Godiva Harriers athlete Harvey Speed won the Market Harborough Half Marathon in a field of almost 1,000 runners.
Speed won the race in a time of 1 hour 13 minutes and 29 seconds, almost five minutes ahead of Isaac Walter who took second place.
The inaugural Market Harborough Half Marathon attracted runners from Leicestershire and neighbouring counties to run a 13.1-mile route.
Race sponsors Snap Fitness led an exuberant warm-up for the runners assisted by the team at Harborough FM who provided the soundtrack to the event throughout.
Speed and Walter, the latter running for Northampton Road Runners, led the field from the off with the route interspersed by a team of pacers.
And after 73 minutes of running, Speed came into view first down Gallow Field Road – the home straight – as he flew down the last stretch to break the ribbon and cross the line in first place in the men’s race.
Speed opened up a significant gap to race rival Walter at the finish line as the latter runner finished four minutes and 36 seconds after Speed crossed the line while Chris Hardy completed the podium in the men’s race.
Race Harborough also deployed a team of 95 runners across the course with a large traffic management team in place in key locations.
Race director and owner of Race Harborough, Mary Pearson said: “There is always a degree of apprehension when launching large events like this, but the support right from the day we launched to event day itself has been overwhelming.
“From the runners themselves, to our fantastic sponsors, the local villages, and our amazing volunteer team. There are so many people to thank.
“We’ll also spend time over the coming weeks thoroughly reviewing every aspect of the event, and talking to our sponsors, volunteers, contractors, suppliers, and the runners themselves, to ensure that we build upon the solid foundation we’ve achieved this year.”
