ASHFORD and District Roadrunners decision to return to their traditional date in February for their 10km road run was an unqualified success.

Many of the county’s top runners took part in Sunday's event. The club had to turn runners away on the day after reaching their maximum well before the day.

Mike Coleman has gone from strength to strength having joined the elite group at Medway and Maidstone from Ashford AC and the international was again in devastating form despite the difficult and windy conditions.

He was unpressured as he strode away to the title, winning by a clear minute from B&B’s Barry Stephenson with 31:23.

The strength of M&M was underlined by the ease with which they secured the team title with Neil Renault just holding off south coast favourite John Creane (London Irish/SKH) for third place with 33 minutes dead to Creane’s 33:03.

M&M’s Lee McMeekin, last year’s winner in 33:55, bettered that time with 33:19 but still had to settle for fifth and the Medway and Maidstone club also had two more runners in the top 15.

In the women’s race Andrea Green (Shaftsbury) returned to the race and won in commanding style missing the course record by just 10 seconds to see off defending champion Helen Wheeler of Ashford AC by more than two and half minutes.

Green clocked 35:26 and even then was a bit disappointed with her time attributing it to the heavy workload of training she has been putting on herself in preparation for her first marathon run at London.

Wheeler, was just outside her winning time last year with 37:58 and third was Canterbury Harrier Angela Howe with 38:37.

FULL STORY IN THIS WEEK'S KENTISH EXPRESS