As Drew Lang crossed the finishing line at the maxim Sports Nutrition Zurrieq Half-Marathon, he was greeted by St Patrick’s AC team-mates Jonathan Balzan and Haitem Ksheim.
It wasn’t simply a case of camaraderie that is so prevalent in athletics but their joy was also due to the knowledge that Lang’s seventh place finish had helped them win the team event.
Both Balzan and Ksheim had other reasons to be pleased having come in second and third respectively – Belgian Christian Nemeth won for the fifth year in a row – with Balzan being also the first Maltese overall.
There was also joy in the women’s events as Carmen Hili finished second behind Pembroke Athleta’s Carol Walsh. For Hili it was also the case of double the joy as she managed to lower her personal best on this route to 1:28:24.
And, as if to round off the perfect day for the club, Hili along with Marisa Muscat and Paula Vella managed to edge out Zurrieq Wolves to win the women’s team event.
There were other successes, including Martin Agius’ win in the Over 50 category, Edwin Spiteri doing likewise in the Over 65 category, Drew Lang second in the Over 40, Ivan Padovani second in the Over 45 category and Michael Calleja third in the Over 55 category.
“St Patrick’s AC has a long and successful tradition in long distance and we’re trying to uphold that,” club president Antoine Attard said. “Thankfully we’ve got a very supportive sponsor in www.enjoytherun.com who is helping us a lot in keeping our high standards.
“In athletics there isn’t any real rivalry. We appreciate the work put in by Zurrieq Wolves in holding this marathon and applaud the results of all the athletes irrespective of their club.
“That said, today’s results are very important for us and they are dedicated to all our members, particularly those who ran today. It is pleasing to see that St Patrick’s AC had the largest number of athletes running today.
“Every athlete, irrespective of ability is important to us and he have a wide range of assistance programmes. Anyone who wishes to join St Patrick’s AC, particularly any casual runners who aren’t enrolled with a club, or would like to receive further information are more than welcome to contact us on [email protected] and 9988 7807. Alternatively, they can visit our website on www.stpatricksac.info”.