Dillon Cassar and Joelle Cortis are the winners of the third edition of Malta's favourite 5km race, Fastest5, held last Sunday.

Cassar claimed top honours with an impressive time of 15mins 15 secs. The Raptorz Running Club athlete, 22, fought off quality competition from local and foreign runners.

Charlton Debono finished second, just four seconds adrift, while Spanish runner Pedro Antonio López de Haro finished third (15:39). Joelle Cortis (St. Patricks) won the female category in an 18:21 timing, while Maria Gerada and Denise Borda finished second (19:34) and third (19:49) respectively. Raptorz Running Club also claimed the male team honours, while Mellieħa AC won the female category.

This year's Fastest 5, organised by Raptorz RC, attracted a record 400 participants, with a substantial number of them registering a personal best on the 5k distance. The race took place along the roads of Balzan, Birkirkara and Santa Venera. Such was the quality of runners participating this year is the fact that 17 of them ran sub-17 on the distance. Raptorz President Darren Vandit expressed his satisfaction with the outcome of the race: "We worked hard for long months to offer not just a race but an experience for runners.

Our biggest pride is that so many runners, from elites to beginners, celebrating sports in a sense of friendship, while goinh on to achieve race Personal Bests".

The club thanked its main sponsors for their support: Teamsport, Diadora, Project Technik, Scitec Nutriton, Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors and The Physio Specialists.

A note of thanks was also expressed towards the Local Councils of Birkirkara, Santa Venera and Balzan, to the Local Guardians and numerous volunteers that dedicate their time and effort to make this event a success. Further information on Raptorz Running Club is available on the Facebook page with the same name or through email on [email protected].