Merrien is best Briton in New York 'Half'
LEE MERRIEN broke his own island record, but was left a 'bit annoyed' with his performance at the New York Half-Marathon.
Guernsey's all-time best distance runner broke off from an altitude training camp in Albuquerque, to travel north to the 'Big Apple' and test himself over 13 miles ahead of next month's London Marathon.
The result was a new personal best of 64min. 7sec., a small improvement on his 2012 performance at the Paris 'Half'.
'I was a bit annoyed not to go sub 64, but it was a PB nonetheless.
'I ran solo for the last 15 kilometres, but it was a great event and running through Times Square is something special,' he said.
Merrien also had the satisfaction of being the leading Briton in a high- quality field which totalled 20,000 men and women of all standards who stopped the traffic in Manhattan, from Central Park through Times Square to South Street Seaport.
On the men's side and ahead of Merrien, Stephen Sambu of Kenya broke away from Wilson Chebet of Kenya and Sam Chelanga of the USA at about nine miles.
Sambu claimed victory in 61-16 over Chebet 61-35 and Chelanga 61-43.
In chilly conditions of 34F, the Guernseyman was comfortably the best Briton on show and finished more than four minutes than his training partner and fellow Newham and Essex Beagles member, John Beattie.
Merrien now has the Olympic Games qualification time in his sights at the London Marathon which is now just five weeks away on 24 April.
