Big PB puts Priest sixth on Imperial 10 Miler list

He surged past star veteran Steve Dawes in the late stages of Sunday’s event to triumph in 53min. 32sec., a time that puts him sixth on the all-time rankings for one of Guernsey’s most iconic distance races.

This specific edition of the Portelet-based event evoked strong memories of reigning champion Richard Friedrich, who died of cancer two weeks ago aged 40 after living nearby for seven years.

Priest never got to race the Imperial 10 against Friedrich, who was commemorated via a minute’s applause before the start, but Dawes proved a very worthy rival.

Dawes returned from four months of racing inactivity chasing a milestone 10th victory on a course that spends three miles climbing to the Mallard before a gradual drop down L’Eree hill and flat coastal push to the finish.

Recent 10k winner Thierry Le Cheminant, only 17, made it a three-way battle by joining the leaders early on.

The leading duo used the fast L’Eree descent to drop the youngster, but Dawes made his own move when they hit the coastal final third, which featured a welcome tailwind.

Dawes’ small gap blossomed to nearly 10sec. at the base of L’Eree with just two miles to go – yet the pace soon caught up with him.

In a minuscule window, Priest managed to reel in and then drop Dawes, who still finished second and two minutes outside his all-time PB in 53-56.

After being briefly consumed by a strong chase pack, Le Cheminant launched a surge of his own to place third in 55-08 (seventh all-time) as Mike Batiste followed 22sec. back (eighth all-time).

Luke Richards ran 55-47 to close an outstanding top five but the men’s strength in depth continued beyond that, with 12 competitors breaking the hour barrier.

Priest admitted that ‘sharing the load’ in the early stages felt fitting as it was a practice Friedrich was always keen on.

‘We did that but both of us had the same intentions of once we got to the Mallard, with a bit of wind behind us, a bit of downhill, to push on the pace a bit,’ he said.

‘We were more or less together all the way to the coast and then he pulled away a little bit. Along the coast he put in a burst and I saw my pace and thought “I’ve got to stick to my own race here, I’m on for a PB”.

‘I was catching him in the lanes and I had something left for the last mile, so I just went for it.

‘Very happy to get a PB and a win.’

Priest had covered the last mile in under 5min., demonstrating how much time can be made in the late stages of this course.

Triathlete Chloe Truffitt also benefited from a fast finish as she posted 1-06-51 for her first road victory.

In a thinner women’s field, she allowed Liz Dudin to take on the pace initially before making big time on the faster stretches, leaving the teacher to take second in 1-09-09. Mel Nicolle took third woman.

‘I feel pretty good right now,’ the surprised winner said.

‘I did not know what to expect to be honest – I was quite nervous about going up the Imp.

‘I just tried to keep it pretty calm and just close the gap on Liz, so I just pegged it down L’Eree hill.’