But both Guernsey great Dawes and newcomer Le Tissier had succeeded in similar fashion, leading from the start of the gruelling seven-day stage race and topping it off with victory in Saturday’s Herm cross-country finale.
Veteran Dawes crossed the finish line 2min. 23sec. clear of 18-year-old debutant Jack Rees in the general classification, with reigning champion George Mason another 24sec. back. That battle for second had come down to the 11.6km Herm race.
‘I wanted to win and I wanted to win well,’ Dawes said afterwards.
‘It’s a bit more like a true cross-country course. Jack won the cross-country series, he’s the up-and-comer, and I wanted to show I can still run a bit.
‘The overall series, it was just a goal. I entered when it first opened up at a time I was injured and I’d had months off running, I was running intermittently with a hamstring problem and I’d put it as a goal to give me something to get out the door and try and get over the problem.’
He was not certain of lining up, then of making it through the week, but it was mission accomplished.
‘It all went well and each race I feel like I got a bit sharper, a bit more race-ready and improved a bit,’ he added.
‘The first one I felt so, so rusty, and Saumarez Park onwards I started to feel like I knew how to race again... overall I probably got the most I could have got from it and it’s nice to win again as an old boy.’
The lower divisions tackled a similar course in Herm, albeit with one smaller lap deducted per step down.
In Division Two, endurance fanatic Clint King consolidated his overall lead with a winning performance over 9.6km.
The contest for women’s honours had taken place within Division Three, where Jon Sexton was the race and overall winner.
But avid runner and gym-goer Le Tissier extended her advantage in what has been a close series of races among the top women, taking the initiative early on and posting 39-35 for the 7.6km course.
Liz Chalmers kept her in sight to follow in 40-01, with Rosa Munzebrock taking third in 40-53.
Le Tissier topped the overall women’s standings in 2-36-44, with Chalmers (2-40-06) overtaking Munzebrock (2-40-14) in that final race.
But Chalmers’ absence from the first race disqualified her from the women’s overall prizes and lifted Jocelyn McLellan into the top three.
‘I was really, really hoping I was going to get it tonight, so I feel like I’ve deserved it, as there were a couple races where I was second and third,’ the emotional winner said.
‘This is my second year, and I was second last year, so I thought I’d just keep going because I really, really enjoyed it and I have some fantastic friends that I’ve made along the way.
‘I’ve really, really enjoyed every single night and it’s been tough, but I really appreciate this and I think there’s been so many strong runners so close.
‘I’m just over the moon. It’s my first-ever trophy and to get it for something I love doing... running is my therapy and to get a trophy and all this, I can’t describe the feeling.’
Read more in Monday’s Press
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