Bearing a few war wounds from a mid-race fall, the classy veteran nevertheless won the gruelling 15-miler in 1hr 51min. 39sec. – his sixth lifetime victory on the course, and 20 years after his fastest time.
Ethan Woodhead proved a competitive runner-up in 1-52-32, having come back from his own tumble on what proved a challenging day out over the course from Havelet to the Fairy Ring.
Not making going any easier were the troublesome westerly headwinds of around 25mph.
Dawes had used the infamous Jerbourg steps to distance 2023 winner Woodhead, subsequently shaking off his fall – which happened at Icart – to reach the Petit Bot checkpoint at just after halfway with a 57sec. advantage.
That cushion proved vital. Dawes’ minor gains in the miles following Petit Bot were counteracted by a stronger finish from Woodhead.
Afterwards, Dawes admitted it had been ‘pretty grim’ and he had even been ‘half-tempted to stop’ at Petit Bot.
‘I carried on, but soon after Petit Bot I was struggling, not because of my fall or anything but just getting it wrong for where my fitness is,’ he said.
‘I was relieved just to get to the finish.’
He added: ‘For three-quarters of the race, I was OK.
‘It was only the last few miles I completely ran out of steam. Had I not... it might have been high 1-40s and then I might have had a different view on it and been pretty happy.’
Current Guernsey Ultra champion Mark Jeffreys sat solidly third at Petit Bot, a position that he maintained to the line in 2-03-25.
But after narrowing the gap slightly in the second half, Andrew Zabiela finished fourth 1-30 behind.
Commonwealth Games cyclist Mike Serafin took fifth in 2-11-55 but came in virtually alongside Orkney 2025 triathlon debutant Dave Fairbrother, who finished 1sec. down.
On the women’s side came an impressive debut win from Katie Birch.
Being new to the course did not stop Birch putting down a solid marker, 2-26-13, that puts her eighth on the women’s all-time Dogbreaker list.
She used her all-around fitness to reach Petit Bot 5-19 clear of nearest rival Caroline Barby, a seasoned trail runner who has previously won this event, and to continue pulling ahead.
'I absolutely loved the Dogbreaker,' she said.
'I felt strong over the first half, but the steps after Corbiere were definitely the toughest part for me. I just kept telling myself to hold my pace and keep moving, and it worked.’
Barby took second woman in 2-34-51, followed more distantly by another Caroline, veteran-55 trail specialist Creed, in 2-52-14.
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