Michael Waddington produced a dominant run to win the Watford Half Marathon in Cassiobury Park as hundreds of runners pounded the streets yesterday.

The Ware Joggers athlete completed the course in 1 hr 8 mins 29 secs, more than a minute-and-a-half ahead of runner-up Jack Nixon (1:10.06) of St Edmunds Pacers in second, with former champion Paul Martelletti (1:10.20) finishing third.

Herts Phoenix AC’s Annabel Gummow was the runaway winner of the women’s race in 1:13.56 in 13th overall, finishing more than seven minutes ahead of the second woman home, Hayley Munn, who crossed the line in 1:21.06 in 35th place overall.

The half-marathon also incorporated the Herts County Vets Championships and this was won by Luke Delderfield who finished fourth overall in 1:10.58, with competitors from Tring RC filling all the podium positions in the event.

The first athlete from a Watford-based club to finish the Vets championships was Paul Hogan from Watford Joggers. He was also the first competitor in the 50 to 59 age group to cross the line, coming home in 39th place overall in 1:21.43.

More than 1,400 people signed up to take part in the annual race, with 1,186 finishing in the adult event.

A fun run also took place and the respective age group winners were:

Male: Under-10, Yi Hong Jeremy Tsang, 10.17; Under-11, Leonardo Borrill, 7.14; Under-13, Yuveer Singh Cheema, 9.05; Ages 20 to 39, Phil Bazin, 10.27; Ages 40 to 49, Jamie Gillespie, 10.07; Ages 50 to 59, Gvido Stolbovs, 11.41.

Female: Under-10, Olivia Stokes, 10.08; Under-11, Yi Hei Julia Tsang, 9.30; Under-13, Eve Cross, 7.35; Ages 35 to 44, Charlotte Hawes, 8.37.