NORTH-EAST 5K road race champion Martin Scaife was a runaway winner of yesterday's Saltwell 10K - and picked up a surprise £25 bonus.

The 32-year-old Morpeth Harrier went off hard from the gun, and no-one was anywhere near when he reached the top of the formidable Chowdene Bank.

"I didn't know anything about the prime prize - it's a nice little bonus," said Scaife, who clocked 31 mins 10 secs, beating Elswick's Steven Horn by a huge 81 seconds, with defending champion Stewy Bell (Chester-le-Street) third in 32.51.

The only danger to Scaife came from the conditions underfoot - he had to slow over the last 400 metres in Saltwell Park, where there were icy patches on the path.

But the Darlington bakery manager was delighted with his victory, his first on the region's roads since he won the North-East 5K title at Silksworth in August.

"I decided to run from the gun because I have got a lot of hard work ahead of me," said Scaife, who is preparing to run the City-Pier-City half marathon in The Hague on March 19.

Scaife, who intends to run in the Northern Cross Country Championships at Consett at the end of January, recently returned from an invitation marathon relay in Bahrain, where he was a member of the team runners-up.

He said: "I was really pleased - Wilfred Taragon, the Kenyan who was second in the Blaydon Race, was on my stage and I beat him twice, by ten seconds and four seconds.

"Things have been going well and if I can make even more progress I'm hoping to bring down my best half marathon time from 65 mins 27 secs in The Hague."

Scaife's coach, former marathon international Ian Bloomfield, believes he can get better over the 13.1-mile half marathon distance. "I ran three times in the City-Pier-City race and I expect Martin to do well - there is a lot of improvement to come," he said.

The women's race was won by North-East exile Zoe Tucker, visiting her parents in Durham from her home in Bath, where she is a PE teacher.

Tucker, 26, who has been active in athletics for only 18 months, beat her former Newcastle Central High School mate Judith Nutt, of Elswick, by over a minute in 37.18, knocking over a minute-and-a-half off her personal best.

She said: "It was the first time I have raced here and I loved it. At school I concentrated on hockey and tennis - Judith was the star cross country runner and no-one could get near her."

Sunderland's Jack Martin won the under-17 race, but nearly slipped down twice on the ice after passing Adam Carmichael (Gateshead) 200 metres from the finish.

Results - Men (10K): 1 M Scaife (Morpeth) 31.10; 2 S Horn (Elswick) 32.31; 3 S Bell (Chester-le-Street) 32.51; 4 A Shepherd (Morp) 32.58; 5 R Hunt (Richmond & Zetland) 32.59; 6 D Robertson (Sunderland M40) 33.01; 7 J Archer (Low Fell) 33.03; 8 T Doughty (Sund M40) 33.04; 9 D Purvis (Birtley) 33.29; 10 C Roberts (Gateshead) 33.41. M45 G Bayner (Morp) 36.34; M50 L Atkinson (Morp) 33.56; M55 M McNally (Els) 36.23; M60 D Gordon (Quakers) 47.53.

Women (10K): 1 Z Tucker (Bitton) 37.18; 2 J Nutt (Els) 38.25; 3 L Marr (Tynedale W40) 42.52; 4 J Elliott (Blay) 42.56; 5 J Cross (Claremont W35) 43.44. W45 S Milburn (Newton Aycliffe) 44.00; W55 P Gold (Heaton) 49.42.

Junior Men (10K): 1 P Guthrie (Houghton & Peterlee) 38.34; 2 K Watt (North Shields Poly) 41.26; 3 P Bell (Jarrow & Hebburn) 42.44.

Under-17 Men (5K): 1 J Martin (Sund) 15.50; 2 A Carmichael (Gates) 15.54; 3 S Brewis (H&P) 16.24. Women: 1 L Dodsworth (Gates) 19.58; 2 C Gilmore (Gates) 22.21.

Under-15 Boys (2.5K): 1 R Murray (Gates) 8.59; 2 M Cochrane (Morp) 9.01; 3 T Perrins (Gates) 9.11. Girls: 1 S Crowell (J&H) 10.50; 2 E Murray (JH) 11.28; 3 V Brewis (H&P) 11.48.

Under-13 Boys (2.5K): 1 C Ritchie (J&H) 9.55; 2 L Baistor (Blyth) 10.06; 3 J Beaton (Gates) 10.10. Girls: 1 E Winter (J&H) 11.01; 2 C Fletcher (Gates) 11.12; 3 R OldhM (Gates) 11.20.

* Great Britain biathlon international Paul Lowe won yesterday's annual Loftus Poultry Run after a close battle with Loftus AC's Shaun O'Grady.

The pair ran together for most of the eight-mile multi-terrain course.

But the North York Moors AC man managed to break clear in the closing stages to win by six seconds in 44 mins 16 secs, with former winner Craig McBurney (Morpeth) a further 17 seconds behind in third place.

The women's race was won by Chester-le-Street's former British Universities 10,000m track champion Alyson Dixon, who beat local runner Catherine Hare by over four minutes in a time of 48.22.

Results - Men: 1 P Lowe (North York Moors AC) 44.16; 2 S O'Grady (Loftus) 44.22; 3 C McBurney (Morpeth) 44.39; 4 J McCready (Darlington) 44.44; 5 T Livingstone (New Marske M40) 45.11. Team: Loftus.

Women: 1 A Dixon (Chester-le-Street) 48.22; 2 C Hare (Loftus) 52.35; 3 C Ball (Ackworth) 53.12; 4 S Jackson (Middlesbrough & Cleveland) 54.16; 5 J Grindley (York Acorn) 54.53. W35 K Nelson (Unatt) 55.11. Team: Ackworth