LEADING North-East veteran Rob Hand became the first over-40 to win the Yuill Homes 20th Redcar Half Marathon yesterday.

The Durham City doctor also claimed the North-East half marathon title as he beat last year's winner, Rob Holladay, 13 years his junior.

Hand left his rival trailing after nine miles to win the race in a personal-best 67 mins 55 secs, finishing over a minute ahead of the Morpeth Harrier.

The Durham City Harrier is unbeaten since turning 40 in January, and his best-ever road race victory more than made up for the disappointment of disqualification in the South Shields 10K a week earlier, when he crossed the line first after missing the start.

Now Hand has his sights set on winning his first national title when he competes in the British Veterans Cross Country Championships at Mansfield on Saturday before challenging for the over-40 prize in next month's Flora London Marathon.

Hand and Holladay battled at the head of a 1,000-strong field for three quarters of yesterday's race before a decisive breakaway saw Holladay, carrying a slight hamstring injury, concede defeat.

Hand said: "I'm delighted with that - it's my fastest half marathon since I ran 68 minutes at Carlisle in 1985.

"I am benefitting from the higher mileage I've been doing in training. Until last October I'd never run more than 70 miles a week but now I'm regularly clocking up 80 or 90 and even 100 miles."

He added: "I think Rob is a much better runner than I am, but I knew he'd run a 20-miler the previous week and I thought that might still be in his legs.

"Once I managed to open up a lead at nine miles and he didn't respond I just kept on going."

Holladay, who is also preparing to run in London where he hopes to challenge for Commonwealth Games marathon selection, said: "I finished fourth in a 20-miler last week and I picked up a bit of a hamstring injury, which I felt again.

"Rob got away at about nine miles and I just couldn't respond so I just took it steadily.

"I am a little disappointed because I expected to win and I just hope the injury will not affect my chances of running well in London."

Holladay had the consolation of leading Morpeth to victory in the team race.

Another veteran, Houghton and Peterlee's Sheila Allen, scored an even more comfortable victory in the women's race.

The 44-year-old Wearsider finished over three minutes ahead of Darlington's Alison Raw, as she won the race for a third time, also taking the North-East half marathon title.

But Allen almost gave up after three miles. She said: "I've been troubled by a virus for two weeks and I thought I was going to have to pull up. But I decided to battle on and I'm surprised to have won so comfortably."

* Sunderland Harriers won the Sherman Cup Cross Country Championships for the fourth year in succession at Temple Park, South Shields. The senior men's race saw a victory for Durham University's Peter Grime, who beat Morpeth Harrier Andrew Toward by 27 seconds.

Sherman Cup result: 1 Sunderland 144 pts; 2 Gosforth 157; 3 Gateshead 178.

* Results and pictures in Friday's Local Heroes