Ben and Jess Ruthe were crowned king and queen of the Mt Joggers and Walkers Half Marathon yesterday after both dominated their respective competition.
The first couple of the 27th annual event, which attracted more than 1300 participants in distances ranging from the half marathon down to a 250m race for the region's fleetest under-6s, looked to be reading from the same book after both broke away from the pack for commanding leads by the halfway mark.
Ben, who only began seriously training for the event a month ago after four years out of competition due to the demands of a growing family and a new business, was clearly buzzing to be back where he ought to be.
"It's nice to be running again, it's such a good feeling," he said.
"I started up a new business and we had our first child four years ago, and Jess ran the whole way through, so for both of us to train was a little bit hard.
"I decided I'd focus on the business and family and take the running a little easier for a while.
"The kids are a bit older now and we've got a little bit more time to train in the mornings."
With young children on hand enjoying the music and the buzz of a large crowd of supporters, Ben had the added satisfaction of seeing wife Jess easily win the women's race.
"It's so good to see Jess running really well again. She's been wanting to come out and race for a while and she had a few years there having children and then getting injured in the build-up to races so it's great to see.
"Hopefully, she can go on to bigger races and get faster from here as well."
The course, stretching down and back from the Mount Surf Club on Marine Parade before taking in Pilot Bay and the Mount base track, was a big hit with spectators and competitors.
"It was great fun, you couldn't ask for a better day. It's great starting here and then running back past the finish line a couple of times to get a bit of a pick-me-up when it's hurting.
"The scenery makes all the difference in the world. There are times when you want to distract yourself without losing your rhythm and not blow up too much, so I looked at the beach deliberately and thought about building sand castles with the kids to relax a bit."
Twins Kyle and Iain MacDonald, who helped Ben maintain decent shape during his time out of the sport, pushed him along during the middle part of the race.
"I didn't intend to head out right from the start, but I thought I'd see if those guys were going to come with me and push the pace. I thought I'd keep going and see how long I could last. They caught me up a little in the middle, but I managed to pull away again. Lucky it came off, really."
Mt Joggers and Walkers president Jill Fuller was thrilled with the turnout and weather as the club continues to go from strength to strength.
The club, which meets for excursions on Tuesday and Friday mornings, now has more than 250 members, with numbers likely to grow after an upcoming 10-week beginners course that has already had strong interest.