Luke Micallef, Lisa Bezzina fly to victory at HOS 10k Road Race in Burmarrad

The House of Sport 10k Series Road Race in Burmarrad has built a strong reputation for being one of Malta’s fastest 10 kilometre races set on quiet roads and peaceful scenery. Since its inception in 2016, this route has garnered the support of most of Malta’s top runners. In fact, last Sunday’s race saw a twenty five percent increase in participation from the previous year.

The race, which was held under the auspices of the Malta Amateur Athletics Association was serving as a selection race for the Athletics team repesenting Malta at the forthcoming Cardiff Cross Country Challenge.

The early Sunday morning start, saw top Maltese athletes Lisa Bezzina, Luke Micallef, Andrew Grech, Dillon Cassar, Roberta Schembri, Monalisa Camilleri, Josann Attard Pulis take their marks to give some very strong performances.

Favourite to win the race was Lisa Bezzina who has been competing in almost all of the House of Sport Series and taking top billing each time. However there was going to be some strong competition for Bezzina from the likes of Schembri, Camilleri, Attard Pulis and others like Margaret Seguna. From the outset Bezzina set a determined yet calm and calculated strategy which enabled her to win the race and break the course record she set in 2017. Bezzina crossed the finish line in 35 minutes 59 seconds, an improvement of 1 minute 23 seconds. Following behind her was Roberta Schembri who came in second place in 33 seconds later. Third placed was experienced track athlete Mona Lisa Camilleri who made her debut in the Series on Sunday.

With a strong pool of athletes vying for a top placing, the competition was going to be strong and with no clear favourite the race was an open field. Yet, from the word go, the pace was set by Luke Micallef, followed by Andrew Grech and newcomer Dillon Cassar, hot on their heels were Stefan Azzopardi and Mark Herrera. There was no change in positions thorughout the race and despite valiant attempts by Grech to take top billing, Micallef kept his front position to cross the finish line four seconds ahead of Grech. They were joined twelve seconds later by newcomer Dillon Cassar who has been registering some impressive results despite his lack of experience in the field.

Prizes were presented to winners by Charles Demanuele, Race Director, at the end of the Race.

The Malta Amateur Athletics Association, following the publication of official results, announced the team for Cardiff, which will be made up of Luke Micallef, Andrew Grech, Dillon Cassar, Mark Herrera, Lisa Marie Bezzina, Roberta Schembri, Monalisa Camilleri and Paula Grech.

Photo Credit: Angie Conti

HOS 10K Burmarrad Road Race Results