A REMARKABLE run by man in black Phil Anthony failed by inches to win a thrilling Canterbury 10-mile road race.

Anthony, representing the Downland Cycles triathlon team, was late for the start, but fought his way through a field of more than 800 to trail in fourth place by several hundred yards for most of the race.

With two miles to go he dramatically closed the gap on the breakaway group of three, and even led the final sprint.

However, vastly experienced Barry Royden, a multiple previous winner of the event, fought back to snatch victory in a finish so close both men were clocked at 53min 31sec.

Anthony, 24, who lives in Deal and is a former pupil of St Edmund’s School, Dover, ran in a triathlon-style all-black body suit, and red cap.

He is more used to 10k runs, and admitted: "I didn’t allow enough time to get to the start and was about 30 metres back when they set off.

"I worked hard to make up for missing the start and didn’t know how much I had left at the end, but I was surprised to have done so well as I had never raced over this distance, so it was a new experience."

Royden, with Medway and Maidstone club-mate Patrick Curran and Julian Rendall, of Tonbridge, had broken clear in the first mile and shared the workload between them until caught by Anthony.

Rendall (53.36) beat Curran in the battle for third by one hundredth of a second and, with Anthony ineligible, these three claimed the Kent Championship places.

Royden said: "I’ve had a cold all week and debated whether or not to run. I went through a bad patch for two or three miles, and the other two nearly dropped me a few times, but I told myself just to keep hanging on for another mile.

“Then the other guy caught us and I thought 'that’s another one to beat'. I tried to make a break with about half a mile to go but they kept up with me. I was more worried about Patrick at the end because I know he has a strong finish."

Invicta East Kent’s leading finisher was Tatsuo Yoshiwara, 19th in 59.10, leading the men’s team to sixth place, while Roy Palmer was first home for Canterbury Harriers, 15th in 58.43, as they finished 12th.