THE Maidstone Half Marathon and the 2006 Kent gold medal was won by the county 20-mile champion, Paul Hasler of Paddock Wood AC.

He finished two and a half minutes clear of his nearest challenger.

The winning time was 73 minutes precisely and the final finisher took a little under three hours for the testing, rural route with competitors travelling from London, Essex, Sussex, Berkshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire and further afield to compete in the county town, despite the threat of rain showers all morning.

* See the Kent Messenger (October 27) for the full report.