IT was very much a case of deja vu at the Bromham Christmas Pud 10k as in-form Wiltshire runners Simon Nott and Ruth Barnes again took the honours, writes KEVIN FAHEY.

Two weeks earlier the pair dominated the Swindon 10k and on Sunday they showed their rivals a clean pair of heels again with Calne Running Cub’s Nott finishing 37 seconds clear of the field and Barnes of Avon Valley Runners notching up her eighth win of the year as top woman.

“My time could have been better and I didn’t feel I ran as well as I could have but it was an okay performance and it was good to win again,” said Nott.

“Mike Towler was with me on the first lap but on the second I just pulled clear.”

For Calne-based Nott it was his second win in three years while defending champion Towler having to settle for second, as he did in 2013.

“I think I have also won it a few times in the past as well as I regularly do the race as it so well organised and has a great atmosphere,” added Nott.

Barnes, who lives in Bradford on Avon, also loves the Bromham event and she duly completed a hat-trick of wins finishing an impressive fifth overall – coincidentally the same position as in Swindon - of the 415 finishers with her best time on the course of 35mins 39secs.

“I was really pleased with that win,” said Barnes.

“The conditions were not as bad as I thought they would be and apart from a strong headwind in one section it was okay.”

Nonetheless, the wind probably cost Barnes a chance of improving her personal best yet again and eclipsing her recent mark of 35mins 32secs set in the Swindon 10k.

But it didn’t deny her husband Christopher Smith his moment of glory as he broke 40 minutes for the first time with a fine time of 39mins 58secs in 28th place.

“It was his first time in the Bromham 10k and he was delighted,” added Barnes.