LONG distance runner Emma Stepto continued her stellar form of late with another victory on the road.

The Cornwall Athletics Club member was the first female home at the Magnificent Seven Mile race held in Saltash as part of the Cornwall Grand Prix Series.

With her time of 42:03, Stepto, who recently took part in the British Championships in Birmingham, won the race for the sixth year in a row and was only beaten by eight men overall.

She could not beat her own course record, which was eight seconds better than her latest time, but the runner said she was still very pleased with her effort, adding a sprint finish with a couple of male colleagues gave her a boost towards the line.

Stepto said: “It was a hot day on the road. “I had to work really hard in the closing stages to hold off the challenge of two of the Cornwall AC’s Men’s team, Dave Buzza and Paul Smith, and this probably put a bit more determination into my sprint finish.”

Other members of Cornwall AC also enjoyed success at the race with the men winning the team competition, with their tally of 78 points beat their nearest rivals, Tamar Trotters, by 30.

Justin Thomas was the first man back for the club as he completed the course in 41:08, coming fifth overall, while Buzza and Smith finished ninth and tenth in the men’s race.

The ladies of Cornwall AC also won the female team prize with a score of 72, which like their male colleagues put them 30 in front of second place.

Alongside Stepto, there were also top ten finishes for Donna Raggett, who clocked a time of 50:18 to come in fourth, and Suzy Bosustow who was seventh with a time of 51:06.

Their latest set of victories means the club only needs to pick up one more during the last six stages of the Grand Prix series to claim the overall team prize.

It was also a good night for Paul Whear, representing the Camborne-based team Carn Runners.

He finished sixth in the men’s race with a time of 41:18, which also put him top of the rankings for the 45-49-year-old section.