BEN Cole was a very popular ‘home’ champion of the Swindon 10k road race on Sunday.

The Swindon Harrier from Shaw Ridge ran out a convincing winner once he had broken the resistance of Calne Running Club’s Simon Nott and crossed the line in a course record of 31 minutes 26 seconds, smashing the eight-year-old mark of 32:03.

“I was absolutely delighted with the win,” said Cole.

“The race went exactly how I wanted it to go. There was a little group of us at the start and then I decided to step up the pace which saw me get away.

“But I was always aware there were some good guys behind me, like Simon, so that gave me the motivation to run strongly to the finish.

“I was really chuffed with the time. It was a really good race and a great atmosphere and there were lots of people out supporting around the course.”

It was the first time Cole had entered the event which he had experienced for the first time the previous year.

“I was a marshal on the course in 2015 so saw what a great event it was,” he added.

“I can also appreciate what a good job the marshals do standing out there for hours on end.”

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Cole’s impressive win was that it came just two weeks after he completed the New York marathon in a time of 2:34.31 to finish 61st overall.

“I wanted to see if everything still worked after the marathon and the legs actually felt okay,” said Cole.

“New York was a brilliant event and very similar to London in many ways with great crowds.

“I seem to have recovered okay and hopefully the Swindon 10k will be a springboard to a good winter in which I will be focussing on cross country.

“I will be racing the British Cross Challenge in Liverpool this weekend then all the major championships.

“I am very strong but just need to sharpen up now.”

As an added bonus Cole’s time is the fastest by a Wiltshire runner in 2016.

There was further success for the Harriers with track specialist Ciaran Cooper, getting in some valuable winter distance work, winning the under 20 men’s prize in sixth place overall.

Not far behind Cooper was Swindon Striders’ Corin Wiltshire, who won the over 40s award while Swindon’s Peter Keen was top M50.

Leading woman was Stroud’s Naomi Eaton with Calne Running Club’s Denise Nott runner-up and top veteran.