KENYAN ace Julius Kimtai duly completed a hat-trick of Blaydon Race victories - but 21-year-old local girl Karen Hind stole the show in the rain-lashed Tyneside classic.

All eyes were on the sharp end of the race, where Kimtai beat off a challenge from fellow countryman Hilary Lelei - but onlookers were astonished to see the lightly-framed Hind finish in 34th place overall on her debut, breaking three-times winner Birhan Dagne's course record.

The Ryton-born PE graduate, who used to be a member of host club Blaydon Harriers before switching to Gateshead, couldn't believe that she had won the race, beating the injury-hit Ethiopian star by exactly a minute and slashing 45 seconds off the 1999 mark.

Hind, a Great Britain junior cross country international, had only run the distance once before, finishing a modest fifth in the Leeds Abbey Dash in December.

But she carried all before her on home ground along the banks of the River Tyne in a race immortalised in the famous Geordie Anthem.

"I hardly noticed the rain I was so excited and caught up in the atmosphere of the race," said Hind, who returns to university this autumn, having won a scholarship to study for a PhD.

"I went off hard and I thought I might have gone off too fast because I was waiting to be passed at any minute.

"But no-one overtook me and I just kept going - I felt elated all through the race."

Hind, who decided not to go on holiday to Greece with her best friend so she could run the race for the first time, had hoped to finish in the top five.

She said: "I can't believe I have won the race and have beaten someone like Birhan Dagne.

"Now I've been told I've set a new course record and I can't believe that either - I'm in total shock."

Hind, who picked up a first prize of £700, could now become a regular road racer, though she will be running in the AAA 3000m track championships next month.

She said: "I feel much easier on the roads - sometimes I feel as though I can run forever."

Dagne, who has been suffering from a hip injury for nearly a year, restricting her training to half an hour a day, paid tribute to Hind's performance after finishing third, just being pipped for second place by Northern Ireland's Theresa Duffy.

She said: "I knew I was far from being race fit but I didn't want to miss the event because the crowd here have been so kind to me over the last three years.

"It was a fine run by Karen and for her to break the record in such bad weather was really astonishing."

Kimtai also loves running in the North-East, and he will return in the autumn to attempt a hat-trick of victories in The Northern Echo-supported Auckland Castle 10K.

But he is hoping that there will be no repeat of the downpour which blighted the 5.7-mile race along the banks of the Tyne.

Kimtai, who collected a first prize of £1,000, said: "It was horrible - I have never run in anything like that before. I had to be in top form to win in such a downpour.

"But I still enjoyed the race - the people in the North-East are always very friendly and they again gave be a great reception."

Kimtai, 27, will return to Kenya and try to win a 10,000m place in the World Championships in Canada this summer. But he added: "I will be back to run at Auckland Castle because that is another race I really enjoy."

The first North-East runner home was former winner Mark Hudspiuth, who finished fifth on his first road outing since the London Marathon in April. Chester-le-Street's Martin Scaife had his best-ever run, finishing sixth, while clubmate Stewy Bell, runner up a record four times, was tenth.

Morpeth Harriers, with four finishers in the first 17, won the team race ahead of Sunderland.

l Olympic 400m bronze medallist Katharine Merry is hoping to improve on her winning performance in Milan last week when she competes in the Athens Grand Prix.

The Birchfield runner will face tougher opposition in Athens with World indoor champion Sandie Richards of Jamaica and South African Heide Seyerling, winner over 200m in Milan and sixth in the Sydney final, taking part.

Merry, 26, left the Italian city with her confidence brimming. With the opposition a spent force before the half distance was reached, she slowed down but still won in a fast 50.44secs.

Natural progression says the midlander should go even quicker in Europe's first grand prix one fixture of the year.

''The run in Milan clearly showed how strong I am but I didn't expect to run so quickly,'' said Merry who set her personal best of 49.72secs in the Olympic final. ''I am sure I will build on the win. The field in Athens will be a much better one which obviously will help.''

Merry is the youngest Brit in Athens.