The pre-race favourites lived up to their billing in the Stubbington 10K Road Race.
Former Southampton Running Club athlete Andy Morgan-Lee led from start to finish in a time of 31 minutes 09 seconds to take the senior men's crown ahead of the Isle of Wight's Tristan Cooper (32.22).
An accomplished 3000m steeplechaser, Morgan-Lee is back living at Ashurst in the New Forest after a spell living and working in Salford.
His return down south provides more encouraging news for Southampton distance running with Rod Finch getting back to form after an injury-dogged 2000 and James Starling on his way back following a hamstring operation.
For the women, Havant's Katherine Bailey completed a fine double at Stubbington just a week after lifting the Hampshire Cross-Country Championship title at Applemore.
Although her winning time of 36.17 was well outside her pre-race prediction of sub-34 minutes, Bailey - the former British half-marathon champion who hails from the New Forest - is back in fine fettle after five years dogged by illness and injury.
The event, run in bright winter sunshine, attracted a full house of 1,200 runners who were put through a pre-race warm-up by personal trainer Frank Eastman.
It certainly did the trick for Winchester & District AC's Bill Davies, who topped the over-70s category with a superb time of 43.45, placing him 269th from 692 male finishers.
Winchester's women also had a good day, scooping both the senior and veterans' team prizes. They were led by vet-35 Suzanne Wood, who came fourth overall in 37.38.
Delighted race directors Veronica and Peter Wright said: "The sponsors, Fine Cars of Lee- on-Solent, must receive a gold medal for all their support."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article