Alan Rowe with wife Gina, daughter Katie and son Alex. (0857429)

Rowe, now 44, burst clear of defending champion Steve Dawes and Mark Mercier on the middle of the three one-mile laps, to win by half-a-minute.

Benefiting, no doubt, from Dawes’ heavy cold, the veteran performer reminded everyone, if they could hardly forget, of his class on the tight twists and ups and downs of the park circuit.

Rowe said he was not surprised by his win and had decided on his tactics a year ago, after Dawes pipped him in the corresponding race last season.

Dawes has been hitting high mileage and Rowe knew full well he was susceptible because of it.

‘I didn’t expect him to be at his best,’ said the winner. ‘I decided on my tactics a year ago when I was outsprinted, so this time I decided to try to go with a lap-and-a-half to go.’

By his own admission, Rowe was ‘flowing well’ and there is no finer sight in local distance running who is committed to running all but one of the winter league races.