Robbie James displayed true grit to win the Sussex Beacon Half Marathon yesterday.

The Lewes AC runner refused to surrender to the dreadful conditions which swept the course to clinch victory in only his third race at the distance.

James did it the hard way too, taking the lead after four miles and battling through the wind and rain on his own for the remainder of the race.

His lonely crusade paid off, however, as he took the tape in 72min.26sec, 42 seconds ahead of James Baker, of Chichester Runners.

It was the slowest winning time for many years but, considering the weather, no one was surprised, particularly James.

James, of Peacehaven, said: "The conditions weren't too bad to start with as the wind was at our backs but when we turned at Hove Lagoon it began to get really tough.

"By the time we came back past the pier the weather had turned really nasty and you just had to dig in. At one point it felt like it was hailstoning and my arms were freezing.

"I had hoped to go under 70 minutes but it was impossible in that wind. It wasn't a very pleasant experience but winning makes it all worthwhile."

James set a fast pace right from the start and reached the two mile point in around ten minutes.

That was too quick even for Baker, who was trying to repeat his victory of two years ago, and defending champion Ross Grant.

"I was really comfortable at the start and there was just one other runner left with me after two miles," said James.

"When I heard him starting to breath heavily at four miles I decided to step up the pace again because I knew he wouldn't be able to respond. The tactics worked well but it made for a very lonely last two thirds of the race when the weather was at its worst.

"I just had to grit my teeth and drive myself on because it was pretty tough going."

Baker did reel James in a little over the second half of the course but was never in danger of catching him as he finished in 73min.8sec.

Dave Carter, of host club Phoenix, was 91 seconds back in third with Grant a distant fourth.

Grant said: "I had hoped to retain my title but it was really tough out there and I never got any rhythm going."

The conditions did not bother Renata Antropik though as she stormed to victory in the women's race.

Antropik is used to running in the cold in her native Poland and made the journey to Brighton from Warsaw especially to compete in the Sussex Beacon as preparation for the London Marathon in April.

She built up an early lead over nearest rival Jess Draskau and survived a late challenge from the triathlete from Horsham to win by just nine seconds in 83min.32sec.

Antropik, 28, said: "It is snowing in Poland at the moment so this wasn't so bad. I didn't mind the cold so much but the wind made it very tough."

Claire Peacock was a distant third and had to be rushed away for medical attention after collapsing as she crossed the line.

The weather obviously did not suit hot favourite Julie Briggs as the Arena 80 runner finished well down in ninth place while defending champion Chris Naylor was sixth in 87min.20sec, winning the over-50 title in the process.

Brighton and Hove City's Katy Moore showed she is just as good on the road as she is over the country by taking the under-21 women's title in only her second half marathon.

The 18-year-old sliced six minutes off her previous best time to win in 87min.20sec and now has her sights set on taking the Sussex Under-21 Championship at the Hastings Half Marathon next month.

"I was pretty tired because I had rushed back from university the day before so I was really happy with my time," said Moore.

"It was really hard in the wind but I ran in a group and we helped each other along."

Ryan Stewart, of Seaford Striders, won the men's under-21 title in 85min.52sec.

A staggering 3,122 runners completed the course, beating the previous record field by more than a thousand despite another thousand dropping out on the day due to the weather.

For the first time in the race's 16 year history the course took the runners away from the seafront and through the city as they looped around the Royal Pavilion and through The Lanes.

Organisers hope the race will raise £65,000 for the Sussex Beacon charity.