![Sam Edney and Hayley Connolly were the fastest male and female in the third Flaggy 5. Picture by Matt Hughes Sam Edney and Hayley Connolly were the fastest male and female in the third Flaggy 5. Picture by Matt Hughes](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/128797359/d97a6b4c-e00d-445b-985d-5e21f87f3aa9.jpg/r0_376_4032_2643_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A personal-best time in the third Flaggy 5 was a nice reward for Warrnambool's Hayley Connolly, who is slowly returning to running after a foot injury.
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The runner finished Wednesday night's five-kilometre race - that starts and concludes at Flagstaff Hill - as the fastest female in an impressive 24 minutes and 14 seconds.
The triumph signalled her first win in the iconic series run by the Warrnambool Athletic Club.
A delighted Connolly said she had her fellow competitors to thank for pushing her in the windy, hilly conditions.
"Lucky that I had a couple of boys that were behind me the whole way and when I started to slow down they pushed me," she told The Standard.
"So that kept me going, it was good."
Connolly was full of praise for the event which again saw a healthy turnout.
"I think it's great," she said.
"I love it because I've just been getting back into running after a few injuries so my daughters come down and my husband.
"So it's a bit of a family event, it's nice."
Ahead of Connolly was Warrnambool's Sam Edney who was the overall winner of the race, clocking in at a blistering 17 minutes and 55 seconds.
The carpenter, participating in the event for the first time this year, was happy with his effort.
"It was good to come and have a bit of a harder run," he said.
"I thought I'd be somewhere around that mark (time-wise), I was just going to see what the other boys were doing.
"We took off pretty easy until about halfway and then sort of put the foot down a bit."
Edney conceded the five-kilometre distance was still a tough one despite having completed ultra and regular marathons before.
"The shorter ones sometimes sting a bit more," he said.
Money raised from the Flaggy 5 will be contributed to the Clinton Hall Foundation which supports the late Warrnambool runner's children. The final leg of the series will be held on Wednesday, January 25.
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