RUNNING: Steve Moneghetti lived up to his headline billing at the Great Whitehaven Beach Run 10km event on Sunday.

Taking on a record field proved no hurdle as he powered his way to win in just over 34 minutes.

First to hit the sand were the 50-strong field of half-marathon participants headed north-west towards Hill Inlet. Leif Mawson, from Brisbane, edged clear over the opening and held on to win.

In the Women's, it was visiting United States athlete Leila Wang who dominated the field with a solid 1 hour 43 minute finish putting her seven minutes clear of Hamilton Island's Franziska Herzog.

Competitive tennis player Ebony Banes of Hamilton Island showed just how multi-talented she is leading home the women's category in the 10km, in 46 minutes. One of the highlights of the day was the explore Relay Challenge which saw three, 3 x 400m relays staged with an Open, Corporate and Family race.

The finish of the day went to Travis Clarke and 5km winner Josiah McCarthy, who came storming down only to fall inches short of the win. The free and fun event was enjoyed by over 70 runners who backed up from their earlier efforts.

A record 264 entries were received, which was an increase of over 100 athletes, with 25% of entrants from outside Queensland.

Despite the influx of runners from beyond the region, there were a number of standout results for local runners. In addition to the strong overall results, local juniors Elliarna Mitchell (1st Female overall) and Ryder Harvey (3rd overall) featured in the 5km. There were also a host of age category podium finishes.

The final events in the Hamilton Island Endurance Series will be the Fujifilm Hamilton Island Triathlon and Whitehaven Beach Ocean Swim in November.