Paul Guinan let his feet do the talking as he stormed to victory in the Darwen Masters Charity Biathlon.

The Blackburn Harrier came out of the pool in seventh place but showed his power on the road to win the five mile race by more than two minutes -- and beat his nearest rival to the overall title by just 56 seconds.

Guinan finished with a combined time for the run and 900 yard swim in 39 minutes 22 seconds, two-and-a-half minutes faster than his time that guided him to fourth place in last year's event.

The Harrier-in-a-hurry, completed the swim at Darwen Leisure in 11mins 53secs before covering the five mile run in 27.29.

Lee Cook, who was second last year, had to settle for another runners-up spot with a total time of 40.18. Cook was second fastest in the pool in 10.43 and sixth fastest on the road in 29.35.

Stephen Rimmer, who was the first Vet40, was third overall -- a position he was in the pool in 10.47 -- before taking seventh spot on road in 29.41.

Matt Nuttall was in fourth place after showing Guinan qualities on the road. For Nuttall was 17th in the pool in 13.06 before covering the five mile run in 27.48 -- just 19 seconds slower than Guinan -- to finish in 40.54 overall.

The Garners were the first male team to finish, taking fifth place overall as Matthew completed the swim in 12.45 and William then run in 29.11.

Danny Love put in a consistent performance in the pool and on the road to take sixth place. Love was 11th in the pool in 12.15 and was eighth on the road in 29.51 to finish with a total of 42.06.

Chris Wood, who came out of the pool in first place after a storming time of 10.27, had to settle for seventh place overall as his time of 31.43 was the 11th best on the road. He finished with overall time of 42.10.

And the Shuttleworth combination of Kara and Colin were the first mixed pairs to finish in a combined time of 42.13. Kara was 18th in the pool in 13.08 while Colin was fourth fastest on the road in 29.05.

The top 10 was completed by Dave Clamp and Lindsay Hudson who was first lady home.

M40 runner Clamp was ninth overall in 44.19 after completing the swim in 12.23 and was 12th on the road in 31.56.

Hudson's overall time of 44.48 was nearly five minutes faster than the ladies winning time of last year set by Tracy Gorman.

Julia Hayter and Sarah Cheetham were the first ladies pair in 12th place overall in a total of 45.52. Hayter had an impressive swim and was fifth in a time of 10.53 -- a minute faster than Guinan -- while Cheetham was 25th in the run in 34.59.

Veteran awards went to John Hacking who was first M50 in 24th place with a total time of 50.18 -- 14.41 in the pool and 35.37 on the road.

Eileen Newman was first female V50 in 35th place in a total of 56.53 while Sue Taylor was first female V40 in 37th place in 58.44.

The annual event attracted a total of 50 entries -- 12 of which were pairs.