No one could live with the pace of Chayce Smith in the Argus Crime Stoppers 5K road race yesterday, and yet he did not win the race.

How that happened was initially a mystery worthy of the super-sleuth teenagers from the animated television show Scooby-Doo who, by coincidence, were also in the race.

Smith, 30, stormed into a commanding lead in the race and was about 100 metres clear of his nearest pursuers by the end of the first mile. With the wind to his back on the return into Hamilton along Front Street, Smith stretched his lead over Sean Trott and Tucker Murphy. But then something went wrong.

Smith veered off course and ended up at the finish outside the Argus HQ on Wesley Street before realising he had missed a section of the course that looped out to the Bacardi building on Pitts Bay Road.

Organisers later said Smith had been misdirected, but that he should have been aware of the correct route. He won the event in 2011.

Trott, 27, was declared the winner after breaking clear from Murphy in the final half-mile, crossing the finish in 17 mins 34 secs, with Murphy in 17:41.

Third was teenager Robert Edwards in 17:49.

In the women’s race, Jennifer Alen and Gayle Lindsay ran together most of the way. Lindsay attempted to break the deadlock as the pair neared the ferry terminal on Front Street and gained a few metres advantage.

However, Alen stepped up the pace and made a decisive push for victory soon afterwards. She finished in 19:43, ahead of Lindsay in 19:55, and Teresa Humphrey in 21:35.

Alen, 33, who also won the PartnerRe 5K two weeks ago, said: “It was hard on the way out and I could feel the humidity. The PartnerRe run felt more comfortable than today, even though it is a harder course.”

While Lindsay said the relatively conservative pace of the opening mile had helped her to save some energy for the latter stages of the race, where she had tried to break away.

She added: “I wanted to get under 20 minutes, so I’m happy to have done that.”

First men’s master was Omari Hart in 19:47, while first women’s master was Georgia Wharton in 22:27.

The 5K walk was a tight finish, with only one second separating winner Annette Eve from Gilda Cann. Eve’s time was 37:48. In third place was Dana Lightbourne in 38:12.

Finishing times in the junior 1.5-mile race were much slower than in previous years, indicating the youngsters may have gone over-distance in their event.

Sancho Smith, 13, was first in 16:30, followed by Sekai Tatem in 16:34, and Matthew Elliot in 16:57. Fastest girl was Kayla Raymond, 15, in 17:33, ahead of Jaeda Grant in 17:43, and Myeisha Sharrieff in 18:15.

In the adults’ 5K, an award for best costume was given to a group who dressed as the crime-busting teenagers from the Scooby-Doo TV show.

The characters of Shaggy, Daphne, Velma and Fred were recreated by Tim Price, Natalie Dyrli, Anna Laura Hocking and Kyle Smith respectively.

Joining them as “Scooby-Doo” for photographs was Smith’s dog Nala.