And then he showed the field a clean pair of heels. If there is a method to the madness of distance runners then Reeves, a 26-year-old IT worker, had the perfect logic.

His thought processes were something like: I’ve lost my edge in speed so I’ll just slug it out over 21km. That should help sweat out any lingering effects.

“I probably wasn’t feeling that well this week. I had a bit of flu so I sort of stepped up the distance and went for the half,” Reeves said after beating the Gold Coast’s Danny Carson by 90 seconds.

“Last Friday the flu came on and I couldn’t run for a few days ... I was coming good but I’m still a little off my best.”

But it was by just a few minutes. With the flu ravaging the community, Reeves considered himself lucky his younger brother, Chris, was out of the running, being down and out due to a virus.

In fact, the younger Reeves had last year helped keep Australia’s main hope in yesterday’s Beijing Olympics marathon, Lee Troop, honest in the 2007 Gold Coast Half Marathon.

He had set a personal best of 1.07.43 in that event.

“Chris is faster than me,” the elder Reeves said.

The Olympics may have taken some of the spotlight from the Noosa event and there was no fast international Kenyan this year or Steve Moneghetti to spice it up.

Moneghetti was calling the fastest Olympic marathon ever, but remains Reeves’ running hero and inspiration.

And you can only beat who shows up on the day. Reeves set about it by leading almost from start to finish on a pleasant morning for a flat course that is one his favourites.

By the halfway mark at the Noosa Parade turn, to start the second lap, it was Reeves first, with Carson and Scott Carlson of North Lakes chasing in vain.

“I started off fairly comfortable and then hit the lead about 2km and then just kept on running,” Reeves said.

“I was actually pleased that I had a gap on them.

“I thought once I had that distance on them, I was pretty right.”

Reeves will now set himself for the Melbourne Half Marathon.

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