MARY KEITANY became the fastest woman in Great North Run history yesterday, but the Kenyan admits she had no idea about her place in the record books until a steward tapped her on the shoulder to tell her.

Keitany shaved a second off Paula Radcliffe’s course record, which is also the world’s best time over the half-marathon distance, as she produced a fantastic display of distance running to finish in 1:05.39.

The Kenyan dominated a top-class field from the opening stages, with pre-race favourites Edna Kiplagat and Tiki Gelana unable to live with her blistering pace in the middle stages of the race.

Britain’s Gemma Steel eventually came through to finish second, but the final few kilometres were all about Keitany’s attempts to claim the course record and while the clock at the finish line initially suggested she had tied with Radcliffe’s time, her performance was eventually rounded down to produce a new landmark.

“When I was running, I was not thinking that I could maybe come close to Paula’s time,” said Keitany, who claimed the world half-marathon title in 2009. “When I crossed the line, I didn’t know how quick the time was, but when I found out, I was so pleased to have done it by one second. I’m very happy with that.”

Keitany is the third Kenyan women’s champion in the last four years, with yesterday’s performance marking out the 32-year-old as a potential future star over the full marathon distance.

She was forcing the pace from the third mile onwards, clocking regular five-minute miles to forge clear of the chasing field well before the Heworth roundabout. Gelana initially tried to go with her, but she effectively ran the second half of the race on her own, such was the extent of her advantage.

“I’m happy because I’ve done a good job,” she said. “After 5k I was alone and doing my own run, but I was seeing that I was improving with every 5k. I tried to run hard, and I’m happy that I’ve been able to do what I wanted to.”

Steel’s second-place finish was something of a surprise given she was completing her first half-marathon of the year. Her time of 1:08.13 obliterated her previous personal best, and elevated her to third position on the British all-time list for the half-marathon.

“I felt really comfortable for the first half of the race,” said Steel, “And when I passed halfway, I knew a personal best was on the cards. I didn’t really know what to expect before the race, because I hadn’t done any other half-marathons this year.

“My future aim is to do the marathon, but I’m just trying to familiarise myself with the different factors in the half-marathon so I’m ready for when I step up to marathon distance. I’m very inexperienced at this level, but I’m gradually building myself up towards the marathon.”

Charlotte Purdue was the next British finisher in eighth position, with Susan Partridge a couple of places further behind in tenth.

Olympic champion Shelly Woods claimed her sixth victory in the women’s wheelchair race, cruising home in a time of 50:34 to cement her status as one of the leading British racers of all time.

Middlesbrough’s Jade Jones finished second to complete a fantastic season that also saw her claim a bronze medal in the 1,500m at the Commonwealth Games.

Jones raced alongside Woods for the first third of the race, and while she was unable to keep up with her more experienced rival in the closing stages, she was delighted with her efforts.

“I did it in just over 53 minutes, so that took four minutes off last year’s time,” said the Teessider. “I’m so happy with that. I’ve had a good year, with so many events with the Commonwealths and Europeans, so I was a bit nervous coming into this because it comes right at the end of the season. But it went well.

“Shelly is always strong over this sort of distance, and this course suits her so well because of the hills. That’s something I have to work on over time, but at just 18, I’m not quite there yet and I’ve still got a lot of training ahead of me.”

Spain’s Jordi Madeira won the men’s wheelchair race, with Carlisle-born Simon Lawson finishing in second.