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Kenyan Martin Lel marked his road to recovery with a superb victory at the Great North Run.

Former world half marathon champion Lel has recovered from a hip injury which forced him out of April's London Marathon, where he had been aiming for a fourth title.

Lel also missed the recent World Championship marathon in Berlin but made no mistake in the North-east, crossing the line two seconds outside his personal best in 59 minutes, 32 seconds.

"I'm really pleased to be the winner once again," said Lel. "The conditions were perfect for racing. "My experience came through at the end when I kicked for the line.

"This means a lot to me and I want to go on and win more races."

The 30-year-old led a group of six athletes - including Ireland's Martin Fagan - who broke in the opening three miles to establish an early advantage.

But 2007 champion Lel, compatriot Kiplimo Kimutai and twice world champion Jaouad Gharib stole a march on the field at the halfway stage.

Gharib began to struggle in the closing stages and had to stop to stretch with less than a mile to go.

And that left Lel to put his foot on the accelerator and leave Kimutai in his wake to continue his return to form, registering the second quickest Great North Run in history in the process.

The 30-year-old will now turn his attention to the New York Marathon in November where he will make his comeback over the full distance.

Kimutai clocked 59.44 and Gharib completed the podium in 1:00.04, while Dan Robinson was Great Britain's top finisher in 11th.

In the women's race Portuguese Jessica Augusto produced the performance of a lifetime to claim a surprise win.

Augusto is traditionally more comfortable on the track, having finished 11th in the steeplechase at the World Championships in Berlin, but stormed to victory in 1:09.08.

"I'm very happy because I only began to train for this just three weeks ago, after the World Championships," said Augusto.

"My plan was to go with the others but at five kilometres I just went for it.

"It's my first time in England when the weather has been good - the other times I have been here I haven't seen the sun."

The early pace was slow with the pack going through the one mile mark in 5:40.

But former European cross-country silver medallist Augusto broke before the halfway stage to open up a 100m lead and increased that advantage steadily to enjoy a 53-second lead with four miles to go.

Former world half marathon champion Berhane Adere upped the pace in the chasing group and broke clear to make an assault on Augusto.

But Augusto held on to claim a famous victory with a huge personal best and the biggest win of her career on the road.

Adere took second while Augusto's compatriot Ana Dulce Felix completed the podium.

Double Paralympic gold medallist David Weir smashed his own course record on the way to claiming the men's wheelchair race.

Weir - 800m and 1500m champion in Beijing - broke clear with 2008 champion Josh Cassidy, with the Canadian leading at the halfway stage.

But 30-year-old Weir overhauled Cassidy in the second half of the race to cross the line 59s ahead of his previous record in 41:34.

Cassidy clocked 42:12 in second while France's Denis Lemeunier completed the podium.

"I wanted to go under 45 minutes but from the start I could see it was going to be a quick race," said Weir.

"Sometimes it's tough to be out on your own but I made a break from the field before a hill and then pushed again on the hill.

"I have been concentrating on the road more this year and I wanted to do well at the back end of the season.

"I really wanted to win today and then hopefully again at the New York Marathon in November."

Meanwhile, Paralympic gold medallist and London Marathon champion Amanda McCrory won the women's wheelchair race.

McCrory stormed to victory in 49:47, knocking 17s off Briton Shelly Woods's course record.

Paralympic silver medallist Woods is twice a winner in the North-east but opted to compete in the Berlin Marathon this time round, where she finished second.

More than the Games / Eurosport