(Last updated 12.18am)

Michael George has done it!

For so long the nearly man of the Parish Walk, he finally has the sweet taste of victory.

The Douglas hotelier won the centenary Manx Telecom sponsored event in a time of 14 hours 44 minutes and 49 seconds to make up for last year’s heartache.

Twelve months ago he led for much of the race before being pipped by joint winners Vinny Lynch and Richard Gerrard.

But not today.

George crossed the line to massive applause and cheers and Tim Glover saw the drama unfold:

In the end, George was six minutes and 10 seconds ahead of Richard Gerrard (22:51:42) with four-time champion Jock Waddington in third (23:13:22).

Vinny Lynch (23:13:52) completed a strong top four on the 85 mile route with David Mapp finishing a fine fifth.

Janice Quirk, returning to the event after an absence, was the clear winner in the women’s event.