Investing heavily in a stacked out running regime, you can always bank on Rob McTaggart to produced a good result when he needs to to compete with the high flyers. His performance in the the Standard Chartered Great City Race 5K was no exception to that and when you crunch the numbers, it was an impressive display.

Representing his employers Nationwide Building Society, Tag lined up in what is billed as London’s premier 5K corporate running event – a race which takes runners through the heart of the City, passing such iconic landmarks as St Paul’s Cathedral and the Bank of England.

And while the event might have been a corporate race, there was certainly nothing corporate about the standard at the sharp end.

Tag arrived in the capital an hour later than intended after problems with the trains, leaving him with little time to spare before the start. Somehow, though, he made it to the line and, once the gun went, it was business as usual.

The 40-year-old Bournemouth AC man went out hard, opening with a blistering 5:07 mile and immediately putting himself among the leading runners. There was plenty of quality around him, but Tag was right in the mix.

He then turned the screw further, storming through the second mile in an even quicker 4:57. At that stage he was right in the battle for third place and looked to have every chance of a podium finish.

Unfortunately, the race was about to take an unwelcome turn.

Part way through the third mile, Tag was forced to negotiate a cone and lost some of the momentum he had built up. In a race being fought at such a ferocious pace, even the smallest interruption can prove costly, and he found it difficult to get back up to speed.

He still managed an excellent 5:12 for the third mile, but the slight drop-off was enough to see several runners get away from him and his hopes of a podium placing disappeared.

Tag nevertheless powered on to the finish in 15:46, securing an excellent eighth place overall from 3,539 finishers.

It was a hugely competitive race, with no fewer than 16 athletes breaking 16 minutes.

The winner was Andrew Fyfe of Hampshire Trust Bank, who produced a superb 14:41 to be the only runner to dip below 15 minutes. Samuel Jinks of Travers Smith was second in 15:23, with Tom Baines of Slaughter and May taking third in 15:31.

Tag was just one second away from another notable achievement. Chris Busaileh of Charles Russell Speechlys finished immediately ahead of him in 15:45 and took the honours in the 40-44 age category.

So close, yet another reminder of just how well Tag is performing against runners of all ages.

Turning 40 certainly hasn’t appeared to slow him down.

In fact, Tag’s recent record suggests quite the opposite.

Only recently he had taken on the JPMorganChase Corporate Challenge in Battersea Park, where he tore round the 3.5-mile course in 18:30, finishing ahead of all but a tiny fraction of the 20,626 runners.

Before that came a dominant victory in the inaugural SOBO 5. Tag took on the five-mile out-and-back course from SOBO Beach Bar to Hengistbury Head and back, completing it in 27:22 and winning by the considerable margin of two minutes from Bournemouth AC team-mate Craig Palmer.

Earlier in the year he had also claimed victory in the Lytchett 10, recording 55 minutes and holding off the challenge of Christopher Peck of Egdon Heath Harriers, the Dorset men’s individual champion from the previous season.

The latest performance in London therefore fits neatly into a remarkable sequence of results.

The Standard Chartered Great City Race may not have quite gone the way Tag would have wanted after that unfortunate loss of momentum, but there can be no doubt about the quality of the performance.

A 15:46 5K, eighth place in a field of 3,539 and just one second away from the leading 40-44 runner is another superb result.

And judging by the way Tag is currently running, turning 40 has done little more than add another number to his race entry.

Women’s Race

There was also an exceptional performance at the front of the women’s race, with Nancy Bowley of Potter Clarkson LLP taking victory in a highly impressive 16:09.

Daisy Smith of Grant Thornton finished second in 17:30, while Karima Hudson of Stephenson Harwood took third in 17:42.

With the leading men and women producing such fast times, the Standard Chartered Great City Race once again proved to be far more than just a corporate day out — and Tag showed that he is more than capable of mixing it with the very best of them.