Though to some of her friends she still looked under the weather, the stop-watch said differently: Liz McColgan has fully recovered from a virus complaint which caused fluid to gather behind her ear, and is in excellent shape as she enters the last month of her build-up for the Tokyo Marathon on November 30.

Yvonne Murray, by contrast, still does not look quite back to her best, but she will race at Keilder next weekend and Barnsley the following as she seeks to put that right.

McColgan leaves on Thursday for her Florida base where she will put the finishing touches to her Tokyo preparations confident that she is as fit as she has ever been at this stage, having beaten Yvonne Murray's record for the BUPA Great Caledonian Run by more than half a minute in Edinburgh yesterday.

The 33-year-old Dundee Hawkhill Harrier recorded 32 mins 43 secs, compared to Murray's 33:16 which was an inaugural best last year for the testing revamped course taking in a route through the Queen's Park and round Arthur's Seat.

Although totally unpressed by any female opposition, McColgan was delighted with her win, her second in the BUPA series following her emphatic Great South Run 10 miles win: ''It was a tough course and I'm just back from a virus so I have to be happy with my time in those conditions.'' she said.

After her personal best of 52 minutes for 10 miles in winning the Great South Run two weeks previously, McColgan had fluid diagnosed behind the ear: ''I've just got over that,'' she said.

Yesterday McColgan was more than two minutes clear of the surprise runner-up, Fife's Fiona Lothian, a British duathlon international.

Lothian ran magnificently to clock 34:53 and beat South Africa's Gwen Griffiths, as she had done on Saturday in the Commonwealth Festival of Running 5K.

Murray devoted her attentions to Saturday's 5K race in Princes Street, but this time was overcome by an attack of the bends, some 13 of them, and was outgunned by both Sonia O'Sullivan of Ireland and Germany's Irina Mikitenko.

''I tried to lead into the bends to make sure I wasn't crowded out,'' explained Murray, who however could not respond when the pace picked up at the end with O'Sullivan going on to score a repeat win over the home favourite whom she had beaten once before in the old straight Princes Street Mile.

Africa won both the men's international distance races of the two days. Fita Bayessa (Ethiopia) toyed with the field before beating Khalid Skah (Morocco), Hendrick Ramaala (South Africa) and Christopher Keelong (Kenya).

Keelong came out again yesterday to retain his 10K title in 29:05 to beat his own course record by six seconds.

The biggest complaint on a day when a record 5,600 entered the race and as many as 4,800 may have finished was that the organisers ran out of medals, by about 200 or so; while others felt that there were just too many running.

Results: BUPA Great Caledonian 10K Run: Men: 1: C Keelong (Kenya) 29:05; 2 K Tadessa (Ethiopia) 29:22; 3 T Van Hooste (Belgium) 29:48; 4 C Robison (Shettleston H) 29:49; 5 B Masya (Kenya) 30:01; 6 N Caddy (Newquay) 30:09; 7 D Buzza (Cornwall) 30:12; 8 T Murray (Spango Valley) 30:15; 9 I Brown (Mizuno RC) 30:17; 10 S McDonald (Mizuno) 30:36.

Women: 1 L McColgan (Dundee HH) (29th overall) 32:43; 2 F Lothian (Fife) (51st) 34:53; 3 G Griffiths (South Africa) (60th) 35:05; 4 N Brown (unatt) (97th) 36:47; 5 E Gisbey (City of Glasgow) (110th) 37:12.

Saturday: Commonwealth Festival of Road Running (Princes Street): International 5K Men: 1 F Bayessa (Ethiopia) 13:54.17; 2 K Skah (Morocco) 13:54.65; 3 H Ramaala (South Africa) 13:54.77; 4 C Keelong (Kenya) 13:59.66; 5 K Cullen (Chelmsford) 14:01.05; 6 I Kirui (Kenya) 14:16.30; Scottish placing: 7 G Stewart (Mizuno) 14 :18.34.

Men: International Mile: 1 T Wightman (GEC Avionics) 4:15.04; 2 M Yates (Belgrave H) 4:15.84; 3 N Caddy (Newquay) 4:15.99; 4 K McKay (Sale H) 4:17.16 5 G Cuddy (Sale H) 4:18.04; 6 A Merchoud (Morocco) 4:21.98; Scots placings: 7 I Campbell (Dundee HH) 4:22.29; 8 R Hooton (City of Edinburgh) 4:23.09; 10 M Combe (Scottish Borders) 4:26.63.

Women: International 5K: 1 S O'Sullivan (Ireland) 15:56.57; 2 I Mikitenko (Germany) 15:58.57; 3 Y Murray (Motherwell) 16:00.34; 4 G Urge (Ethiopia) 16:09.44; 5 L Elliott (Shaftesbury Barnet) 16:10.23; 6 J Ionescu (Romania) 16:18.91; Other Scots: 7 V McPherson (City of Glasgow) 16:22.67; 12 F Lothian (Fife) 16:58.31.

Open Races: 5Km: Men: 1 J Cunningham (Fife AC) 15.17; 2 S Reid (Lochgelly AC) 15.25; 3 I Johnston (Falkirk VH) 15.30; 4 S Moss (Glasgow University) 15.38: Veteran: A Jenkins (Cambuslang) 16.21: Women: 1 J McDevitt (City of Glasgow) 17.37; 2 K Rice (Edinburgh University) 17.41; 3 C Morrison (City of Glasgow) 17.52: Veteran: L Marr (Babcock Pitreavie) 17.55.

Junior Mile: Men: 1 A MacDonald (Shettleston H) 4.33; 2 A Cassells (Fife AC) 4.34; 3 S McDiarmid (Babcock Pitreavie) 4.44: Women: 1 J Ward (City of Glasgow) 5.04; 2 K Montador (Central AC) 5.11; 3 V Frew (Edinburgh WM) 5.29.