Services' runner K C Ramu stole the lime-light by winning the men's full marathon title leaving behind the fancied Ethiopians in the inaugural Bangalore International Marathon on Sunday.

Ramu from Pune's Army Sports Institute romped home comfortably in two hours and 23.46 minutes beating back the challenge of Ethiopians Abebe Seyoum (2:28.37) and Tegayae Desalgne (2:33.10) in the 42.195 km race.

Another Ethiopian Tesfaye Bayu Orgawa, who was tipped to take the top spot in view of his personal best of 2:16.45, finished fourth in 2:35.34. The event had not attracted big names from overseas, and sparks expectedly did not fly.

A delighted Ramu, who was the Indian winner of the first Standard Chartered Mumbai marathon in 2004 with a time of 2 hrs 26 min, termed his victory a reward for hardwork.

"I wasn't surprised by the result. I have been preparing hard for this event," said the Karnataka runner, who was among the probables training for medals for India in the 2008 Olympics [Images].

Ethiopians, however, swept the top three spots in full marathon in the women's section. Marashet Jimma (2:45.34) was fastest followed by Adanech Beyene (2:47.04) and Korre Alemu (3:03.47).

Indian men and women dominated the half-marathon (21.097 kms). Shanavas of MEG and Centre, Bangalore, (1:07.45) came first. Hyderabad's Rama Singh Yadav (1:08.59) came second finishing ahead of S B Singh of ASC, Bangalore (1:10.05).

In the women's section, Bhagavathi of Delhi [Images] (1:26.24), Chandraprabha Varma (1:31.17) and Neha Agarwal (1:32.57), both from UP, picked up the first three prizes.