MORE than 300 runners successfully avoided the busy summer roads and made their way to the western most tip of England last Friday evening to take part in the St Levan 10K road race, round eleven of the Cornwall Grand Prix Series sponsored by Cornwall Glass and Glazing.

There was a new course record in the Men’s race, won by twenty three year old Josh Bull (Derby AC), who took time out from his holiday base in St Ives, setting a new course record of 31 minutes 58 seconds, beating the previous record set in 2011 by Penzance based Peter Le Grice (Mounts Bay Harriers) by seventeen seconds.

Bull, who is studying architecture at Nottingham University, took the race by the horns, charging away from the best of the rest and was forty metres clear, as the runners passed the Polgigga duck pond after just four hundred metres.

Making light work of the undulating course the Derby runner finished 49 seconds ahead of Cornwall’s current number one male road specialist and the former record holder Le Grice (32.47), who was comfortably ahead of the third finisher, Cornwall AC’s Colin Snook (33.31).

One minute and twenty three seconds later, another Cornwall AC runners, Paul Smith (Falmouth) crossed the line, holding off the rapidly improving, fast finishing fifth placed, Aaron Benney (Mile High), who is certainly one to watch, mixing it with the top Cornwall AC runners these days.

Helston’s Paul Whear (Cornwall AC) was a little below par, coming home in eighth place, feeling the effects of long hours on the tractor this week preparing fields for the next crop.

Mile High’s Graham Ditty produced another solid run in twenty ninth place and Lee Coulson was not only the first Falmouth Road Runner home, crossing the line in thirty seventh position but he also collected a prize for finishing third in the 45-49 age group.

England International road runner Elsey Davis (Newquay Road Runners) who made her first visit to St Levan last year, winning the Ladies race ahead of Cornwall AC’s Emma Stepto, repeated the feat last Friday evening, finishing ninth overall in 35.02 just over one minute ahead of Stepto. Hayle Runner Emma Paull (39.25) completed the podium places, with Carol Randall (Mounts Bay Harriers), the first local runner home, in fourth position, holding off the Under 20 winner, Helston’s promising sixteen year old Katie Hughes (Cornwall AC) and Emma Murray (St Austell Running Club) in sixth place. Emma Mossop (Falmouth Road Runners) was a highly creditable thirteenth in the Ladies race and also finished second in the 40-44 category.

There were no less than four age group winners from the local running fraternity, Snook (40-44), Benney (35-39), Whear (45-49) and Falmouth Kathryn Dormer, who claimed the top spot in her 65-69 section.

The Ladies of Cornwall AC won their seventh Grand Prix race of the year but more significantly clinched the Ladies Grand Prix team title for the ninth successive year, with four races still remaining. A delighted team captain Emma Stepto said after the race, “We were missing four of our top Senior Ladies today but what talent the club has in its younger ranks, with Under 17 runners Katie Hughes (5th overall and first Under 20), Mullion youngster Nell Savage (8th overall and second Under 20) and Imogen Woo d(16th) all making the ‘A’ team and ensuring another team victory. I am very proud of them.” The host club Mounts Bay Harriers (98 points) finished second, well ahead of their local Penwith rivals Hayle Runners (150 points)

Cornwall AC’s Men’s ‘A’ team won their ninth Grand Prix race of the year in impressive style, with their six scoring runners all in the top twelve, including Falmouth’s up and coming Under 20 runner Tom Slattery (Cornwall AC), who was eleventh overall and second finisher in the Under competition. Their forty seven points winning total was well clear of Hayle Runners (112 points), who went one better than the club’s Ladies, finishing ahead of third placed Mounts Bay Harriers (139 points).

KEY FOR CLUBS

B&B Blackheath & Bromley Harriers, CAC Cornwall AC, CR Carn Runners, DAC Derby AC, ECH East Cornwall Harriers, EHH Egdon Heath Harriers, FRR Falmouth Road Runners, HR Hayle Runners, HW Hercules Wimbledon AC, LP Looe Pioneers, LRR Launceston Road Runners, MBH Mounts Bay Harriers, MH Mile High, NRR Newquay Road Runners, STA St Austell Running Club, TRC Truro Running Club, U Unattached.

RESULTS

Men: 1 Josh Bull DAC 31.58 (Course Record), 2 Peter Le Grice MBH 32.47, 3 Colin Snook CAC 33.31, 4 Paul Smith CAC 34.54, 5 Aaron Benney MH 35.02, 6 Jordan Morant HR 35.17, 7 TonyWright NRR 35.21, 8 Paul Whear CAC 35.36, 9 Craig Salamone CAC 36.06, 10 Ben Hicks MBH 36.15. Age Categories: Under 20: 1 Ben Hicks , 2 Tom Slattery CAC 36.19, 3 Kristof Klimek CAC 37.49. Under 35: 1 Josh Bull, 2 Peter Le Grice, 3 Jordan Morant. 35-39: 1 Aaron Benney, 2 Gregg Hooper NRR 39.52, 3 James Manning HR 40.40. 40-44: 1 Colin Snook, 2 Paul Smith, 3 Alex Daniels NRR 37.14. 45-49: 1 Paul Whear, 2 Adrian Ball CAC 38.18, 3 Lee Caulson FRR 40.19. 50-54: 1 Tony Wright, 2 Stuart Fraser HW 36.56, 3 Rich Savage HR 37.34. 55-59: 1 Laurie Lee STA 40.44, 2 Barrie Cardew CR 41.20, 3 Michael Wilson TRC 43.18. 60-64: 1 Malcolm Roberts STA 42.59, 2 Geoff Letchford MBH 43.28, 3 Neville Witham CAC 45.44. 65-69: 1 Brian Wiles LRR 44.20, 2 John Gossan LP 48.00, 3 Ray Goodright ECH 51.14. 70-74: 1 Pete Sargent NRR 47.53, 2 John Lillis NRR 51.22, 3 Stewart Townend HR 51.58. 75+: 1 Norris Kington CAC 61.33. Teams: 1 Cornwall AC ‘A’ 47 points, 2 Hayle Runners 112 points, 3 Mounts Bay Harriers 139 points, 4 Cornwall AC ‘B’ 169 points, 5 Newquay Road Runners 272 points.

Ladies: 1 Elsey Davis NRR 36.02, 2 Emma Stepto CAC 38.06, 3 Emma Paull HR 39.35, 4 Carol Randall MBH 41.17, 5 Katie Hughes CAC 41.36, 6 Emma Murray STA 42.04, 7 Anne Waller MBH 42.26, 8 Nell Savage CAC 42.55, 9 Revis Crowle ECH 42.58, 10 Kate Parry CAC 43.25. Age Categories: Under 20: 1 Katie Hughes, 2 Nell Savage, 3 Genny Allan B&B 45.36. Under 35: 1 Esey Davis, 2 Emma Paull, 3 Kate Parry. 35-39: 1 Becci Taylor EHH 54.17, 2 Elaine Adams HR 56.10, 3 Laura Haghani HR 56.10. 40-44: 1 Faye Savage HR 44.02, 2 Emma Mossop FRR 44.53, 3 Marie Gould CAC 46.50. 45-49: 1 Emma Stepto, 2 Carol Randall, 3 Anne Waller. 50-54: 1 Emma Murray, 2 Revis Crowle, 3 Sharon Daw ECH 45.13. 55-59: 1 Jeanette Duncan NRR 50.49, 2 Sue Matthews MBH 54.51, 3 Fran Long HR 55.48. 60-64: 1 Andrea Simmons U 50.29, 2 Eleanor Ellison NRR 52.17, 3 Sue Taylor MBH 52.40. 65-69: 1Kathran Dormer FRR 63.42, 2 Jackie Jenkin CAC 64.18, 3 Liz Easterbrook MBH 76.13. Teams: 1 Cornwall AC 53 points, 2 Mounts Bay Harriers 98 points, 3 Hayle Runners 150 points.