2017 continues to be a bumper year for road running in Cornwall with another record field of 581 runners gathering on the Falmouth sea front for Sunday’s Run Falmouth Half Marathon, round four of the Cornwall Grand Prix Series, sponsored by Cornwall Glass and Glazing.

The race was organised by the Cornwall Hospice Care in conjunction with Falmouth Road Runners.

The usual fast start saw local runner Andrew Martin (Mile High, Penryn) soon leading the way on the first climb of the day past Falmouth Docks and around Castle Drive, with Hayle’s Jordan Morant in second place, followed by a group of runners, which included a visiting runner Martin Dawson (North Derbyshire Running Club), an unattached runner Tom Joyce (Lanner) and a local runner Tom Carthey (Falmouth Road Runners).

By four miles, after the steep climb out of Swanpool, the Mylor Primary School teacher had opened a seventy metre gap over Morant, who was no doubt still feeling the effects of representing Cornwall at Prestwood Hall, Loughborough in the National Inter Counties Cross Country Championships the previous day. Dawson and Joyce followed next, in hot pursuit of Morant.

Little changed along the highways and byways of the country roads through Maenporth, Mawnan Smith and Budock Water, with a determined Martin powering his way up the final hill out of Swanpool and back along the sea front, to in his first ever Grand Prix victory ahead of the 2016 race winning Morant, with Dawson running strongly in the final miles to clinch third, almost a minute clear of Joyce, with Carthey leading the Falmouth team home in fifth. Local runners peppered the top ten, with Martin and Carthey joined by seventh finisher Richard Pascoe (Mile High), ninth finisher James Barnet (Falmouth Road Runners) and another Mile High man, James Stephenson, who was tenth.

After the race Martin said: “I knew that the National cross country event in Loughborough and Sunday’s Bath Half Marathon would reduce the quality of the field today so I thought, I must take my chance and it certainly paid off. The winning feeling is not an experience I’ve had very often, so I am more than pleased to win today and also on home soil.”

Amy Sole (Cornwall AC) looks to be entering another purple patch in her running career, winning her first Grand Prix race since a hat trick of Grand Prix victories over a two month period in 2015.

Following on from a half marathon personal best last month, the Cornwall AC athlete was never headed or threatened, running clear of the opposition from the gun and building a commanding victory margin of 3 minutes 47 seconds by the finish line. Alexandra Payton (St Austell Running Club) finished second, well clear of her club mate Jessica Buscombe. The highest places local lady was Mabe Primary School teacher Julia Pearce (Cornwall AC), who crossed the line in seventh place, three positions ahead of the first Falmouth lady home, Tammy Dalton, who was tenth.

After four Grand Prix races in 2017, there have been three separate winning clubs in the Men’s category, with Hayle Runners (119 points) clinching top spot for the first time this year, after one second place and a couple of thirds.

The defending Grand Prix champions Cornwall AC (172 points) finished second, with the host club, Falmouth Road Runners (224 points), producing their best team performance so far this year in third place. On this occasion Mile High, lacking a competitive sixth scoring runner and could only manage seventh in the team race.

In the Ladies team competition Cornwall AC (51 points), with their six scoring runners in the top fourteen, won their third Grand Prix race of the year, with a much improved performance from St Austell Running Club (170 points), deservedly gaining their second spot, ahead of Hayle Runners (190 points). The Falmouth Ladies could not quite manage to finish as high as the club’s Men but I am sure they would claim a more satisfying team result, with their ‘A’ team fifth and their ‘B’ team sixth.

Mile High once again scooped all three prizes in the Men’s 35-39 age group in the shape of Martin, Pascoe and Jamie Luxmoore, who was twentieth overall. Mabe Primary School staff must be one of the fittest in the county, with another of their teacher’s Adrian Mutsaers, finishing third in the 45-49 category.

Jackie Cope led a trio of Falmouth Ladies to age group prizes, once again winning the 60-64 section. Janine Kennedy collected the prize for second position in the 40-44 age group and in the 65-69 category Terry Marshall was third.

Rowan Blewett was the Race Organiser for Cornwall Hospice Care, “It was such a relief to see the weather clear up in time for the race, and even the sun managed to put in an appearance by late morning. We‘ve been delighted by the record entry this year, which of course means a healthy sum will have been raised to help fund the specialist care we provide to patients in Cornwall with life limiting illnesses and to their families. We hope the final total will be more than £15,000.”

KEY FOR CLUBS

BRR Bodmin Road Runners, CAC Cornwall AC, CR Carn Runners, ECH East Cornwall Harriers, FRR Falmouth Road Runners, HR Hayle Runners, LP Looe Pioneers, MBH Mounts Bay Harriers, MH Mile High, NDRC North Derbyshire Running Club, NP Newquay & Par AC, NRR Newquay Road Runners, SoC Striders of Croydon, STA St Austell Running Club, TRC Truro Running Club, TT Tamar Trotters, U Unattached.

RESULTS

Men: 1 Andrew Martin MH 1.17.30, 2 Jordan Morant HR 1.17.44, 3 Martin Dawson NDRC 1.18.30, 4 Tom Joyce U 1.19.27, 5 Tom Carthey FRR 1.19.53, 6 Tony Wright NRR 1.21.00, 7 Richard Pascoe MH 1.21.26, 8 Krzysztof Klidzia SoC 1.21.47, 9 James Barnet FRR 1.22.03, 10 Jamie Stephenson MH 1.22.08. Age Categories: Under 35: 1 Jordan Morant, 2 Tom Joyce, 3 Tom Carthey. 35-39: 1 Andrew Martin, 2 Richard Pascoe, 3 Jamie Luxmoore MH 1.26.07. 40-44: 1 Martin Dawson, 2 Simon Knowles HR 1.24.29, 3 Loyd Purvis 1.26.29. 45-49: 1 Tim Adams STA 1.25.41, 2 Gary Richards MBH 1.28.11, 3 Adrian Mutsaers CAC 1.29.08. 50-54: 1 Tony Wright, 2 Krzysztof Klidzia, 3 Andrew Eddison CAC 1.24.59. 55-59: 1 Steve Baker TT 1.32.49, 2 Laurie Lee STA 1.34.19, 3 Barrie Cardew CR 1.35.22. 60-64: 1 Simon Webber ECH 1.36.21, 2 Malcolm Roberts STA 1.38.11, 3 Iain Walker STA 1.42.49. 65-69: 1 Robert Richards HR 1.46.05, 2 Chris Ramsey TRC 1.50.57, 3 Nigel Eagling TRC 1.53.49. 70-74: 1 Pat Lockett NRR 1.51.26, 2 Stewart Townend HR 1.56.27, 3 Ian Ringer BRR 1.56.37. 75-79: 1 Howard Haynes HR 2.27.31, 2 Norris Kington CAC 2.32.20. Teams: 1 Hayle Runners ‘A’ 119 points, 2 Cornwall AC 172 points, 3 Falmouth Road Runners 244 points, 4 Truro Running Club 264 points, 5 St Austell Running Club 273 points, 6 Newquay Road Runners 292 points, 7 Mile High 322 points, 8 Carn Runners 443 points, 9 Mounts Bay Harriers 482 points, 10 Hayle Runners ‘B’ 639

Ladies: 1 Amy Sole CAC 1.27.05, 2 Alexandra Payton STA 1.30.49, 3 Jessica Buscombe STA 1.32.16, 4 Anne Waller MBH 1.36.14, 5 Naomi Tier CAC 1.37.26, 6 Amy Jose HR 1.40.17, 7 Julia Pearce CAC 1.41.21, 8 Lucy Goodway TRC 1.41.56, 9 Kirsty Medlock HR 1.42.13, 10 Tammy Dalton FRR 1.43.28. Age Categories: Under 35: 1 Amy Sole, 2 Alexandra Payton, 3 Jessica Buscombe. 35-39: 1 Kirsty Medlock, 2 Natalie Maguire CAC 1.43.42, 3 Nikki Davies NRR 1.46.54. 40-44: 1 Julia Pearce, 2 Janine Kennedy FRR 1.46.21, 3 Amanda Gibson LP 1.49.21. 45-49: 1 Anne Waller, 2 Lisa Talling NRR 1.50.52, 3 Gail Aspden HR 1.51.42. 50-54: 1 Jayne Angilley CAC 1.43.47, 2 Debbie Nugent CAC 1.44.08, 3 Sarah Myford NP 1.46.41. 55-59: 1 Davina Bohane TRC 2.04.13, 2 Karen Kirby U 2.10.08, 3 Kathryn Osborn HR 2.11.11. 60-64: 1 Jackie Cope FRR 2.02.13, 2 Sue Taylor MBH 2.09.17. 65-69: 1 Sandy Jamieson CR 2.16.25, 2 Margaret Wade CR 2.24.48, 3 Terry Marshall FRR 2.29.38. Teams: 1 Cornwall AC 51 points, 2 St Austell Running Club ‘A’ 170 points, 3 Hayle Runners 190 points, 4 Newquay Road Runners 229 points, 5 Falmouth Road Runners ‘A’ 243 points, 6 Falmouth Road Runners ‘B’ 444 points, 7 St Austell Running Club ‘B’ 538 points, 8 Looe Pioneers 541 points, 9 Mounts Bay Harriers 638 points, 10 Bodmin Womens Running Club 732 points.