Heidi Tregenza (Cornwall AC) and Aaron Benney (Mile High) both celebrated their first ever Grand Prix wins in Sunday’s Treggy 7 mile road race, writes Alan Rowling.

Yet another record field in a 2017 Grand Prix race, this time 461 runners, set off at a gallop from Launceston Town Square before being recalled by the officials, as a few late comers were still anxiously sprinting to the start line and after a rare false start in a road race, everyone were sent safely on their way.

On the charge in the torrential rain down the steep hill from the castle, three of the main contenders, the Mile High pair Aaron Benney and Andrew Martin and Jordan Morant (Hayle Runners) emerged from the pack.

By 2.5 miles at the bottom of the infamous one mile long hill, a definite ‘feature’ of this course, these three were still together and well clear of any challengers.

On the hill, which took the runners up to and through the village of Tregadillett, Benney applied the pressure, moving into a clear lead, which he held to the finish and was delighted with a first Grand Prix title, after two second place finishes in 2017.

Morant, who is nursing a slight injury, initially chased Benney and moved ahead of Martin, holding on to the runner-up spot, despite seeing his advantage over Martin reduced in the last mile to just eight seconds. Jamie Stephenson (Mile High) claimed his first top ten finish in fifth position, one place and eleven seconds ahead of Helston farmer Paul Whear (Cornwall AC).

With Cornwall AC’s Emma Stepto running the Cardiff 10K, Tregenza started as the pre-race favourite and delivered in style, saying after the race: “My first road race after returning to Cornwall in 2016 was the Treggy 7. I finished fifth in 47 minutes 7 seconds, so I am over the moon to win today in 44 minutes 45 seconds.”

Hard on her heels was teammate Amy Sole, who crossed the line in 45.08, just four seconds slower than when she won this race in 2015. One of the many Devon runners who ventured across the Tamar, Samantha Lake (Tavistock AC) was rewarded with third place , some way behind the two leading CAC girls.

With two Grand Prix races remaining, the Truro Half Marathon and Cornish Marathon, Mile High and Hayle Runners both remain in contention for the runner’s up spot in the Men’s team competition.

The Penryn-based club won the first Grand Prix race of the year back in January and notched a second win at Treggy, beating their close rivals, Hayle Runners, by just three points. The runners-up spot could well be decided at Truro on Sunday week, with Mile High currently in pole position. The 2017 Grand Prix champions, Cornwall AC, finished in third place.

The result of the ladies' team race could not have been closer, with Hayle Runners and Cornwall AC both scoring 117 points.

The count back rule had to be applied, giving Hayle their third Grand Prix victory of the year, with their sixth scoring runner finishing ahead of the sixth scorer from Cornwall AC. The host club, Launceston Road Runners were third, well behind the top two clubs.

Benny and Whear both won their respective Vet 35 and Vet 45 categories, with Andrew Martin finishing second in the Vet 35 age group. Although Jackie Cope (Falmouth Road Runners) was beaten into second place in the Vet 60 category, she had already done enough in previous Grand Prix races to secure the 2017 overall title in her age group, with an unbeatable points total of 800 points. Falmouth’s Lee Coulson completed the group of local Veteran award winners, collecting the third position prize in the Vet 50 section.

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, LRR Launceston Road Runners, MBH Mounts Bay Harriers, MH Mile High, NRR Newquay Road Runners, PH Plymouth Harriers, STA St Austell Running Club, TAV Tavistock AC, TOT Totton Running Club, TRC Truro Running Club, TT Tamar Trotters, U Unattached.

RESULTS

Men: 1 Aaron Benney MH 39.12, 2 Jordan Morant HR 40.24, 3 Andrew Martin MH 40.32, 4 Carl Aldridge U 41.24, 5 Jamie Stephenson MH 41.34, 6 Paul Whear CAC 41.45, 7 John McWilliams MBH 41.56, 8 Tim Robinson LRR 42.15, 9 Alex Daniels NRR 42.21, 10 Alex Peyton-Jones PH 42.33. Age Categories: Under 35: 1 Jordan Morant, 2 Carl Aldridge, 3 Jamie Stephenson. 35-39: 1 Aaron Benney, 2 Andrew Martin, 3 Alex Peyton-Jones. 40-44: 1 Alex Daniels, 2 Clive Ramsden BRR 44.24, 3 Simon Knowles HR 44.35. 45-49: 1 Paul Whear, 2 Scott Abraham HR 43.24, 3 Tim Adams STA 45.09. 50-54: 1 Steve Wherry HR 43.29, 2 Glynn Davis CR 45.39, 3 Lee Coulson FRR 45.54. 55-59:1 David Philp ECH 47.35, 2 David Batchelor HR 53.21, 3 Ian Crowle ECH 54.18. 60-64: 1 Steve Baker TT 47.29, 2 Iain Walker STA 49.05, 3 Malcolm Roberts STA 51.27. 65-69: 1 Geoff Letchford MBH 49.44, 2 Tom Polglase CR 52.02, 3 Chris Ramsey TRC 55.59. 70-74: 1 John Lillis NRR 58.30, 2 David Salvage TT 1.06.15, 3 Brian Price U 1.07.26. 75-79: 1 Stewart Townend HR 59.47, 2 Norris Kington CAC 1.14.26. Teams: 1 Mile High 140 points, 2 Hayle Runners 143 points, 3 Cornwall AC 231 points, 4 St Austell Running Club 245 points, 5 Launceston Road Runners 248 points, 6 Looe Pioneers 346 points. Over 50: 1 Hayle Runners 50 points, 2 Tamar Trotters 87 points, 3 East Cornwall Harriers 92 points.

Ladies: 1 Heidi Tregenza CAC 44.45, 2 Amy Sole CAC 45.08, 3 Samantha Lake TAV 46.44, 4 Ami Yetton PH 47.25, 5 Jessica Buscombe STA 47.30, 6 Hannah Astley U 48.21, 7 Jeanette Johnson LRR 48.55, 8 Revis Crowle ECH 51.10, 9 Amy Jose HR 52.26, 10 Charlotte Bennett HR 52.40. Age Categories: Under 35: 1 Heidi Tegenza, 2 Amy Sole, 3 Jessica Buscombe. 35-39: 1 Samantha Lake, 2 Ami Yetton, 3 Hannah Astley. 40-44: 1 Charlotte Bennett, 2 Amanda Gibson LP 54.51, 3 Rachael Thomas CAC 55.33. 45-49: 1 Claire Todd STA 56.43, 2 Corinne Gerrard HR 56.56, 3 Helen Lawes LP 57.12. 50-54: 1 Jeanette Johnson, 2 Jill Selwood PH 54.35, 3 Debbie Nugent CAC 54.49. 55-59: 1 Revis Crowle, 2 Pam Solomon BRR 55.23, 3 Liz Tregenza CAC 58.40. 60-64: 1 Diane Warren HR 59.56, 2 Jackie Cope FRR 1.03.02, 3 Caroline Becker U 1.04.39. 65-69: 1 Jenny Mills LRR 53.28, 2 Mary Frances Dyer PH 1.01.48, 3 Sandy Jamieson CR 1.08.53. 70-74: 1 Jane Pitt TOT 1.19.28. Teams: 1 Hayle Runners 117 points, 2 Cornwall AC 117 points, 3 Launceston Road Runners 196, 4 Looe Pioneers 200 points, 5 St Austell Running Club 240 points, 6 Newquay Road Runners 337 points. Over 50: 1 Launceston Road Runners 34 points, 2 Bodmin Womens Running Club 103 points, 3 Bodmin Road Runners 110 points.