May was a month of epic challenges taken on by our intrepid Hayle Runners, from ultras to the Classic Quarter and plenty of races in between, here’s a round-up achievements.
It was month five for Hayle Runner Sam Dixon, who is ploughing through her year-long challenge to run a half-marathon every month raising money for charity. This month she took part in the Worthing Runfest half, adding another medal to her collection on May 4th.
It was a case of up, up, up (and up, up, up) and away at the Boconnoc 5 miler on May 7th. Part of the MTRS series, the weather favoured the 15 Hayle Runners who travelled to Lostwithiel to take part at the event held at the beautiful Boconnoc House estate. More details can be found on our Boconnoc 5 update.
Trevornick 10km, part of the GP series, saw 37 Hayle Runners take part in a wet, slippery race on May 10th.
There were plenty of age category prizes, with Hayle men’s taking third as well as…
Melissa Nicholas, 1st – 35-39
Fiona Gamble , 2nd – 40-44
Andrea Simmons , 1st – 70-74
Diane Warren, 2nd – 70-74
Liam O’Neill, 1st – 35-39
Steve Hagan, 3rd – 40-44
Mark Williams, 3rd – 55-59
Jon Eldon, 1st – 60-64.
The KVK – a Kilometre of Vert in Kernow – also took place on May 10th. This unique adventure is two laps of a specifically designed route to reach the magic number of 1000m of ascent. Totalling a distance of 15 miles of inland hills and coastal running, there were big climbs and big downhills in this mammoth trail run.
Charles Simpson took on the beast and did so in 3:16, Kelly Bills followed behind at 3:34 and minutes later Dan Hocking came in at 3:38.
The KVK team relay splits the distance and ascent in half as a relay team of two and saw Fiona Gamble and Liam O’Neill take second place at 2:26:21, with Charlotte Bennett and Steve Wherry moments behind them in third at 2:26:52.
Further afield in Brighton, the Run to the Sea ultra was completed in just 4:51:05 by Chris Brown, who place 20th overall. And after months of training together, Helen Cattran (8:44:04), Julie Frost (8:44:04), Clare Stone (8:44:03) and Yvonne Trudgeon (8:44:04) tackled the race together.
This multi-terrain route from Horsham to Brighton seafront has second-to-none scenery and views. The 50km point-to-point course took runners through a mixture of terrain, including trails and rolling downs before reaching the promenade. Keep an eye on these Hayle Runners who already have their eyes set on Run to the Sea Bournemouth in 2026.
Back home in Cornwall on the same day, Rosie Whitton (2:06:00), Ruby King (2:05:51), Emma Bowden (2:22:16) and Hannah White (3:14:59) tackled the Coast to Coast Copper Trail. An 11-mile trail route taking you on a tour through one of Cornwall’s famous historic mining districts at the heart of the county’s copper production in the 19th century.
It continued to be a busy weekend for Hayle Runners, with Stanley Marsden (3:07:17) and Kieran Murant (3:30:49) taking part in the Exeter Marathon on May 11th.
Plymouth called a crowd of Hayle Runners the same day.
Debbie Harrison-Webb (01:45:01), Jana Ensell (01:52:30), Jack Smith (01:57:37), Sarah Allen (02:01:29), Jared Sanderson (02:07:53), Margaret Clark (02:09:16), Anthony Bryant (02:22:59) and Hannah White (02:37:41) entered the Plymouth Half Marathon.
Rowan Muliss (00:54:55), Andrew Heather (01:05:32), Victoria Curtis (01:13:15) and Jo Heather (1.24.55) took part in the Plymouth 10k and Jake Summers (19:02) completed the Plymouth 5k grabbing overall first place!
Maria and Daniel De Ruvo completed the Race for Life that day; and there was a sterling effort from Ross Keeler on May 11th, who took part in the British Standard Distance Triathlon Championships coming third in the 20-24 age category.
Congratulations are in order for Curtis Hayes who took part in the Chester Half Marathon on May 18th.
Now to the Classic Quarter. This relentless ultra-marathon takes place along the south Cornish coast from Lizard Point to Land’s End. It takes its name from the route, which translates to running 90 degrees of the compass.
This challenging race has steep climbs and descents with spectacular views. Hayle Runners Julia Burns, Kirsty Medlock, Trish Merrett, Stephanie Langley, Charlotte Bennett, Mark Williams, Chris Brown and Ian Seabury did the race solo.
Paul Gough, Andrew Searle, Jacob Gardner, Sam Farmer, Jack Smith, Nick Kelly and Jane Goldsmith completed it in pairs. Jacob and Sam got first place in the pairs and knocked 9 minutes off the course record!
Meanwhile, Anna Goodman, Naomi Ward, Michelle Fitt, Diane Warren, Plummy Phillips, Chantelle Hickman, Piran Snell, Arianna Caddy, Diane Warren, Jane Naylor, Fiona Hewitt, Margaret Clark, Jenny Buckland, Susan Thomas, Debbie Gossington, Hannah White, Mark Smitheram, Paul Launder, Alex Brooks and Michelle Fitt did it in teams as part of the relay.
A fantastic accomplishment and a well-deserved congratulations.
On May 25 Melissa Nicholas and Ella Short took part in the Great West Run – Ella’s first half marathon.
The same day, Andrew Paroissien proved he was a force to be reckoned with taking fifth place overall for the South Downs 100k – that’s despite getting lost for 8km!
Steep climbs and a challenging terrain, saw 12 Hayle runners tackle coast path, tarmac, meadow and insane steps as part of the Gribbin 10k on May 28th for another MTRS event.
Described as ‘not for the faint hearted’ and with approximately 330m – that’s 1080ft – ascent, this was a race taking competitors to the very top – of their limits! You can find out more details of that race here.
At the end of the month the Kernowman called Ross Keeler and Naomi Watts to attendance on May 31. With St Michael’s Mount in the backdrop, this is a stunning race at Mount’s Bay. A swim in front of the mount, a ride through the quiet country lands of west Cornwall, finished off with a fast and flat run along Marazion sea front.
Ross completed the Kernowman 70.3 race: 1900m swim – 90km bike – 21.1km run and Naomi did the Olympic: 1500m swim – 40k bike – 10k run.
And to round off the month Oisin Curtis, Donna Dark, Avril Harvey joined the Burrator 10k.
An awe-inspiring month from Hayle Runners! Well done to all.