Around 20 Carn Runners turned out to rack up another GP scoring race with only the Cornish Marathon left to go in this year’s series.

The conditions were ideal until around the 2 mile mark when everyone seemed to realise it was a couple of degrees warmer than they had thought.
This was most likely due to the scorching pace of the first mile which was the subject of many rants about opening mile times in the post race discussions.

Glyn (pictured above) showed again that he is returning to some sort of form and took 2nd in the MV40 category.  Steve was just behind and recording yet another fast 10K time in his first season.  Hodgey was just behind and also taking 2nd in his age group, the MV45.

The girls served up some serious racing between Paula, Juliet and Donna.  Paula (2nd F under35) reaped the rewards of those reps along Hayle Memorial Walk by pipping Juliet (1st FV35) to the line.  Both had PB’s and things bode well for Juliet in next week’s Cardiff Half Marathon.

Donna’s (3rd FV35) recent races caught up with her and her 3rd race in 7 days took its toll.
As it was 3 ladies in the top 6 was another excellent performance.  Helen Smith made up our ladies team but on the day we had to accept 2nd Ladies team behind a higher scoring Cornwall quartet.  Respect.

Roy continued his excellent GP with 2nd in the MV65.  The boys were 5th Men’s team (probably shouldn't have mentioned that, but i won a bottle of wine and a T shirt out of it!!).

Once again there were some good facials to enjoy in the photographs taken on the day.  Check out Barrie and Denise, a good family gurning contest there:-

Don’t despair however as ‘Big Boy Buzza’s’ facials must have set the tone for all those who were to follow in his footsteps!!  We won’t show that here out of respect for the great man!  (However, if you want us to.... Dave, every man has his price, all donations to charity!!).

More 'loverly' pics to be seen in the gallery.

Once again Thanks to all those at NRR for a great day’s racing.

What you, the Runner’s said:

Steve Wherry writes:

"Well I'm with Chris on this one! As far as the courses go that i have run this year this was about the flattest yet, and i don't think you are going to find anything flatter!

This was only my second 10k run, (Mounts Bay being my 1st) so i didn't know what to expect in terms of  "time" or in fact the course itself!, being my first season on the grand prix circuit they are all new to me, something I'm not sure whether is an advantage or not!? After a dissapointing "Treggy 7" i was keen to make amends and was hoping to make sure of second place in my age category for the series!

It was a fast start, and i was a little worried to see that i had clocked a 5:27 first mile....oh dear! It wasn't long before a familiar couple of faces appeared on my shoulder, namely, Dave Rowe and Jo Friday and we continued along up the climb together, pushing each other on. Dave and myself have had many a tussle over the season and its nearly always no more than a few seconds that seperates us! so it was a case of keeping up the pace without letting the others in the pack  realise that you are on the verge of a cardiac arrest! I was actually feeling relatively good after the decent back onto the main road around mile 4/5 which was surprising as we had just put in  5:40 and 5:35 miles! (you can tell i have just bought a new garmin) then along the straight towards the boating lake, at which i had to negotiate a 4x4 on the roundabout that decided to stop in front of me.....! just what you need when your lungs are on fire and your legs are starting to ignore you!

I had managed to open up a gap going past the lake, so it was a case of just trying to keep the leg speed up and hang on in there! a few nervous glances over the shoulder as the old pins started to throw in the towel, up over the nip and the much welcomed sight of the finish line which i just about managed to crawl over!!!   Job done! well pleased with my time, nearly 2 mins faster than mounts bay, i beat Dave by 4 seconds,sorry mate! and the best result of the day.........two bars of choccie in the goodie bag........makes it all worthwhile!"

"Well for me i realised after i crossed the line that 3 races in a week and a headcold are too much to contend with and i felt rubbish, not my best race but glad i did it, very well organised and nice course and apart from having to run between a long line of ponies quite uneventful, just wish i could've gone faster!"             Donna

 Laura's experience - as a supporter:

"After a quick couple of hours out on the tandem with Andy I turned up at Newquay to watch the 10km and only felt a fleeting moment of guilt that I was giving this one a miss, the feeling soon passed and I was free to cheer everyone on!  There was a fair sprinkling of Carn Runners around, no one seemed too nervous - if they were they hid it very well. 
 
On the way down to the start line Carole Drew consolidated her leading position in the 'STB' competition by nipping in behind a car for a final pee before the start - Carole, I think you've got that one in the bag!  I joined Carol aka David Bailey and April to watch the race from a vantage point about 200m from the start line - and there we stayed for the next hour or so.  The start was like every other race start - the gun goes off, Dave Buzza sprints into the lead and then it's a frantic 30 seconds spotting the Carn vests and shouting names out.  I can't make any comments on the course as the only bit I saw of it was the first and last few hundred metres!  The next half an hour consisted of chat, gossip and general resting up - ready to exert ourselves by clapping for a steady 30 minutes until everyone was in.  After Dave Buzza sprinted into view it seemed no time at all before the Carnies were on their way in, led by Glynn, looking good and running away quite well from that chap pictured behind him!! The girls seemed to have a good battle and with Paula and Juliet getting PB's I don't think they could've done any more.  Barrie Cardew looked strong - in fact we think we inspired him onto a sprint finish, there was certainly a spring in his step once he saw us!!!!!
 
It was then onto the prizegiving and while waiting for it to start I had a good chat with Donna and I've decided I need to become a postwoman and have Donna as my chef - that should see all my dieting problems solved!!  Anyway, onto the prizegiving - we had our fair share of prizes mostly consisting of wine and t-shirts apart from the girls who had some nice jackets for their efforts.  So, that was Newquay, all in all I enjoyed it, didn't get too tired, hands a bit sore from clapping but one I'll definitely be back to support again!!!"

 Ian comments:

"Now there's a thing ! Is the power balance shifting with the Carnie Girls ? That is one thought to ponder but regardless, what a good race to watch. Donna by her own admission had a shocker; perhaps over-raced of late and not feeling too smart. We all know she is better than that. The revelation was of course Paula's finish in front of Juliet. Joe Friday was in a class of her own but as I see it Paula's star is on the rise and by this time next year, if able to avoid injury, will be better, and more importantly stronger. If Kensa can get back to something like , I can see that our girls will dominate Cornish team road running for many years to come.......just the way it ought to be."

So I have discovered a new tip for running a good race- spend the month before the race with injuries, illness, boozing and minimal training, and you'll be fine!  I rocked up after a frustrating month of very very little training (but on time and not in flipflops this time which was a good start), hoping to come in under an hour, and ended up being dragged round by David Scott for a half way decent time, so I was pleased.  And to log on and see I was the fourth lady in our team was very exciting even though I  realise this is entirely due to our excellent first 3 ladies, rather than anything to do with me! 

                                                      Helen Smith