A massive well done to Antony, Nick, Kerry and Vicky, who took on the Cornish Marathon on Sunday 1 November 2026. Across our four runners, there was plenty to celebrate: joining the marathon club, setting a new personal best and adding another finish at this much-loved Cornish race. Each is an achievement worth recognising, especially on a course that saves one of its toughest climbs for the closing miles.
Starting and finishing in Pensilva, the 26.2-mile road race takes runners through a striking stretch of east Cornwall. It has long been a favourite fixture in the Cornwall Grand Prix, giving local runners a marathon challenge close to home while drawing them across the lanes, valleys and moorland edges around Bodmin Moor. This year, it was Antony, Nick, Kerry and Vicky’s turn to meet that challenge.
A marathon with Cornwall all around it
The route’s landmarks are part of what makes the Cornish Marathon so recognisable. From Pensilva, runners head towards King Doniert’s Stones and the Golitha Falls area before tackling the climbs through Draynes and Trenant. The road then rolls past Colliford Lake and near Dozmary Pool on its way towards Jamaica Inn at Bolventor. These are places many Cornish runners know by name, but linking them together on foot over marathon distance is another matter entirely.
East Cornwall Harriers, which organises the race, describes a course of approximately 2,200 feet of climbing. Its Cornish Marathon route description makes clear that the challenge is not over once runners have passed the moorland landmarks. After a flatter stretch on the return, the route climbs again, with the ascent from Crows Nest towards Foredown arriving between miles 24 and 25. Knowing the finish is getting close does not make that late hill any smaller.
Four runners, plenty to celebrate
That course gives every kind of marathon milestone its own weight. A first finish means covering the full distance for the first time; a PB means improving on a previous marathon result. For someone returning to the distance, another finish is a further achievement in its own right. Our congratulations go to Antony, Nick, Kerry and Vicky for rising to the challenge and giving Carn Runners four finishes to cheer.
The race has a history stretching back to 1984. According to East Cornwall Harriers, it began on a different route from Saltash, moved to Rilla Mill in 1994 and later settled in Pensilva. The setting may have changed over the years, but the combination of Cornish scenery and a demanding road marathon has kept it a distinctive event on the local calendar. For those following the wider series, the club’s Grand Prix page explains how our runners can keep track of the competition.
Whether this was a first marathon, a faster one or another hard-earned finish, Sunday belonged to everyone who made it back to Pensilva. Antony, Nick, Kerry and Vicky: a huge well done from all of us at Carn. Anyone wanting to look up the race’s placings and times can visit the 2026 Cornish Marathon results.
