Endurancelife Coastal Trail Series: Stage 6 - Cornwall (Marathon, Half Marathon or 10K)
Racing Round the Cornish Coast
Jen Timms / 15.04.2009
The now familiar and slightly worn-looking faces of the remaining 7x7x7*competitors joined the rest of the runners for the penultimate race briefing to learn that, surprise, surprise, it was going to be another tough, hilly one! (Ed; The CTS Ultimate 7x7x7 challenge is to run all 7 marathons, over 7 months, and in the 7 different coastal locations of the series.)
The first half of the marathon followed the coastal path east from St Just, passing hidden sandy beaches, disused mine stacks and rugged granite cliffs as it swept along above the crashing waves below. Spectacular and diverse scenery provided a welcome distraction from the grueling terrain, with deep muddy sections, jagged boulders and stream crossings adding to the challenge.
At half way the route headed inland along steep tracks, quiet country lanes and through rutted fields separated by a granite obstacle course of stiles and cattle grids; these were tough to negotiate after several hours of running. A short but welcome road section followed – marshaled at the one main junction – soon giving way to open moorland, where the familiar red chevrons led runners along many winding paths through the gorse. This section was much more pleasant running than last year, with firm ground and perfect visibility.
A long final descent on footpaths with views down into St. Just provided brief respite before the final grueling hill up to the finish at Cape Cornwall. The support from event crew and the many walkers we met along the route helped to make the race a very special experience.
The traditional Endurancelife post-race welcome awaited us with hot food and sitting in the sun with new friends, sharing tales of our races and applauding both prize winners and those finishing after many hours out on the course with equal admiration.
Jen Timms finished 17th of the 68 starters in the marathon event.
[The race results are listed here and to find out more about the range of Endurancelife events see www.endurancelife.com.]
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