LIVING up to its reputation as being hill-ish and hellish, the Looe 10 Miler was back on Sunday, March 1 pulling in dozens of Hayle Runners.

Number three in the Cornish Grand Prix series drew nine ladies and 21 men from the Green Army to the start line.

Hayle had its sweep of podium finishes with the men’s team taking third thanks to Liam O’Neill, Kieran Murrant, Neil Hayhurst, Dave Guffick, David Wilding and Mark Williams. Mark also stormed into first place in the 55-59 age category.

Other category prizes included a second-place spot for Fiona Gamble in the 40-44 age category, the 65-69 age group saw Margaret Clark come third. Diane Warren proved almost impossible to catch, winning the 70-74 category by a phenomenal 25 minutes ahead of the next woman in her group.

Liam O’Neill was back to the podium in his age group, taking bronze for the 35-39 year olds and Jon Eldon shined as bright as ever as the 65-69 age group winner.

A tough race due to the sheer number of hills, runners were treated to an undulating course through West Looe and out onto the coastal road to Talland. A loop around the Killigarth, Porthallow area brought competitors back down to Talland for the return leg to the finish.

A shout out also goes to Hayle runner Theresa Clark who managed an impressive 13-minute personal best on this year’s course.

Hayle Runners chairman, Richard Collett, said: “The Looe 10 Miler is always a challenging course, with plenty of steep hills to keep everyone honest.

“Our men's team finished third and we picked up six age category awards, which was a strong return on a tough day of racing. There was great support right around the course, and the race was very well organised, which always makes a difference on a route like that.”

With the wind blowing hard and around 457 metres/1,500 feet of elevation this event is not an easy one, but runners do get to enjoy a scenic road race along the beautiful Cornish coast.

This year the proceeds of the run went to support Cornwall Air Ambulance.