Hayle Runners take double silver at Redruth’s Turkey Trot

Four miles doesn’t sound far. Add a downhill opening mile that tempts everyone into going too fast, then a summer evening in the high heat, and it turns into something else entirely. That was the test facing 51 Hayle Runners at Redruth on Wednesday, July 15, and the Green Army came home with a haul.

Two teams, two silvers

Hayle Runners continued their Cornwall Grand Prix campaign with team silver in both the men’s and ladies’ races at the Turkey Trot, the ninth race of the GP series, along with 12 age-category prizes.

The route took runners up through Illogan before bringing them back to the finish along the Redruth bypass. The fast start and the heat made the pace hard to hold.

The ladies finished second thanks to Emma Paull, Teigan Turner, Charlotte Bennett, Tear Rogers, Gail Aspden and Tamara Kearney. The men also finished runners-up, led home by Sam Farmer, who took a personal best by a single second. He was joined in the scoring team by Jacob Gardner, new member Amar Musneckis, Francis Malone-Lee, Neil Hayhurst and Samuel Little.

Twelve podiums across the age categories

For the women, Emma Paull won the Female 40-44 category, Charlotte Bennett took gold in the 50-54s, Gail Aspden claimed silver in the 55-59s, Kate Prosser took bronze in the 60-64s, and Diane Warren carried on a strong season by winning the 70-74 category.

For the men, Sam Farmer topped the 20-34 category, Jacob Gardner came second in the 35-39s, and Francis Malone-Lee won the 45-49 category ahead of teammate Neil Hayhurst in second. Steven Wherry took bronze in the 60-64s, Jon Eldon won the 65-69 category again, and Stewart Townend rounded off the podiums with third in the 80+.

There was more to celebrate. Amar Musneckis earned a place in the men’s scoring team on his debut in a Hayle vest. Kate Prosser picked up an age-category podium in her first race for the club. And despite the temperatures, Sam Kearney and Mark Squire both took more than two minutes off their previous course bests.

What the chairman said

Hayle Runners chairman Richard Collett said: “The Turkey Trot always starts at a silly pace courtesy of an all downhill first mile. Add to that a very warm summer evening and four miles suddenly feels a lot longer than it looks on paper.

“To have both teams finish second and bring home another 12 age-category prizes was another excellent evening for the club. It was particularly pleasing to see Amar make such an impressive debut in green, Kate pick up an age-category award in her first race for the club and Sam find a marginal gain by shaving a single second off his previous best for the course.”

The club thanked Cornwall AC, the marshals, volunteers and supporters for organising the race, and Tricky’s Hotel, Bar and Restaurant for hosting it.

Hayle Runners full results

Sam Farmer 0:20:53, Jacob Gardner 0:22:23, Amar Musneckis 0:22:24, Francis Malone-Lee 0:23:14, Neil Hayhurst 0:23:32, Emma Paull 0:24:27, Samuel Little 0:25:20, Jon Eldon 0:25:33, Steven Wherry 0:26:29, Aidan Tappin 0:26:32, David Wilding 0:27:49, James Manning 0:28:12, Teigan Turner 0:28:46, Frazer Humbles 0:28:48, Charlotte Bennett 0:29:06, Zac Jones 0:29:24, Nathan Cudmore 0:30:01, Tear Rogers 0:30:18, Gail Aspden 0:30:21, Tamara Kearney 0:30:31, Darren Uren 0:30:52, Ruby King 0:31:01, Kate Frame 0:31:48, Brad Keenan 0:32:01, Mike Oxley 0:33:20, Emily Bennett 0:33:29, Scott Redrup 0:34:35, Richard Collier 0:34:49, Diane Warren 0:35:24, Dan Hocking 0:36:53, Grace Whetton 0:37:05, Rowan Mulliss 0:37:19, Alice Picking 0:37:25, Claire Baker-Martin 0:39:36, Kate Prosser 0:39:44, Theresa Clark 0:40:01, Mark Squire 0:40:48, Jemma Kearney 0:41:49, Helen Squire 0:43:56, Emma Taylor 0:44:24, David Gill 0:44:19, Claire Stone 0:45:25, Karen Lovegrove 0:46:12, Stewart Townend 0:46:38, Deborah Sturges 0:47:22, Sam Kearney 0:49:59, Emma Johns 0:50:14, Suzie Smith 0:50:14, Sam Robinson 0:50:15, Donna Dark 0:55:17

📷Hayle Runners team