Liam O’Neill makes Hayle Runners history at Tywarnhayle 10K

Twenty Hayle Runners went to Mount Hawke for one of the hilliest dates on the county’s off-road calendar. They came home with a team medal, a handful of age-group prizes, a stack of personal bests and, once the racing was done, a trophy nobody from the club had lifted before.

A tough morning at the Tywarnhayle 10K

The Tywarnhayle 10K took place on Sunday 4 October. Organised by Truro Running Club, it was the fourth race of the 2026/27 Cornwall Multi Terrain Race Series (MTRS), one of the more demanding fixtures on the Cornish multi-terrain calendar.

Hayle Runners sent 12 ladies and eight men to take on a course of steep climbs, technical descents and big coastal views.

Liam O’Neill led the club home in 43:05, fifth overall. Neil Hayhurst followed in 46:39, with Ian Curnow (50:02) and Mark Williams (51:24) completing the scoring quartet. Together they secured second place in the men’s team competition.

📷Hayle Runners men's team at the Tywarnhayle 10K 2026

Six prizes and a run of personal bests

The club also picked up six age-category prizes. Margaret Clark won the Female 65-69 category, Liam finished second in the Male 35-39s and Neil took third in the Male 45-49s.

Ian and Mark finished first and second in the Male 55-59 category, while Jon Eldon won the Male 65-69s.

Further back in the field, several runners made big gains on their previous times at the event. Debbie Gossington recorded the largest improvement, taking 17 minutes off her previous course time. Olivia Henwood improved by eight minutes, and Susan Thomas kept up her recent run of personal bests with a six-minute improvement.

Brad Keenan and Melissa Tonkin each knocked five minutes off their previous times, and Jon, Ian and Deborah Sturges also set course PBs.

A first for the club in the MTRS

After the race, attention turned to the presentation of the 2025/26 Cornwall Multi Terrain Race Series awards.

Last season’s series drew 696 individual competitors from 16 local clubs across its 12 races, with 374 men and 322 ladies completing at least one event.

For Hayle Runners, the standout was Liam’s overall men’s title. He is the first member of the club to win the MTRS championship.

Florence Davies-Kirsop also had an excellent campaign, finishing eighth overall in the ladies’ standings despite only racing the latter two-thirds of the series.

What the club said

Hayle Runners chairman Richard Collett said: “Winning the MTRS is a huge achievement in its own right, but becoming the first Hayle Runner to do it makes it particularly special.

“Liam’s put together a fantastic season and thoroughly deserves the recognition. We’re also delighted for Flo, who managed to finish eighth overall in her first completion of the MTRS.

“The Tywarnhayle 10K provided another encouraging result for this MTRS season for Hayle, with the men’s team silver and numerous course PBs demonstrating the club’s continued strength across the challenging off-road events.”

The club thanked Truro Running Club and everyone who organised and marshalled the event, along with the supporters who cheered runners home.

Hayle Runners results

• Margaret Clark: 1:20:16
• Ian Curnow: 50:02
• Florence Davies-Kirsop: 58:21
• Jon Eldon: 53:13
• Debbie Gossington: 1:21:36
• Neil Hayhurst: 46:39
• Olivia Henwood: 1:29:48
• Amelia Hill: 1:33:35
• Brad Keenan: 56:54
• Paul Launder: 1:06:23
• Jennie Massey: 1:51:27
• Liam O’Neill: 43:05
• Yelda Müge Parsons: 1:40:01
• Kate Prosser: 1:18:35
• Andrew Searle: 55:52
• Deborah Sturges: 1:34:19
• Susan Thomas: 1:15:38
• Melissa Tonkin: 1:33:21
• Rosanna Whitton: 1:17:43
• Mark Williams: 51:24

📷Hayle Runners at the Tywarnhayle 10K 2026