History...
Local club Mounts Bay Harriers (in the black, red & white stripes) were out in force at the 2008 race
A road race, as part of St.Levan sports week, was first discussed in 1990. The race would be run in the formerly vacant Friday evening slot and a suitable route (said to be 'almost exactly' 10k!) was chosen. The first running was a low key affair, not widely publicised, but was nevertheless quite well supported. The course turned out to be well short of 10k however, much to the dismay of the assembled pot hunters who thought they had reduced their PB's by minutes! The race was won by local running legend Ronnie James of Cornwall AC - a feat he has repeated several times since.
In 1991 a new course was devised and measured using a surveyor's wheel. The race was more widely publicised and the childrens race introduced. The event was a great success and destined to become a permanent and popular feature of sports week.
Throughout the nineties the race grew in popularity. attracting support from local clubs such as Hayle Runners, Carn Runners from Camborne, Falmouth Road Runners and Cornwall AC, while listing in 'Today's Runner' and 'Runners' World' and the 'Rundown' events diary attracted many club runners on holiday in Cornwall, some of whom have even been known to plan the following years holiday around the race!
In 1999, the total eclipse of the Sun put paid to the race. With the eclipse occurring during St.Levan sports week, the area part of the path of totality and with dire predictions of Cornwall being totally gridlocked for days or weeks, the organisers decided to cancel. As it turned out, the race could have gone ahead - the eclipse had been a bit of an over-hyped non-event.
2000 saw the re-launch of the race and also its 10th running. Following friendly words from the powers that be, an SEAA permit was obtained for the race. To comply, the course was re-measured using Jones counter by the official county measurer. It turned out to be approximately 100m short and the start was moved back accordingly to accommodate the extra distance. Commemorative T-shirts were ordered to mark the re-launch and anniversary and a record entry ensued. The St.Levan 10k had well and truly arrived!
Since 2000, entries have consistently risen and 2005 saw over 200 for the first time. New course records have been set, beating the pre 2000 times despite the extra 100m and the event is now firmly established on the county's fixture list with a loyal following despite the relatively remote location and evening start time.
2005 - Mario McNamara (Hayle Runners) sees off the challenge of Paul Carter (Mounts Bay Harriers) to finish 1st in the male vet 45 category.