I'd long forgotten there were actually two seven o'clocks in a day, until, of course, last Sunday, 2nd March, when I woke at that unearthly hour to fulfil my promise to Darren Vilton-Tebutt, the new Race Director for Looe's annual event to support them with PA and commentary.

The Looe-10 miler, as it is more commonly known, is described as 'Hillish and Hellish' due the the gruelling and challenging elevations of the course through Looe and its coastal paths, but there really was no shortage of willing runners ready to give it their all.....indeed, somewhere in the region of 540 taking part in the adult race.

My part in the day, representing Liskeard and Looe Radio, needed neither shorts nor trainers, however it did require some effort and a layer or two to ward off the icy morning temperatures.

With the start and finish lines some distance apart, the PA and commentary needed careful planning kicking off with three speakers and a small, but noisy, generator daisy-chained along the edge of the Millpool car park ready for the 11am start...which turned out to be an interesting, if not planned, quirky time to start.

As the course record was sitting at few seconds over the one-hour mark it meant that anyone bettering that time, i.e. sub-one hour, would not only have the bragging rights of being the new course record holder but could also boast being, perhaps, the only runner to start and end the race in the morning...which is what indeed happened!

As the long line of numbered, and enthusiastic, runners duly lined up and limbered up it was clear to see we had competitors of all ages plus a dinosaur, two bumblebees and the always present Superman ready to lead off...some took it more seriously than others but all were up for a great time!

After an instructional briefing from Darren and words of motivation from 'Oars of Thunders' Sally Crab, the countdown came and brought the main event to a start.

As soon as they were out of sight, and with the assistance of tech guys Christian and JJ, we re-sited the PA and generator to the finish line.

The race winner, crossing the line in a new course record time of 58 minutes, 53 seconds was Steve Reynolds of Truro Running Club followed, thereafter, by the remaining competitors, mostly looking surprisingly strong as they came home.

I did originally think I'd be able to call them all in by name but I soon realised numbers would have to do!

A few 'shout-outs' are due, firstly, to the competitors in the 'mini-miler' whose race around Milpool and Kilminorth kicked off at 10am, to the Cheerleaders from Looe Academy, who did a great job of loudly welcoming the runners back home and also to Aircrew Andy who entertained youngsters of all ages throughout the day.

Thanks also go to the food and beverages providers Coasters and Brew Box who had a very busy day and kept smiling throughout!

Organisers, Marshalls and Volunteers including those from both Looe and Liskeard Lions also deserve praise for making this event the success it was.

Final mention, goes to local hero Simon Fisher who was running to raise funds for the ongoing cancer treatment of his good friend Jodi...apparently with no training!!

Simon crossed the line to rapturous applause and indeed the social media pics of him romping home have reached almost 20,000 views and many hundreds of reactions on the Liskeard and Looe Radio page.

Liskeard and Looe Radio are also very pleased to welcome the latest presenter to join our team. Local lad Mike Temple will be LIVE every Wednesday evening at 5pm with his established show 'The Yacht that Rocked' a cool blend of

The show will be repeated every Saturday at 5pm...not to be missed.

All our scheduled shows, broadcasting 24/7, including the weekday 'Breakfast Show with Rose Pierce' can be found on www.liskeardlooeradio.com

By Mike Allsopp, presenter/director Liskeard and Looe Radio