Stormy Storm Force 10

The first Cornish Grand Prix race of the season, Storm Force 10 takes runners around the country roads and lanes to the south-west of Camborne. Whilst not being the most scenic race on the calendar, Storm Force 10 is typically one of the most popular, as runners try to burn off those Christmas over indulgences. Despite the extremely wet weather and flooding of recent days, the floods had fortunately cleared, leaving in their wake just large puddles on parts of the route which could be easily circumvented. Fortunately, the initially dire weather predictions didn't come to full fruition and a mild misty drizzle, rather than full on driving rain, greeted runners on the start line. The worst factor was the gusty wind.

After a quarter of a mile walk to the start line, the start of the race is fast, down the hill to Barripper. The race includes a few notable hills but by Cornish standards is a reasonably fast course. The gusty headwind made the first 4 miles or so harder than they should have been. Long mostly flat and straight road sections around 5-7 miles allow runners to develop a good rhythm, unlike most Cornish races.

Runners then start to descend around the 8 mile mark before being faced with a long drag up from Barripper back to the outskirts of Camborne, with the smiling photographers greeted by many pained expressions I'm sure. Fortunately a tail wind did help to push everyone back up the hill, even if it didn't really feel like it. The hill drags on for some time, but thankfully the final three quarters of a mile involve a fast downhill to the finish line and an opportunity to burn any remaining energy for a sprint finish.