St. Austell Running Club Cornwall St. Austell Running Club Cornwall Established November 2007
Route Description Accomodation Offers
Marathon Entries so far 15-6-09 Half Marathon entries so far 15-6-09
The Eden Project and St Austell Running Club are to hold the first Eden Project Marathon on Sunday 11th October 2009.The event will include a marathon, half marathon and children's one mile fun run.
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The Eden Project Marathon – the story so far...
When Eden was first developed it offered potential to people in this area in different ways. Potential for jobs, potential for entertainment, and for two local runners potential as a venue for a large race! Of course they kept such ideas to themselves but the creation of the ‘Clay Trails’, giving safe off-road access into Eden reinforced the possibility of a Multi Terrain event. However, as there was no local running club in the St.Austell region and hence no infrastructure in place to support an event of this nature, it remained a pipe dream.
Then in November 2007 a small group of local runners, who were attached to various other clubs in Cornwall, came together to create the St.Austell Running Club. Amongst the founder members were Doug Alsop and Paul Bullock and at the inaugural meeting they learned that they both had been thinking of the Eden Project as a race venue. At that early stage in the club’s formation it was considered a distant but exciting possibility for the future.
The popularity of the St.Austell Running Club exceeded all expectations. The first club night attracted 45 people and over the first year this built to a membership of over 160! The club is proud to cater for a complete mix of abilities: from runners who finish in the top ten of County races to complete beginners who wish to get started. The success of the club in its first year has lead to a great sense of achievement. Local people from diverse backgrounds are united by their enjoyment of running and proudly support one another beneath the club flag.
Having such an enthusiastic club with a strong membership provided the necessary infrastructure to seriously propose hosting a large scale event. Club member Rob Coleman was already in talks with Eden about his plans to run the gruelling ‘Marathon des Sables’ and he arranged an opportunity for committee members to visit Eden and present their idea.
In late July 2008 the first meeting was held between Peter Stewart and Ian Williams of Eden Project and Doug, Paul and Rob of St. Austell Running Club. They pitched the concept of a ‘Regeneration Marathon’ that would showcase the work being done in the area to create amenities and facilities from the land that had been scarred by industrial use and quarrying. The Eden Project, the Clay trails and the regeneration by IMERYS on the tips and waste ground in the area would be at the forefront of this.
It transpired that both Peter and Ian were experienced runners who had run a number of Marathons and Half Marathons so needless to say the presentation was enthusiastically received! They saw the potential of bringing additional visitors into the area and getting the Eden message across and hence were keen that the event move forward as a collaborative project between the Eden Project and the St.Austell Running Club.
The proposals and presentation were re-worked to encompass the new event which is now titled ‘The Eden Project Marathon’. This was subsequently approved by the board at Eden Project. A team has now been built to manage the event which will encompass Eden’s skills and resources in publicity and event management, and STARC’s skills in race organisation. We hope you will join us to run or watch this race celebrating the regeneration of our landscape and community.
