East Cornwall Harriers have 11 runners taking part in this years London Marathon, and many of them are running for charities as well as hoping to improve there times over this testing 26.2 mile distance.

For Len White this will be his ninth London Marathon and he is hoping to finish in under three hours 15 minutes. At the other end of the scale Ron Paine is making his debut in London and has been training towards a 3:45 goal.

Tony Blank and Jeremy Bennett have both done seven London Marathons and are hoping to get around in four hours 30 minutes. Tony is collecting for the Meniere's Society and Jeremy for The Grace Albania & Kosovo Appeal.

Three members of the Erith family are taking part this year. Mike, who has done 5 previous London Marathons, and Amanda, who is taking part in her second London, are collecting for Fleet Ambulance Equipment, and have target times of 2:50 and 3:45 respectively. They can be contacted on Ol 503 230358 if you wish to donate to their charity. Mike's son Toby is hoping for a 3:15 marathon and is collecting for the Youth Enterprise Scheme, this will be his third London marathon.

Revis Crowle is also collecting for the Fleet charity and has been training towards a 3:30 finishing time, in her second marathon. Anton Luiten is also looking for a target finishing time of 3:30, this will be his third London Marathon and he is once again collecting for Whizz Kidz.

Taking part in his second London marathon is Mark Andrews, he is hoping to reduce his PB to 3:15, and is running in aid of Glaucoma and Alzheimers Charities. Finally Jacky Tyler has training for her third London Marathon and is hoping to get under 3:15, while collecting for Imperial Cancer Research.

East Cornwall Harriers would like to wish local runner Dave Buzza all the best at London on April 16th He has been training hard and is hoping to produce a performance close to his PB of 2:11:06, to give him a chance of selection for the Olympics, which has a qualifying time of 2:14.

The Falmouth 10K took place last weekend, and four East Cornwall Harriers travelled down to take part in the race. Some using it as a final speed session before the London Marathon this coming weekend.

This race is organised by the Falmouth and Penryn Lions Club, and was part of the Duchy Hospital Cornish Grand Prix series.

The race takes the runners on an undulating course through Falmouth, then after leaving Pendennis Point they follow the sea front road finishing back at Gyllngvase Beach. The weather was surprising good, although a little windy, and the course gave magnificent views across Carrick Roads and Falmouth Bay.

The winner this year was Daniel Simons from Cornwall AC, he led from the start improving the lead throughout the race to finish in a time of 32:28. The first lady back, also from Cornwall AC and leading from the gun, was Sharon Coyne in a time of 39:52.

The first East Cornwall Harrier home was Jacky Tyler in a personal best time of 41:08. This also gained her second place in the ladies race. Bill Muller finished next in 42:02, with Alan Green not far behind finishing his first 10K in a time of 42:26. Anton Luiten also ran a PB finishing in 44:14.

The male team prize went to Newquay Road Runners; Tony Wright 35:43, Lester Young 36:20 and Graham Dobson 38:56. The female team trophy went to Cornwall AC.

Other local runners:— NqRR; Mike Kestle 39:52, Kevin Walker 41 :37, Mike Yeo 43:30, Julie Walker 54:23, Vic Mckee 60:30, Val Hawkins 6l:14, Theresa Stevenson 62:04.