IN terms of the 80-event challenge, the St Levan 10km race was a major marker. In May, I had flown and then driven hundreds of miles to Cape Wrath at the tip of Scotland to take part in the northernmost race in the British Isles.

Now, on a humid August evening I was in Cornwall, three miles from Land's End for the most westerly, and the most southerly race in mainland UK. (I did race in Guernsey in April which technically lies further south!).

So I set out from Southampton early on Friday morning for the long drive to the south-west. Fortunately the roads weren't too bad; just a few hold-ups when tractor drivers decided to use the main A-road to crawl along oblivious to the long tail-back behind them.

I reached Land's End in good time and took the break to visit the place which has caught people's imagination for thousands of years. The Romans described the place as "Bolerium", the seat of storms, and its old Cornish name is "Penn-an-Wlas" meaning end of the land. It is a place of stunning scenery and of fabled views looking out towards the Scilly Isles from the 200ft high cliffs.

St Levan is a small village on a quiet country road just outside Land's End. This annual race is surprisingly popular among locals and holidaymakers; there was a fair sprinkling of running vests from around the country such as Penny Lane Striders from Merseyside, Keighley & Craven AC in Yorkshire, Bournville Harriers from Birmingham and East Antrim Harriers from Northern Ireland.

The event has been going since 1990, organised as part of the village's sports week. In 1999, the total eclipse of the sun put paid to the race because of fears that Cornwall would be gridlocked for days - the eclipse in the event turned out to be an over-hyped non-event.

Come Friday evening, there was a buzz in St Levan as car parked on the sports field, the announcer was trying to whip up excitement, and the sale of Cornish pasties from inside the village hall was going well.

The start on the main road outside the Methodist Chapel caught everyone by surprise as we set off past the duck pond at Polgigga and then a right hand through Trebehor. By the time we hit a long descent to the wonderfully named Bottoms, we were being caught by some of the fun runners who were haring past. One kid was wearing an iPod and was unaware that his shouts of "excuse me, excuse me!" could be heard in Plymouth.

The first couple of miles along country lanes to Bosfranken Farm and Penrose are hilly and twisty, but make for challenging running. The second half of the race is a lot easier and pleasant. The weather was humid. Sadly, views over the sea were not existent as the course was run inland, but there was great support as you re-entered St Levan and rounded off the 10km with a swift circuit around the sports field to the finish.

I placed 71st from 181 runners in a time of 46min 33sec. I honestly thought I had run a little faster, but with a race the following day and a 270-mile trip to get there, I was holding back.