Roger Hayes travels to Cornish Marathon to complete his 200th marathon

Roger Hayes, Chairman of Teignbridge Trotters since 1998, donned his beloved club shirt and travelled to Cornwall to take part in his 200th marathon on Sunday 5th November, 2023.

Roger, 56, started his marathon journey back in 1993, where he competed in New Forest Marathon on 12th September that year and finished in a very creditable time of 3:27:50.

It took nearly 14 years for him to claim his ultimate Personal Best, as he chipped away at his times over the years. He went to London Marathon in 2007, which he has now raced 18 times, and ran a fantastic time of 2:51:44. Claiming a sub-3 is an aspirational goal for many runners and Roger has

commented in the past that he believes there is no better feeling in marathon running than turning the corner with 400m to go at London Marathon and finishing on The Mall, knowing you’re going to get a PB.

In the next few years, his mind turned to joining the 100 Marathon Club. This club is for runners who have completed more than 100 official marathons or ultra marathons, and Roger joined that elusive club on 1 June 2013. However, what made this occasion even more special (and probably added some stress to the day!), is that he did it at the club’s Dartmoor Discovery 32-mile ultra marathon, which Roger was also Race Director of! A great day was had, and he finished in a time of 5:00:28 on this renowned challenging and hilly course.

His journey towards 200 has taken in various types of marathons including trail marathons, challenge events, road events and also foreign marathons, and not once has he recorded a Did Not Finish (DNF). Cornish Marathon is brilliantly organised by East Cornwall Harriers and on the day conditions were a mix of sunny spells and heavy showers. 389 started the race, and Roger completed the event for the fourth time, finishing in a great time of 3:39:46 for 56th position.

Huge congratulations to Roger.