Trotters cannot resist a swift Half

Twenty eight Teignbridge Trotters made the annual pilgrimage to Bideford on Sunday, for the 16th running of the Bideford AAC hosted Half Marathon. The course is a mixture of road and disused railway track, now in use as part of the Tarka Trail. With only a few major hills to contend with on the approach to Torrington, the event is known as the swift Half. Conditions were bright and dry, with a keen easterly wind to keep the runners cool.

Ian Langler led the Royal Blues home in a very respectable 1:22:59, 31st overall in a field of 886 finishers. Wavell Vigers in 34th position was pushing the boundaries towards a new distance PB, with a time of 1:23:37 (1:53 off previous best). Ewan Walton crossed the line next, 57th in a fine time of 1:26:01, followed by Tom Burman in 1:29:28. James Henderson was in good form, posting 1:33:30, with Bruce Campbell at 1:34:27, a huge improvement of 14:03 from his previous and first such event.

First lady Trotter and 3rd FV35, was Eyvol Aston in 1:34:36 with Tracy Elphick close behind in 1:34:50. Next came Mark Hamling (1:35:39) and Mark Wotton (1:38:27). Nathan Elphick, running his first Half Marathon, pulled out all the stops and roared home in a time of 1:38:55, incredibly doing so after working a night shift!

Remaining runners were: John Caunter (1:40:15), Adrian Bailey (1:41:25), Nigel Penwarden (1:41:18), Nikki Kennard with a course PB (1:42:51), Dave Dunn (1:43:33), Gary Watson doing a superbly accurate job as 1:45:00 pace man (1:44:40), Sue Brown 1:44:34 (6:15 improvement on her previous course best) and Belinda Collins, sticking like glue to the pace man (1:45:16)!

Completing the line up were: Graeme Baker (1:48:00), Peter Blakesley (1:48:14), Graham Penn, improving on his 2008 time by 2:53 (1:50:10), Julia Proctor (1:51:26), Stephen Wallace (1:51:42), Tina Caunter (1:53:43), Marsha Garrard (1:57:53), Steve Rawlinson (1:57:53) and Amanda Milverton, with a time of 2:08:45 - a 28 second improvement on 2008.

Meanwhile, five hardy souls were braving the strong icy head winds in Redruth at the 34th Duchy Marathon and 7th Duchy 20, hosted by Cornwall AC. Roger Hayes was first of two Trotters to pass the post in the full 26.2 mile event, 24th in a field of 201 finishers, with a very slick 3:20:06. Sally Ingledew, recently arrived from the Teign Valley RC and running her 20th such event, finished in 4:38:15.

The 20 mile event attracted 172 runners and 3rd to cross the finish line was Dave Tomlin in an awe inspiring 2:03:58. Daryl Milford was 18th in 2:21:00 with Sharon Bowman 89th with a well earned 3:04:09.

Back in Devon, the busy weekend continued with the infamous Grizzly (Beauty & the Beach) at Seaton, organised by Axe Valley Runners. A further five Trotters were among the 1,491 competitors tackling the 20 mile multi terrain event, which includes shingle beaches, cliff paths and deep muddy bogs. This year`s course however contained more hills and fewer surfaced roads. Unfortunately, exact timings are unavailable, but the following all completed the course to qualify for a pink T-shirt: 218th Mark Becker (3:21), 254th Stuart Moulson (3:24), 398th David Evans (3:35), 482nd Ian Bowles (3:41) and 1,336th Joanna Becker (4:58). Both Mark and Joanna were Grizzly first timers.

To complete the round up of Sunday`s events, lone Trotter Kevin Besford flew the flag at the Bath Half Marathon, joining over 10,000 others to post a time of 2:05:51.

On Sunday of last weekend, seventeen runners represented the club at the Dalwood 3 Hills Challenge between Honiton and Axminster. The multi terrain event of approximately ten miles is extremely challenging in places, but the conditions were ideal, albeit rather muddy in places.

First Trotter Dave Tomlin ran a fine race, crossing the line 3rd in a field of 112 finishers with a time of 1:15:48. Daryl Milford was next home, 8th overall in 1:19:06, followed by Simon Boobyer 14th and 1:23:50.

Remaining team members were: Ewan Walton (1:26:26), Ian Langler (1:34:51), Emma Sidebotham (1:35:05), Tracy Elphick (1:35:07), Mark Wotton (1:36:23), Nathan Elphick (1:38:33), Jim Donovan (1:41:31), John Caunter (1:41:37), Nigel Penwarden (1:41:39), Adrian Mawson (1:42:24), Stephen Wallace (1:55:13), Tina Caunter (1:57:43), Steve Rawlinson (1:58:40) and Sharon Bowman (1:59:14).

The following evening saw the fifth and final round of the winter 3k series in Exeter, with all three club competitors taking away prizes. In the D race, John Caunter completed the course in 12:12, 10th out of 16 runners, to take 3rd MV55 overall. Mark Wotton was 3rd out of 16 in the E race, with a time of 12:22 and took the award for 3rd MV45 for the series. Tina Caunter fared well with her time of 14:37 in the F race, 8th out of 17 to take 2nd FV50.

Photo`s:

Upper: (L to R) Eyvol Aston, Tina Caunter, John Caunter, Graham Penn, Mark Wotton & 1:45 pace man Gary Watson, before the start of the Bideford Half Marathon.

Lower: (L to R) Dave Tomlin, Sharon Bowman, Daryl Milford & Roger Hayes after the two Duchy events.