A dunking for Nathan at Dalwoods.......................

A Dunking for Nathan but Spirits not Dampened at Dalwood
Sunday 27th February, dawned bright and sunny with promise of light breeze and the possibility of showers. Fourteen royal-blue clad Teignbridge Trotters travelled to East Devon to the quaint little village of Dalwood, just outside of Axminster for the" Dalwood 3 Hills Challenge" supported by Axe Valley Runners.
Several Trotters were new to the race with others having previously experienced the delights of the 10 mile multi-terrain course taking in three and a half steep hills. Passing through fields, streams and rivers en-route, it is fair to say that all competitors were taken by surprise by the seriously wet and boggy conditions that added greatly to the difficulty of an already tough circuit.

Daryl 'Tarquin' Milford, despite feeling somewhat under the weather, had to draw on his reserves of fitness and encountered many battles with other runners along the way to finish 8th out of 138 finishers in 1:18.00. It was another 12 minutes before the next Trotter appeared in the form of a somewhat jaded Ben Epps, still showing the effects of his Stag Night on Friday, finishing 43rd in 1:30.38.

There then followed a battle supreme between Roger 'Smokes' Hales, Nathan Elphick and Tracy Elphick. It appeared that the 2 men were going to beat Tracy, with Nathan due to celebrate a long awaited victory over 'the wife'. However in a moment of spontaneous, light-hearted madness there was an inexplicable coming together of the men that left Nathan prone in the river. Smokes crossed the line and Tracy passed Nathan with a cheeky wave to take next spot. Amongst all of this horse play and frivolity the three took 56th, 57th and 58th spots in 1:35.14, 15 and 19 seconds respectively with Nathan consoled by a massive improvement on last year of 3 minutes and 30 seconds and Tracey knocking 3 minutes 52 seconds off her time last year.

Next trotter home and slightly further up the pecking order than is customary was Rod Payne in 73rd place in 1:40.02 followed by John Caunter, currently short of training miles 80th in 1:41.41. Mark Wotton was 101st in 1:53.04 closely followed by Steve Rawlinson 102nd in 1:53.12. Following her recently completed Quadzilla (4 marathons in 4 days), Sally Ingledew showed her all-round prowess finishing 107th in 1:54.50. To underline the severity of the conditions all of the remaining Trotters were unable to beat the 2 hour barrier (last year none were over 2 hours). Tina Caunter, still nursing a niggling hip problem and having to be careful of conditions underfoot, occupied 120th place in 2:01.33, Jim Donovan, still on his comeback trail, was 122nd in 2:03.06, Stella Imong, now frequently seen and continuing to impress was 124th in 2:05.29. Eleanor Taylor, though far from recovery from a recent viral infection, battled her way bravely around the course to finish 136th in 2:09.23.

It is good to report that all participants got back safely having been cheered on by some friendly and enthusiastic marshals and the post-race atmosphere supplemented by hot drinks and cakes went a long way to revive the spirits of the weary runners. (compiled by Rod Payne)

Chris Rogers and Richard Varley did the second of the "Great West Warm-up Series " on the same Sunday,a 10k in Exeter on a 4-lap course along the River Exe and around the park. There were 71 finishers.

Richard ran really well, 46:16 and was 26th. Chris was 48th, in 53:52. His first 10k since starting Trotter training, and four minutes off his PB, so signs that Rod's vocal encouragement on a Wednesday is starting to have an effect! Final 10k of the series is on March 27, so hopefully they will improve on these times.

Photos-Top-Smokes (Roger Hales), Nathan and Tracey Elphick battle it out! Middle-John Caunter smiles as the end is in sight .Bottom-Stella is glad it's all over!(Photos thanks to Lucy Payne)

Reports put together by Sharon(Fizz)Bowman