Tough events for the Trotters this weekend.......

On Saturday 19th May Roger Hayes took part in a 24 hour challenge in Canterbury in Kent, run on a 6.65 mile loop which was mostly off road. When the 34 runners started at 1pm the conditions were warm and sunny. Refuelling took place after each lap. Roger ran until 1.30am but by then it was freezing cold ith heavy rain. By this time he was too cold to continue as he couldn't generate enough body heat from the speed of his running! He still managed to cover 59 miles but was disappointed not to achieve his target of 100 miles! Only two runners managed that. But in his own words-“sometimes you know when to call it a day!”

On Sunday 20th May eight Trotters took themselves up to Ottery St Mary to take part in the Annual “Karen Hall Ottery 10K Race” organised by Nick Hall of Hall & Scott Estate Agents in memory of his late wife Karen. It started and finished at the cricket club in the village and was run on undulating roads in perfect running conditions. Peter Royle was first Trotter across the line in 43.58 and 41st followed by Craig Churchill in 47.24 for 72nd. Graham Penn posted 48.30 and 82nd with Louise Hamer next in 48.52 and 87th and Jimmy Donovan 109th in 51.20. Michelle Willocks-Watts was next in 53.16 and 126th and Beverley Dennis, running her 1st 10km as a Trotter, appeared next in 26.06 and 142nd. Katrina Duignan completed the Trotter line-up with 58.03 and 155th.

Down in Crewekerne Graeme Baker was lone Trotter in the “Crewkerne 10Km” on a cold damp morning. The first 500 metres were up a 1 in 4 hill (which took him 3mins 45 seconds) and the rest was just endless similar hills. This was reflected in the slow times; only 2 finished inside 36 minutes. Graeme managed a creditable 53.04 and was 95th out of 185. Ellie Sutcliffe our second claim member won the ladies event and "Queen of the Hills" title too.

Down in St Austell 5 Trotters decided to give the first running of the “Imerys Clay Country Half and Marathon” a try. The event was decided upon after the discovery that the Eden Marathon and Half would not take place this year. St Austell Running Club hosted the event and it started and finished at Cornwall College. It was a very tough undulating course run mainly off road on the clay pit trails and woodland tracks. The marathoners branched off at around 12 miles to complete another loop. Gary Clark posted 9th place with a strong run of 3.37.31 with Roger Hales sprinting to the line in 4.01.24 and 22nd and Allen Taylor, who despite running with a head cold, did 4.01.32 and 23rd. Only 46 entered and completed the event. The half marathon had 199 runners with Sharon Bowman running in strongly in 2.09.01 for 140th. Caroline Clark also looked good after the tough course  and did 2.10.00 in 142nd. Stuart Parkes who is second claim did 3.49.33 and was 18th.

Also on Sunday lone marathoner Mark Wotton took himself to the Lake District to take part in the “Brathay Windermere marathon”. It starts outside Brathay Hall with the hilly course taking in the villages of Hawkeshead, Bowness, and Ambleside. It was a very well marshalled course with plenty of water stations and loads of support around the course. After picking up an injury at around 15 miles and then getting a bit of treatment from the first aid station, Mark carried on up Ice Cream hill (yes it really is called that) and on to the finish, where he clocked a time of 4.30.00.

Written by Sharon Bowman

PHOTOS-TOP-The Clays gang MIDDLE -Ottery eight BOTTOM-Michelle and Bev after the 10km