Trotters Here Trotters There Teignbridge Trotters Everywhere

The annual Mad March Hare 10k took place at Coypool in Plymouth at the weekend. The race starts and finishes at the speedway track and follows a cycle track along the river to Saltram House and back. The route out is a gentle climb culminating in a steeper hill past Saltram House before returning. In warm conditions Gary Watson, 47th in a time of 46.17 led the Teignbridge Trotters team home followed by Sharon (Fizz) Bowman in her first race of the day and was 68th and 1st FV45 in a time of 48.53. Then came Gary Caunter 80th in 50.55 then Jim Donovan completed the Trotter team 86th out of 161 finishers in 52.18.
 

Also on Sunday the final round of the Brooks Westward League Cross Country took place at Central park Plymouth. Following a fine morning the weather turned showery for the races making conditions underfoot a little slippery but this didn’t dampen the spirits of the Teignbridge Trotters. The routes comprised of loops and laps around the park. In the ladies’ race Eyvol Aston, back to racing after a long lay off through injury came home 28th in a strong time of 28.34. Making up ground behind her was Sharon (Fizz) Bowman hotfoot from The Mad March Hare, 36th in 30.14. Katrina Duignan was forced to withdraw from the race with a hamstring injury but continued to support her team mates. Next came Julie Crocker 41st in 34.11 who was 3rd FV45 lady in the series. Eleanor Taylor completed proceedings for the ladies 42nd out of 49 finishers in 34.27. Although not running on the day Lucy Payne won 1st FV60 prize for the series. In the men’s race both Dave Dunn and Mark Wotton seemed to be having trouble following the course and got a little lost. Lance Mason was first Trotter home 41st in 35.57 followed by John Crocker 63rd in 39.34 and Wilf Taylor 65th in 39.51. Roger Hales following a marathon the previous day was 84th in 43.30, Dave Dunn was 89th in an adventurous 47.33 having taken his unscheduled detour. Keith Anderson was 92nd out of 97 finishers in 50.34. Mark Wotton finished the course but never troubled the timekeepers.

Thanks to Fizz for these 2 reports
 

On Saturday 17th March the two Rogers (Smokes & Chair) headed off to Minehead to take part in the Adventure Hub Ultra/Marathon. Both races started at the unearthly time of 8am. There were about 35 runners who took on the 40 mile ultra and a dozen who opted for the 'Fun Run' distance of the marathon. Smokes and Chair opted for the latter and were glad they did when after only 2 minutes into the race, everyone was walking! That set the tone for the rest of the race, hills, hills and more hills. The course followed the coastal path towards Lynmouth. Unfortunately some of the course signage had been tampered with, resulting in many of the runners going the wrong way. Our Rogers both ended up missing the first of the three check points, veering off course by some margin! They actually got lost three times during the race, adding a further 6 miles to the overall distance. However they both agreed that the race was well worth doing, the views were stunning and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Sadly the official results were not out in time to make this report. But according to Chair's watch, they crossed the finish line in 5:57:30, which gives you some idea of the severity of the course!
Thanks to Chairman Rog for this account
 

Also at the weekend, in fine conditions, the inaugural Looe 10 Miler took place in Cornwall the first race organized by the Looe Pioneers. This well organized event, complete with a huge number of marshals, more than enough water and jelly babies attracted 105 runners. Amongst these were our very own Trotters Mark Wotton who finished 31st in 1.25.26 and Graham (Inky) Penn 39th in 1.29.28. Inky gives the following account ‘The course was, as expected, very challenging; you had no sooner gone up than you went down, then back up again etc etc! It was described as `Hillish & Hellish` so we had been warned.’ Both runners were rightly delighted with their day’s work.

Thanks Inky for notifying us on this race

Meanwhile further afield Emma Sidebotham was in Mid Wales to visit her mother on Mother’s Day but found time to fit in the Rhayader Round the Lakes 20 miler. Here is an account of the race as described by Simon Boobyer (Thanks Simon):
Emma Sidebotham incorporated visiting family for Mothers Day with entering The Rhayader Round The Lakes 20 mile Road Race in Mid Wales (with her injured boyfriend Simon supporting her in frustration!). This race is an ideal pre- London marathon run with the scenic event around the Picturesque and historic Élan Valley. Although not a PB potential course the combination of scenery the challenging accents, exciting descents and stunning scenery make this the perfect race and is highly recommended if you are willing to travel, with great reviews on runners world. The race starts and finishes in the small town of Rhayader with 9 of the 20 miles of the circuit running besides a series of reservoirs and dams which provides the city of Birmingham with its fresh water. Between the 3 and 6.5 mile point the steep accent of 300m reaches the top of Pen-this-wen which produces some stunning views where you continue along the exposed mountain road at 500m altitude, before descending back down towards the lakes. The surface was mainly country roads and lanes, with town streets at start and finish.
359 runners completed the race with Emma coming home in 112th place, in a very respectable time of 2:42hrs and was 17th female overall.

And finally Guy Roberts went continental for his first marathon where he chose the beautiful city of Rome for the 26.2 mile experience. The Rome Marathon attracts a truly international field and on the day 12,680 completed the course. Guy who is a delight to have around the club due to his ever present smile and determination is still a relative newcomer to running. He has put in a hard and sustained stint of training in preparation for this event and did fantastically well to finish 9,992nd in a time of 4.46.57.
 

Report compiled by Rod Payne

Photos: Top: Mark and Inky at Looe (Thanks Inky) Middle: Our girls at the Plymouth Cross Country (Thanks Fizz) Bottom: Chair and Smokes at Minehead (Thanks Chair)