Successes get September off to a good start!

Trotters turned out for Bridgwater’s half marathon on Sunday 6 September and with yet more Championship points up for grabs there was all to play for and some pleasing personal results were recorded.

Tim Pratt was up and at ‘em coming seventh overall in bang-on 1:20.00. Tim continues to be at the sharp end of the racing scene and a sub-1:20 cannot be far away for this talented young man.

Ladies captain Helen Anthony - again - put in a great performance to clock 1:27.42 for 26th overall and third female. Despite being relatively new to the club, Kevin Woodard is making a big impression clocking 1:30.53 and 38th overall. He’s another who’ll have his sights already set on a sub 1:30 - something that’s well within his reach if he continues his good work with his training. Iain Large was not far behind, pushing on to clock 1:30.58 39th.

Finishers were: Hannah Walsh 1:34.26 51st, Graydon Widdicombe 1:35.33 (personal best) 59th, Mandy Wheeler 1:37.20 64th, Tom Besford 1:47.00 106th, Richard Keatley 1:52.31 140th, Stu Moulson 1:54.21 151st, Keith Anderson 1:55.06 158th, Kevin Besford 1:56.30 166th, Eleanor Taylor 1:59.04 183rd, Emily Levey 2:02.51 201st, Dave Dunn 2:02.53 202nd, Tina Caunter 2:07.09 223rd, Bev Dennis 2:13.46 243rd, Kim Nichols 2:17.19 262nd

*Neil Pallant and Paul Sharples Snr lined up with 53 other runners to complete the City to Sea 23 race on Saturday September 5. There are three challenges people can take on: a 53-mile ultra a 23-mile run or a 23-mile walk. The chaps went for the 23 mile run which starts from Exeter Quayside and takes a scenic route to Babbacombe Downs, Torquay. Paul Sharples did it in 4.13.20 for 17th place and Neil Pallant crossed the line in 4:34.36 and 27th.

*The Run Exe series landed a clutch of accolades for the Trotters. The Run Exe Summer 5k Series involves one race per month with runners needing to do five of the six races to complete the series, with an average of the best five times to count towards a personal final score. However runners can just pick and choose which ones they want to do if they are chasing 5k PBs.

Age category prizes were awarded for the series to Jennie Roberts (first FV40) and Jamie Barnett (second MU20). Jamie, notably, scored his 5k PB in the final race on Tuesday 1 September clocking 17.55 and Jennie has had a really strong series, making huge improvements to her running times.

*Lovely Lustleigh’s 10k was the destination for race-ready Royal Blues on Monday 31 August. This popular Club Championship race is part of the village’s annual fair and regularly attracts a strong field of competitors.

Tim Pratt was fifth in 40.23 and an impressive Roger Easterbrook was close behind clocking 40.31 for sixth in the final standings.

The Trottettes came away with a haul of prizes including first and second teams (Sarah Schutte, Jacki Woon; Jennie Roberts, Bev Dennis and Tina Caunter). Sarah Schutte also had the honour of being first Lustleigh lady in 51.39 for 50th overall. The men did good too, bagging second team prize (Tim Pratt, Roger Easterbrook and Ronnie Jones).

Some 135 runners took part with Trotters being: Ronnie Jones 41.19 10th, Roger Hayes 46.28 25th, Kevin Woodard 47.01 27th, Dermot Smyth 49.35 39th, Roger ‘Smokes’ Hales 49.52 41st, Tracy Elphick 49.52 42nd, Peter Blakesley 50.24 43rd, Jon Grimes 50.38 45th, Jacki Woon 52.04 53rd, Louise Gentry 52.54 57th, Jim Donovan 53.17 58th, John Tweedie 53.20 59th, Craig Churchill 53.54 62nd, Stu Moulson 56.02 72nd, Adrian Handley 56.09 73rd, Nathan Elphick 57.20 77th, Dave McMorrow 57.24 78th, Paul Johns 57.46 82nd, Richard Keatley 58.00 83rd, Rex Barnes 59.15 89th, Jennie Roberts 1:01.40 98th, Andrew Watson 1:02.02 102nd, Bev Dennis 1:02.45 104th, Tina Caunter 1:05.28 112th, Eleanor Taylor 1:05.58 116th, Tamsin Cook 1:06.28 119th, Lisa Godfrey 1:06.49 121st, Graham Penn 1:07.07 122nd, Sharon Hutchins 1:07.46 123rd, Kim Nichols 1:10.37 126th.

*Roger Easterbrook and Jim Donovan represented the Royal Blues at Dartmouth Royal Regatta’s Road Race on Saturday 29 August. It is a testing 5.1 mile course which takes the runners along the South Embankment, up Weeke Hill before levelling out through Stoke Fleming and turning back towards Little Dartmouth and the long run back to the finish via the South Embankment on top of Boatfloat bridge. Roger was 11th in 31.25 and Jim clocked 41.43 for 89th. There were 172 finishers.

*Geoff Davey competed in the Cotswold Classic middle distance triathlon on August 23 2015 coming 101st in a total time of 4:43.47 (swim 38.25, cycle 2:30.40 and run 1:31.10).

Report by Emma Pearcy.

Photos show a smiling Neil Pallant and Paul Sharples Snr at the gruelling City to Sea 23, a triumphant Jamie Barnett and Jennie Roberts at the Run Exe Summer 5k Series and Graydon Widdicombe looking cool as cucumber scoring a PB at Bridgwater Half Marathon.

Thanks to Jennie Roberts, Neil Pallant and Graydon Widdicombe for the pix.