A busy weekend including a Memorial 10K, an Ultra, a unique marathon and a club championship race

On Sunday 22^nd May, East Allington Primary School again held a 3K Fun Run and 10K in memory of Claire Widdicombe, who was a well-loved teacher at the school and sadly passed away unexpectedly in September 2014.

This is the second running of the event and it is excellently organised by staff and volunteers at the school and as well as the two races, the event has a PA system, bouncy castle and a timing clock, as well as plenty of refreshments for runners and spectators.

25 Teignbridge Trotters again flocked to the event to take on the challenging but very picturesque 10K course. The day before had seen very bad weather with torrential rain, but on the day of the event the sun came out and at the start the conditions were perfect.

At the end, there was plenty of cake and a rice dish on offer, which went down very well, and a few Trotters went to the local pub for a meal and a drink afterwards.

All-in-all, it was a great day, with many people commenting on how well the school had done in organising it, and creating a fantastic atmosphere.

82 runners finished the race, and full Trotter results were:

Roger Hayes (43:41, 3), Tom Besford (45:23, 9), Chris Broadbent (45:30, 10), Derek Skinner (46:58, 12), Bruce Campbell (47:24, 14), Eyvoll Aston (20, 48:43), Clare Youngman (51:10, 26), Keith Anderson (53:15, 32), Oli Prouse (53:47, 34), Peter Aston (54:34, 35), Mark Wotton (54:39, 36), Kevin Besford (55:57, 37), Graydon Widdicombe (57:05, 41), Alex Wallace (57:21, 42), Jacki Woon (57:36, 43), Kirsty Bowman (61:39, 54), Sharon Bowman (62:06, 56), Adrian Youngman (63:23, 60), Beverley Dennis (64:42, 63), Tim Hartley (64:55, 64), Kim Nichols (67:49, 67), Katrina Zaple (68:17, 69), Mark Walker (71:10, 75), Suzie Mills (72:35, 76) and Jo Billyard (76:40, 77).

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Also on Sunday, Sally Ingledew and Lance Mason took part in the Cape Wrath Marathon, which takes place in the Highlands of Scotland and goes past the famous Stevenson lighthouse in Cape Wrath. The event is quite unique as on the return leg, timing is stopped for a ferry journey back across the Kyle, and the timing is restarted at Landside.  Also, the race website says this of the event: “It is essential that every participant understands that this is quite unlike a normal road race.  It is extremely challenging, including a climb of over 2,415 feet and is the most North Westerly and probably the most demanding marathon on mainland Britain”.  So, it is quite a challenge!

Sally did 4.30 and had a good run for 66^th place. Lance did 3:21 for 8th overall, and 1st V50.

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Allen Taylor travelled to Wiltshire to take part in the The Ox Ultra Marathon, organised by White Star Running on Sunday 22nd. The course is held on a tough, hilly and muddy course, and it a 36-mile race. Allen finished a brilliant 5th overall out of 106 finishers, in a time of 5:12:44.

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On Saturday, it was the Muskies Madness 5.5 race, which is part of the club championship and is organised by Plymouth Musketeers Running Club. The race route starts and finishes at King's Tamerton Community Centre in Plymouth, and is a multi-terrain undulating course on woodland track, riverside path and roadside pavement.

With four Trotters in the top 7, Tim Pratt finished in second overall with a great time of 34:14. 153 runners finished the race, and other Trotter results were:

Roger Easterbrook (34:51, 4), Kevin Woodard (35:35, 6), Geoff Davey (35:47, 7), Craig Churchill (39:35, 16), Gary Watson (43:23, 33), Pete Hayward (44:52, 42), Hannah Jones (47:11, 47), Eleanor Taylor (50:55, 74), Tina Caunter (52:25, 85) and Jo Billyard (58:35, 117).

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Three Trotters travelled to the Burrator 10K on Sunday where there 460 finishers. Trotter results were Craig Hobson (43:19, 43), Kathryn Steemson (53:52, 185) and Jennie Roberts (54:11, 194).

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Thanks for the contributions from Lance Mason and Allen Taylor

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PS, can I just use this opportunity to say again how much I enjoyed the East Allington 10K, and how pleased I am that so many Trotters were able to make it a great event.  Thanks to all who were able to attend!  As always, there are a few tweaks that can be made to make the event event better for next year, and I've fed those back to the school.  But it was a great turnout, and another great event.  Thanks.