Lucy Payne and Jacki Woon set new Club records at the Torbay Half Marathon

The 28^th running of the very popular seaside race, The Torbay Half Marathon took place on Sunday 23^rd June.

The route is a traffic free, two lap route, which starts and finishes on Paignton seafront, taking in the stunning coastal views across Torbay.

The runners firstly set off with a loop of Paignton Green, before heading off towards Torquay. Along the route, the historic Torre Abbey and the Princess Gardens were passed, before heading back towards Paignton.

Weather conditions were just about perfect for the race, and there were hundreds of spectators ready to cheer on their friends and loved ones.

There was a great turnout from the Teignbridge Trotters with 26 entrants. There were some fantastic performances amongst the team.

Jamie Barnett led the Trotters home, finishing in 4^th position overall, and 1^st in the 20-24 age category. Jamie clocked a time of 1:11:08.

Tim Pratt ran superbly well to finish in 24^th position, in a time of 1:19:18.

Two new Club records were also set! Lucy Payne broke her own FV65 record by 31 secs. Lucy’s new mark is 2:00:32, which placed her in 739^th position. Lucy’s great performance also won her the FV65 age category prize!! All in all, a great day’s work!!

Jacki Woon, not to be out done, also lowered her own FV55-59 Club record. Jacki’s new mark is now 1:37:51, which was also quick enough to gain her the FV55-59 category award, and 189^th position. Brilliant.

There were also new PB’s for Alison Jackson, David Bowen (by 4 mins), Scott Knight (2:16), Paul Dainton (11 mins), Alex Lyons (1:41), James Saunders (2:33). Well done to you all.

This was also David Bowens 10^th successive Torbay Half marathon appearance, a race he obviously enjoys?

The other Trotters positions and times were: 

Ian Langler (70, 1:27:48), Kris Ward (86, 1:29:02), James Saunders (108, 1:31:41), Susanna Goffe, our leading female finisher, (144, 1:34:36), Jason Trevenen (155, 1:35:11), Christian Robinson (173, 1:36:46), Andrew Fox (179, 1:37:14), Nigel Barnett (264, 1:41:39), Robert Cooper (265, 1:41:36), Sarah Pike (314, 1:44:05), Paul Dainton (356, 1:45:55), David Bowen (358, 1:46:22), Max Conroy (409, 1:47:17), Alex Lyons (456, 1:50:09), Graydon Widdicombe (484, 1:49:58), Peter Blakesley (488, 1:50:08), Scott Knight (521, 1:52:02), Karyll Hall (635, 1:56:02), Richard Keatley (788, 2:02:02), Alison Jackson (1119, 2:20:31), Teresa Holmes (1185, 2:26:08), Andy Distin (1237, 2:31:17).

Tom Merson, representing Exmouth Harriers AAC, won the race in an astonishing time of 1:07:10!!

The support from our non-running members around the course really made a difference, and helped their fellow Club members achieve such great times. So, a big thanks to them too!

On Saturday 22^nd June, The Giants Head Marathon took place in Dorset.

Seven Trotters took part in the event, with a spot of camping taking place on the eve of the race.

The race route was a very challenging and hilly one, but also very beautiful. The runners passed through the Syndling and Cerne Valleys, running under the famous Cerne Giant. This is an ancient naked hill figure near the village of Cerne Abbas. It stands 180 feet high, and depicts a standing nude male figure wielding a large club in its right hand and also an upright appendage for all to see!! Owned by the National Trust, the figure is outlined by shallow trenches cut in the turf and backfilled with chalk rubble.

Lance Mason led the Trotters home, finishing in a time of 4:27:51 to take 27^th place.

The other Trotters positions and times were: Neil Pallant (130, 5:41:55), Sally Ingledew (205, 6:06:46), Suzie Mills (251, 6:29:34), Sue Tremlett (272, 6:42:27), Karen O’Brien (273, 6:42:27), Lucy Evans (274, 6:42:27).

Suzie Mills run rewarded her with a new course PB by 1:18:14. An astonishing improvement!!

The event was won by Johnny Suttle, representing Queens Park Harriers, posting a great time of 3:17:23.

There were 395 finishers.

Ruth Johnson and brother, Mark Wotton, travelled to Norway, to take part in the Tromso Midnight Sun Marathon, held on Saturday 22^nd June, starting at 20:30pm!

There were other races on offer including a half marathon, 10k, 4.2k and an 800 metres race for the kids. 5505 runners took part in these races.

This was the 30^th anniversary of the race, with 14,000 runners taking their place on the start line for the main event. Runners from 35 countries took part, 260 from the UK to mark the anniversary, The Marathon Flame was lit and there was a big concert held.

This Marathon was held in Tromso, the Arctic capital, which lies 69 degrees north and about 350km above the Arctic Circle. Most of the city is surrounded by the sea, with a back drop of snow covered rugged mountains.

The route was mostly flat, but with a few steep inclines which followed the water’s edge. The weather was horrendous, with heavy rain and cold temperatures to contend with. Ruth said that she struggled to get warm throughout the race.

Ruth completed the race in 4:44:53 to finish in 781^st position. Mark finished in 838rd spot, in a time of 4:54:21.

Both performed admirably, as there were only 1005 finishers from the original 14,000. They both celebrated their heroics with a £12 pint after the race!!

Tom MacTaggart took part in the Forestry 100 Running series held at Haldon. This event is a unique 10k running series through the forests of England to celebrate 100 years of Forestry Commission.

It was a challenging, hilly, multi terrain course. Tom was our only Trotter on view, but he did us proud, finishing 22^nd out of the 178 finishers. Tom’s time was 53:59.

The winner was Neil Golding, representing Mendip TRC, breaking the tape in 42:32.

On Wednesday 19^th June, the 3rd running of the Summer Solstice Fell race took place on Dartmoor. A very hilly 5 miles that started and finished at the Dartmoor Inn in Merrivale.

The race organisers were Run Venture, who made sure the course was well marked and marshalled.

Two Teignbridge Trotters, Eleanor Taylor and Jimmy Donovan, tackled the race.

Jimmy finished in 37^th position, coming home in 56:00. Great run.

Eleanor crossed the finish line in 1:07:22, to finish in 53^rd place.

Andy Connor won the race in 39:55.

There were 69 runners