Jules and Christian on the rostrum at Summer Plym Trail Marathons

Firstandlastrunning race organisers, made their comeback this weekend at the Plym Trail Half & Marathon weekend, having put into place all the necessary covid safety precautions. This was their belated summer event!

Situated on the edge of Dartmoor, the start took place at Clearbrook Village Hall. The runners set off with a short loop of the village, before heading down Cycle route 27 towards the outskirts of Plymouth, before climbing back towards the finish at the village hall. Marathoners had to complete this route twice!

Julian Scanes, Sharon and Paul Sharples travelled south to take part in the Marathon on Saturday 12^th. Conditions at race time were cool, but as the race developed the temperatures rose!

Julian continued his fine form, having run well last weekend at Reading. Julian clocked an impressive time of 3:20:16 to finish in 2^nd place.

Sharon and Paul also ran superbly well. Shaz finished in 13^th spot in a very respectable time of 4:41:14. Not to be out done, Paul clocked a great time of 4:20:30 to finish high up the order in 8^th place.

The winner of the Marathon was Mark Gregory, posting a time of 3:06:45.

There were 20 entrants.

On the Sunday, Christian Robinson, made his reappearance on the race scene, taking on the full marathon.

He came back with a bang, repeating Julian Scanes performance the previous day, finishing in the runner up position. Christian commented, that he went off to quick in the early stages of the race, which he paid for in the last few miles, coupled with some cramp spasms! He crossed the line in a pleasing time of 3:31:31.

Mathew Dalton, representing South Devon AC, took the spoils, winning in a time of 3:25:00.

There were 20 finishers.

Mark Wotton travelled to Martinhoe to take part in the Exmoor 10k. There was also a half and Ultra on offer.

The race location was staged in the lesser known western area of the National Park. These trails were not for the faint hearted, as they were tough! The route encompassed stiff climbs, long descents, open moorland, wooded valleys, and a stretch of coastline to behold. A true test of endurance!

The 2000 feet of elevation didn’t seem to deter Mark as the runners set off, two minutes apart. Mark completed the tough 10K in an impressive time of 1:26:39 to win the MV60 age category prize and finished in 40^th place overall.

Race winner was Eirin McDaid, crossing the line in 00:46:36.