Teignbridge Trotters staged the annual Newton Abbot Dornafield Ladies 10K on Sunday 25^th September, with a 10:00 am start time. The race started and finished at the beautiful Dornafield Caravan and Camping site.

This was the 25th running of this very popular ladies race at this superb venue. The scenic course followed undulating rural roads throughout, with little traffic, and passed through local hamlets of Denbury and Ogwell.

In February 2021, the owner of Dornafield Farm, Mr Peter Dewhirst, sadly passed away. The Dewhirst family have always supported the race. To honour Peter, a Memorial Cup will be presented to the winner.

This year’s chosen charity, chosen by the Dewhirst family was Bowel Cancer UK. Since the inaugural race, £32,500 has been raised for the charity.

The weather conditions on the day were just about perfect, with dry sunny conditions.

All our lady trotters ran superbly and represented the Club admirably.

Chloe Olford led home a large entry from the host Club, finishing in 3rd place whilst clocking a great time of 00:41:20.

Elizabeth Nuttall also finished in the top ten with a 9^th place finish. Elizabeth completed the testing course in 00:44:12.

There were 2^nd placed finishes for Elizabeth Nuttall, Mandy Wheeler and Jacki Woon in their respective age categories. The trio were also part of the winning team alongside Chloe Olford. Well done ladies.

The other positions and times: Mandy Wheeler (11, 00:44:50), Jacki Woon (14, 00:44:54), Melanie Sheehan (19, 00:45:58), Jemma Bennett (28, 00:48:27), Kathryn Steemson (30, 00:48:52), Kate Heaton (33, 00:49:32), Isabelle Cummins (34, 00:49:47), Tracy Elphick (40, 00:51:30), Caroline Bowden (51, 00:53:15), Deb Hart (52, 00:53:26), Corinne Bright (54, 00:53:45), Patricia Atkins (57, 00:54:05), Joanna Randall (66, 00:55:12), Clare Youngman (73, 00:55:42), Shelley Rattlidge (79, 00:56:05), Dominique Harcourt (84, 00:56:53), Sarah Burningham (94, 00:57:42), Caroline Hayes (97, 00:58:10), Eyvoll Aston (98, 00:58:15), Sarah Blanchard (112, 00:59:33), Yasemin Jeffrey (116, 00:59:52), Alexis Wilson (120, 01:00:16), Stephanie Ross (132, 01:01:49), Joanna Griffin (135, 01:02:33), Victoria Ratcliffe (158, 01:05:29), Lara Law (176, 01:09:31), Lucy Evans (177 ,01:09:31), Claire Farrar (194, 01:17:09), Victoria Hales (198, 01:19:05).

The winner of the Peter Dewhirst Memorial Cup, presented by Peter’s son, Simon, was Gill Pearson representing Yeovil Town RC. Gill stormed to victory, winning in a time 00:39:42.

There were 212 finishers.

All finishers were presented with a unique print from local artist, John Charles Skinner. The runner’s race position was used as the print number.

There were the legendary Trotter cakes on sale. Thanks to Kate Williamson and her team for their hard work, and of course the budding Club bakers!

The event was superbly organised by the race director, Jason Trevenen, ably assisted by Kate Williamson and chief marshal, Nigel Barnett. The feedback from the competitors was very positive, particularly enthusing about the very supportive marshals.

Thanks must go to race sponsors, Sibelco, who have again sponsored all the Teignbridge Trotters events again this year.

The Bradleys Exmouth 10K was held on Sunday 25^th September with a 9:00am start. A cool sunny morning with a light northerly breeze greeted the runners.

This very popular race, was run on flat tarmac and was officially measured. The race started on Exmouth seafront before heading towards Orcombe Point, looping around the flag poles before heading back along the full length of the seafront. At this point another tight turn was met before heading back to the start, before the start of the second lap.

Four Teignbridge Trotters lined up for this fast and furious race. James Long was still recovering from his UTMB CCC 100km race in Chamonix only two weeks ago! James was the 7^th GB athlete to complete the epic challenge. So although he had the endurance, had he lost his pace? Seemingly not! James finished in second spot, posting a rapid time of 00:37:04.

In 6^th place was Philip Hamling, who also clocked a cracking time of 00:39:01. Philip out sprinted James Saunders in the last 100 metres to push down James to 7^th place.

James posted a great time of 00:39:05 to equal the MV60 Club record held by David Foster in 1994. His time was also a 00:01:41 personal best.

Matthew Doye made it two races this weekend, finish in 40^th place after racing at Padstow on Saturday. Matthew clocked a time of 00:48:20, and in doing so beat his previous best time by 00:1:13.

The Jewsons Barnstaple Half & Marathon took place on Sunday 25th September. This increasingly popular race was organised by North Devon Runners.

Kris Ward, Debbie Proctor and future husband Ben Elphick travelled to the North Devon coast on a cool, sunny morning.

The Marathon started at 9.00am and headed down the north side of the River Taw first, which meant tackling the airbase at miles 7-9. The runners tracked back to Barnstaple for the start of the second half of the race, which then headed along the other side of the river bank, passing through the villages of Fremington and Yelland. The final 5 miles back to the finish followed the rivers course back into the centre of Barnstaple.

Kris Ward ran magnificently as he finished in 9^th place in a rapid time of 03:05:13.

There were no official aid stations so Ben provided Debbie with her energy drinks whilst following on his bike? The team effort paid dividends as Debbie ran a well-paced race despite suffering with some cramping issues towards the end. Debbie was well pleased with her finish time of 03:48:30. She was the 5^th female home whilst finishing 44^th overall.

Derek Skinner took to the skies as he made his way to Berlin to represent the Club in the Marathon, part of the World Major Marathons!

Berlin is the fastest Marathon course in the world, and Derek was fortunate to witness first hand another remarkable performance by Eliud Kipchoge who broke his own world record set in 2018. The new mark is now 02:01:09.

The route took the runners past the main sights of Berlin such as Reichstag, the Siegessaule, Berliner Dom, Brandenburg and Postdamer. Having run past these historic sights meant that the runners had travelled in a large loop of the city.

The finish was a memorable one, as the runners ran through the Brandenburg Gates. This 18^th Century monument has come to symbolize peace and unity and stands for the reunification of East and West Germany.

Due to the stature of the race, this was primarily a race for elite and Club runners alike, with very few fun runners in fancy dress running for charities.

Derek ran a sub 4 hour marathon yet again. His time of 03:59:40 placed him well up the leader board amongst the 45,000 runners.

This city Marathon was very well supported, with streams of spectators lining the streets. There were also cheering zones and live music to help with the jovial atmosphere.

On Saturday 24^th September, Tough Runner launched a new event for the racing calendar. The Padstow Epic 10K & Half Marathon started and finished at the beautiful Prideaux Place and was chiefly run on trails. The route took the runners around the surrounding countryside taking in some amazing panoramic views.

Matthew Doye was the Club’s sole representative in the 10K, and was making his racing comeback after some injury problems of late.

Matthew made a great return by finishing in 16^th place, clocking a time of 00:57:33. Matthew also finished 2^nd in the senior male age category.

There were 89 finishers.