Trotters Sparkle In Coastal Sun

Unseasonably warm conditions did not deter a quintet of hardy Trotters at the Total Coastal races on Saturday 28 March.

Faced with 10k, half marathon and ultra (30 mile) distances on the South West Coast Path, runners faced a daunting course of climbs and descents. In the 10k event, Susanna Westgate found it “tough”, but still notched a top 10 finish. She placed 9^th overall and 4^th woman in 1:48:12. In the half marathon, Darren Petch added another 13 miler to his CV, placing 50^th in 4:13:30.

There were 23 finishers and 64 finishers in the 10k and half marathon respectively. The 30 mile ultra started in Kingswear and followed the path right through to Shaldon where the finish line is immediately in front of The Ness pub. Neil Pallant, Gavin Forbes and Ruth Johnson stepped up to the challenge.

In a team effort, Pallant and Forbes finished side-by-side in 8:47:25 to officially place 88^th and 89^th. Afterwards, Neil said: “I did find it very tough due to the last two weekends of a marathon and an ultra. 

“The route itself hosted some lovely views with the famous support from the many volunteers along the way. This race can boast over 6000 feet of elevation over the 30miles towards Shaldon. There was a short section between Goodrington and the Imperial Hotel which was tarmac then back on to the coast path with more climbs and even more steps to cope with.”

To support the event organisers, team mate Ruth Johnson stepped into the role of race sweeper and brought home the 113-strong field in 10:10:23. “I was in the race, but ended up switching to sweeping last minute, as the original ones got hit with Covid on Friday,” said Ruth afterwards. I was gutted to be honest, because it's such a hard one, I wouldn't usually choose to go back another year, but I kind of feel I have to now!”

Well done to all!