Deb Breaks Record

Two dozen Trotters toed the line at Exeter Quay for the traditional year opening First Chance 10k race. And it resulted in a club record and three top three age group races is a great haul for club. First Trotter home was Jamie Barnett, the multiple club record holder is once again in good shape and he clocked an impressive 33:03 for 5^th place.

James Saunders picked up from where he left off last year with a solid run, dipping below 40 minutes with 39:50 on 64^th place, making hm the second male over 60 overall. Helen Anthony placed as third fastest female over 40 in 42:07 in 95^th and Mandy Wheeler was 2^nd F50 in 44:24, placing 138^th overall. But the big winner of the day was Deb Hart who claimed a club record for F60, clocking 52:49 for 294^th.

The other Trotter finishers were James Long (76^th, 40:29), Mandy Wheeler (138^th, 44:24), Alan Kember (153^rd, 44:55), Jacki Woon (162^nd, 45:23), Jemma Bennett (186t, 47:15), Debbie Elphick (187^th, 47:17), Tim Synge (252^nd, 50:51), Joanna Randall (253^rd, 50:52), Patricia Atkins (288^th, 52:28), Corinne Bright (303^rd, 53:56), Callum Price (315^th, 54:17), Rod Payne (358^th, 56:48), Keith Anderson (361^st, 57:02), Lucy Evans (374^th, 57:37), Laura Law (404^th, 59:19), Joanna Griffin (455^th, 63:23), Richard Keatley (480^th, 65:12), Kay Shilabeer (482^nd, 65:25), Teresa Holmes (530^th, 71:42) and Claire Farrar (551^st, 77:35). There were 565 finishers overall.

The seasonal Plym Trail Marathon events returned over the weekend of 7 and 8 January and there was Trotter representation on both dates. First up on Saturday was Derek Skinner who encountered a wet, but mild day. Off the back of a bout of a virus, he got the job done in 4:33:02, which placed his fourth among 13 marathon runners on the day. 24 hours later and it was over to Karen O’Brien and Sue Tremlett and the dynamic duo came home in 5:27:47 to be joint fifth from eight marathon runners.

But it wasn’t plain sailing with thunder, lightning, hail and heavy rain all playing their part to create a tough day of running.

Meanwhile, Tamsin Cook was another to take on a tough challenge, taking on the Sir Walter Raleigh Round. The half marathon visits the birthplace of Sir Walter Raleigh and the countryside where he spent time as a child. It includes quiet back lanes, unsurfaced county roads, little known footpaths, the Otter valley, High Peak, the Jurassic Coast and a dismantled railway. The race starts and finishes in the coastal town of Budleigh Salterton. Tamsin finished in 114^th in 3:33:00. There were 132 finishers.