On Sunday 5th March, a large contingent of Teignbridge Trotters travelled to North Devon to take part in the very popular Bideford Half Marathon.

This popular Half Marathon falls at an ideal time with the Spring Marathons just around the corner! Therefore the race attracts runners from far and wide, to gauge where their fitness levels are at this point in their training blocks. The event was organised by Bideford Amateur Athletics Club, locally known as the Bideford Blues. The club was formed in 1870 as a gymnastic club, but it wasn’t until 1980 that the running club was formed.

The course start and finish was situated very close to the athletics club, and took the runners through magnificent countryside alongside the River Torridge between Bideford and Great Torrington. The course was run half on roads and half on the Tarka Trail. The runners also had to negotiate a tunnel at the 10 mile point. The race would be described as moderately flat, with one or two sharpish hills, especially at mile 3.

The weather conditions at start time were a wee bit chilly, dry and very little wind. 21Trotters lined up for the 5th Club Championship race of the season.

Teignbridge Trotters highest placed finisher was the talented youngster Hamish Rea. This was his debut half marathon and he smashed it, posting a superb time of 01:16:22 to take 26^th place.

Second Trotter home was Kevin Woodard, struggling with injury of late, but still performed well to clock a time of 01:19:53 to finish 54^th overall.

A special mention must go to Sam Barnes, who also targeted this race for his first competitive Half. Sam put in a hugely impressive and very promising run to post a great time of 01:21:35 to finish in 62^nd spot

There were some outstanding performances from many of our Trotters, with silverware won and personal bests smashed.

Jacki Woon was the first female Trotter home finishing in 1:37:13 to claim 211^th place. In doing so Jacki added another piece of silverware for the mantle piece by winning the FV55 age category.

Alan Kember also collected a nice bottle of fiz and a trophy for his fine run. Alan won the MV65 age category due to his cracking time of 01:36:22 and 196^th place.

James Saunders beat his own MV60 Club record by 00:01:20 whilst clocking a time of 01:25:25 to finish in 89^th place. James also won the MV60 age category prize. London is his next big target!

There were some other notable performances today that deserve a mention. The ever improving Debbie Elphick clocked a hugely impressive time of 01:38:33 to finish 228^th. In doing so, Debbie sliced a huge 3 minutes off her previous best time! Steven Major set a new PB when posting a time of 01:50:20 to finish 418^th and Duncan Knight clipped one minute of his previous best time whilst finishing 154^th. Duncan’s new target time is now 01:32:12.

The other positions and times were as follows: Julian Scanes (86, 01:24:53), Tim Hassell (181, 01:35:12), Andy Gillson (193, 01:35:25), Derek Skinner (241, 01:39:41), Joanna Randall (345, 01:45:53), Patricia Atkins (447, 01:52:18), Robert Faulkner (529, 01:55:42), Corinne Bright (545, 01:57:24), Chris Andrews (582, 02:00:55), Eamon Crowe (590, 02:01:50), Kay Shillabeer (792, 02:24:19), Julie Webb (813,02:31:19).

There were 859 finishers. The race was superbly organised by the host Club, with very supportive marshals, plenty of aid stations and an immediate race result within seconds of crossing the line.

A very successful race for the Club on so many fronts, and some startling performances amongst our runners. All the hard work in training is paying dividends!! Well done to you all.

The male course record stood was broken by Ronnie Richmond, winning in a fantastic time of 01:05:35. Shaun Antell also broke the old record, finishing 2^nd in 01:05:41.

Axe Valley Runners staged their blue ribbon event in the calendar year, The Grizzly on Sunday March 5^th. This was the 35^th running of this iconic race. Runners from all over the world to take part.

The event was a 20 mile multi-terrain route across the glorious East Devon coastline and countryside. The start was at Seaton before heading to Branscombe and back. There was also the 9 mile Cub on offer.

The race is renowned for being tough, and also the odd tumble and scrape can be expected along the way!! With over 3000 feet of ascent, two stretches of beach to cross, the infamous “Stairway to Heaven” and a steep path up the side of a cliff to negotiate, this was a challenge that needed to be given respect! Weather conditions although cool, were just about perfect.

Six of the Clubs hard-core runners took up the challenge and all passed the test, beating the cut off times along the way. Tim Pratt, made his long awaited race comeback after a serious injury. Tim posted a great time of 03:03:48 to finish 125^th overall. Susanna Goffe finished just behind in 126^th in a very respectable time of 03:04:07.

The other Trotters positions & times were: Andrew Rattlidge (417, 03:41:11), Neil Rutley (627, 04:02:58), Sue Tremlett & Karen O’Brien (1200=, 05:09:15).

There were 1294 finishers.

Shelley Rattlidge decided to take on The Cub, which although shorter, still provided a tough challenge. Shelley ran a superbly judged race to finish in 210^th spot, in a very good time of 01:46:50.

There were 621 entries.

Roger Easterbrook made the long trip to Redruth in Cornwall to compete in the final round of the Westward XC League on March 5^th.

The event was held at Redruth school with an 8k distance consisting of 5 undulating laps of the sports pitches, with twists and turns and ups and downs. Weather conditions were perfect, although on the chilly side. Roger used all his experience by starting off nice and steady before picking off his rivals one by one. Roger finished in 32^nd place in a time of 00:31:48. Roger ran 4 of the 6 races which meant for the first time Roger had completed an XC series. He finished 5^th in the MV45 age category.