Thirteen Teignbridge Trotters competed in the Muskie Madness 10K on Saturday 20^th May. The race was the latest round of the Club Championship. The evening in Plymouth was very warm with bright sunshine.

The route was a lap of the sports field followed by a very steep downhill section before entering Ham Woods. Here the terrain was undulating but shaded. Having completed this part of the course, the runners headed out onto the road before re-joining the woodland. The final kilometre was the steep ascent of the hill that started proceedings. It was a true test of stamina with over 800 feet of elevation.

There were two aid stations and the marshals were very supportive.

Tim Pratt has been plagued with injury for a couple of years, but he has fought back to full fitness. This was now the Tim Pratt of old as he finished in 2^nd place in a superb time of 00:41:11.

Roger Easterbrook was at home on this type of course and again put in a strong performance. Roger clocked a time of 00:41:58 to finish 4^th. He also scooped the MV45 age category prize.

Susanna Goffe continued her fine form by finish 2^nd in the female race, and 12^th overall. Susanna completed the tough route in 00:47:02.

Kim Knight, who has been battling back after a serious health issue, won the FV50 age category award. It just goes to show, that with true grit and determination, what can be achieved. Kim posted a time of 01:02:29 to finish 56^th.

James Saunders ran well to finish 11^th in a time of 00:46:29 and won the MV60 age category prize.

The other Trotters positions and times were: Ben Elphick (16, 00:47:50), Duncan Knight (21, 00:50:32), Alan Kember (24, 00:52:13), Joanna Randall (35, 00:55:39), Keith Anderson (62, 01:05:04), Corinne Bright (68, 01:07:36), Rod Payne (89, 01:15:22), Kay Shillabeer (91, 01:16:36).

There were 102 exhausted finishers. The Plymouth Musketeers organised a great event.

Graydon Widdicombe travelled to beautiful Austria, to participate in the 20th edition of the Salzburg Marathon, which took place on Sunday 21st May.

This city marathon managed to retain a very friendly feel, with 646 runners competing in the marathon and 2126 in the Half. There were other events held over the weekend including a relay and a 10K race. Unusually in a big city marathon, runners could leave personal drinks at various points on the 2-lap course. This idea worked very well.

The event passed some of the city’s favourite sights including the Cathedral of Salzburg, Mozartplatz (which is a square that contains a statue dedicated to the city’s most famous son) and the Mirabell Palace. The route was very flat even though the city has mountains surrounding it, which the runners could admire whilst running, making it a very, very picturesque route.

In the week leading up to the race, Graydon had been nervously refreshing the weather apps as it was due to be hot, and indeed come race day it was hot! The humidity was much lower than back in Devon, which was a bonus. Knowing it would be too hot for him though he decided to go into a kind of ‘self-preservation’ mode and took it as steady as possible. Graydon enjoyed the day out finishing in 4:28:48 for 452nd. He then went on to sample some Apfelstrudel, Salzburger Nockerl and Mozartkugel!

Three Trotters took part in the Exeter Great West Run Half marathon on Sunday 21^st May.

The start was at the Exeter Arena and the route took the runners through the heart of the city before leading out into the pretty country lanes leading to some stunning views of Exeter. The finish was a stadium finish at the Exeter Arena.

A glorious day greeted the runners as they set off. The temperatures soon started to soar which meant taking fluids was vital.

Patricia Atkins led our trio home, clocking a great time of 01:55:42 to finish 737^th. Patricia also finished 2^nd in the FV55 age category.

Sarah Blanchard was second Trotter home. Sarah is so enthusiastic and loves the whole vibe of racing. Sarah ran very well to finish 1314^th in a time of 02:23:53.

Darren Petch has been battling with a few setbacks of late, but put in a strong performance to finish 1677^th in a useful time of 02:46:57.

There were 1722 finishers.