Teignbridge Trotters Running Club
Newton Abbot, Devon
Established 1982
Born to Run

Easter races turn up more treats for our Trotters...

Twenty-five Teignbridge Trotters packed their bags and trundled off to the Easter Bunny 10k in Yeovilton. The promise of a chocolate egg for all finishers and club Championship points was undoubtedly in the minds of some.

Under forget-me-not blue skies and bulbous sunshine a field of 428 competitors lined up at the start line. This race often attracts a big turnout because it’s relatively flat and marketed as having good PB potential.

And so it came to pass. Once again the club put in some excellent performances and personal bests (if this carries on, your press and publicity officer will run out of superlatives) with Helen Anthony picking up first FV35 and a new personal best, Jacki Woon third FV45 and Jamie Barnett third Junior Male.

Tracy Elphick smashed her personal best and Martin and Jo Randall each took home new times with Martin cutting off 2mins 26secs and Jo 1min 4secs. Dermot Smyth continues to see his times tumble with 3mins off his 10k time and Kim Bindon makes positive progress every time she lines up at the start.

Full results were: Roger Hayes 37.53 33rd, Russ Wheeler 39.01 45th, Helen Anthony 39.08 48th, Martin Randall 40.52 77th, Jamie Barnett 41.12 82nd, Mark Hutchins 41.28 84th, Tracy Elphick 42.02 93rd, Mandy Wheeler 42.31 104th, Mel Dunn 42.44 107th, Julian Scanes 42.55 109th, Derek Skinner 43.26 120th, Dermot Smyth 43.46 122nd, Gary Caunter 44.02 131st, Roger ‘Smokes’ Hales 44.23 145th, Neil Skinner 46.06 163rd, Jacki Woon 46.22 166th, Jo Randall 47.00 173rd, Nigel Barnett 47.43 183rd, Kevin Besford 50.17 215th, Caroline Hayes 53.18 262nd, Guy Roberts 53.35 263rd, Kim Bindon 57.51 309th, Graham Penn 1:01.11 342nd, Lisa Godfrey 1:03.12 356th, Vic Hales 1:22.04 421st.

*On the same day the Bampton to Tiverton 7-miler - probably one of the oldest races around - took place. Hannah Walsh pulled on the Royal Blues vest and punched more than a minute out of her 2014 time clocking 50.05. No other results from that race are available as we go to press.

*The evergreen Mark ‘Wurzel’ Wotton edged closer to his landmark 100 marathons with a superb double-header. Mark was in Stratford-Upon-Avon for the Good Friday Cricket Club Marathon which starts at the aforementioned venue and goes straight onto the canal tow path and takes in a bit of road, fields a viaduct and onto another canal to the turn around point. Mainly flat with a couple lumps and some slippery, muddy bits too. Mark finished 51st out of 85 in 5:20.13.

RUNNING NERD ALERT! Wurz discloses that he was in fine company. Athlete Adam Holland won the race in 3:16 - his 21st 26.2miler in 14 days. Incredibly Adam, who holds the world record for being the youngest and fastest person to run 10 marathons in 10 days, achieved a new goal of completing 24 maras in 17 days. What a dude.

The next marathon for Mark was on Easter Sunday in Northampton. A multi-lapper, it started in the shadows of 14th Century Delapre Abbey and consisted of 12 3.5k loops of the lake and Abbey. Mark completed it in 5:13.17 and was 25th out of 28 finishers.

*Lisa Godfrey competed in the Dartington Duathlon as a Trotter on Sunday 29 March. She did the 5km run, 20km cycle ride (reduced to 16km on the day due to heavy winds and rain) and a 2.5km cross country run in 1:37.35.

Report by Emma Pearcy

The gang at the Easter Bunny 10k and Tracy Elphick and Martin Randall go after it - and get it!

Photos kindly supplied by Nathan ‘Lovely’ Elphick and Graham ‘Inky’ Penn