WITH the road-running season drawing to a close and many eyes now turning towards the trails, the ColyTen marked one of the final opportunities for championship points in this year's Teignbridge Trotters Club Championship.

Set in the picturesque East Devon countryside, the 10-mile multi-terrain race offered a demanding mix of riverside paths, woodland trails, steep climbs and fast runnable sections, rewarding those who paced the challenging route well.

After an opening stretch alongside the River Coly, runners tackled a significant climb through woodland before navigating a series of rolling forest paths and short road sections. The latter stages of the course offered a welcome change in profile, with predominantly flat and downhill running providing an opportunity to push for the finish after the earlier efforts.

Leading the Trotters home was Benj Akyol, who produced an outstanding run to finish third overall in a superb time of 1:10:05, also taking victory in the M40 category. First female Trotter home was Chloe Olford who was also the second Trotter on the day, finishing 19th overall and 3rd female in 1:17:13.

Chloe was followed by Chloe Weeks, who crossed the line in 1:25:44, with dad Steve Weeks recording the same impressive finish time despite Steve turning his ankle on the demanding course.

There was further age-category success for the Trotters with Neil Rutley claiming first place in the M65 category in 1:31:45. Gavin Parrott finished strongly in 1:33:29, while Joanna Randall completed the course in 1:35:37. Close behind was fellow M65 runner Alan Kember, whose time of 1:35:48 secured 3rd place in his category.

Allen Taylor recorded 1:38:36, before Lucy Evans ran an excellent 1:43:51. Jayden Taylor claimed the M19 category win in 1:47:13, while Robert Faulkner followed shortly afterwards in 1:47:46. Eamon Crowe completed the course in 1:53:11, and Rachel Thorn rounded out the Teignbridge contingent with a determined finish in 1:57:00.