TEIGNBRIDGE Trotters had six representatives in action at the Firefighter Charity Trail Run 10k, that took place on Friday 31 May.
Paul Sharples, Shaz Sharples, Cheryl Dunn, Vicki Hayles, Teresa Holmes, and Kate Heaton were the sextet of Trotters, the run starting at the station at 6pm with plenty of support from firefighters along the way.
Cheryl Dunn was quoted as saying that “The firefighter charity 10km trail run had beautiful views and a really enjoyable course.”
It “most definitely seemed like a great run for people who wish to try their first trail run- everyone was so friendly and” there was a “great bbq after.”
Another recent race of note was The Burrator 10k, a fast, flat route that is almost all on tarmac. It’s also one of the most beautiful 10Ks in the country and won a Racecheck Silver Award in 2023. The race is on closed roads & starts right on the Dam bridge.
The stunning setting is also perfect for a PB. It starts about 1K southeast of the visitor centre and does one complete loop of the reservoir, then 2/3rds of a second loop before finishing at exactly 10K- about 400 metres north of HQ (the visitor centre).
There are just 90 metres of climbing on this course and a top runner, in good conditions, could surely break 30 minutes. However, it’s also ideal for fun runners and beginners and many competitors notch up PBs here.
On arrival it was abundantly clear that it was a popular event. With 659 runners in the 10k and 50+ in the 1k and 2k fun runs it was pretty manic finding parking.
It was well worth the trip for the beautiful surroundings, and it was well-supported and well organised. The race start was very busy, so getting to the front is key especially as there are two small gates to negotiate early on. This could definitely hinder any PB attempt.
Alex Sparks was the first Trotter home in an amazing time of 34:30, taking 2nd place overall with a PB to boot.
Next, was the ever-improving Tim Pratt, getting back to his very best finishing in 8th with a time of 36:18, taking 1st in the senior 20 category as a result.
Steve Weeks came next, finishing in 27th and was 1st V45 in 40:13, closely followed by 33rd placed Ben Elphick with 40:49, a new PB by 47 seconds.
Susanna Goofe was the first female Trotter home and she was 1st senior with a new PB of 42:14. Chloe Weeks finished 2nd senior in 43:56 whilst Debbie Elphick took 3rd in her age category with 47:19.
Finally, Steven Major came in in 51:26 and Adam Doherty, pacing his wife Michelle for her first 10k, in a time of 1:03:45.