FOR the ninth year, and as part of the Tavistock Carnival celebrations, the relays were held in the Meadows and in fine conditions there was tight racing and the course record was smashed.
With the sun shining and plentiful support it was once more a great event that will have raised about £500 for Carnival charities. Tavistock Athletic Club would like say many thanks for sponsorship to Abbey Garden Machinery and to the Lions Club for running the barbecue.
This year there were 30 runners in the fun run, with Eduardo Guiterrez from Spain coming home first in 7.09 minutes, closely followed by local runners Jack Easton, Harry Rowe and Nathan Holland.
The fun run was followed by the junior relay, with 13 teams taking part. First home were East Cornwall Harriers' boys U16s in 23.28 minutes, followed by Tavistock Athletic boys U16 in 23.37.The team of Sam Straughan, Sam Eaton, Brett Bassett and Nick Champion were always close but could not quite manage to close the gap.
In the under 14 boys' event East Cormwall were again victorious followed by Tavistock Zestonions of Rhys Merriott, Sam O'Boyce, Tom Green and Will Carter. In the girls' U14 the first team home were Tavistock but were disqualified as Claire Fraser had run two legs! Another Tavistock team were declared winners – Emma Champion, Mag McCormick, Frances Kelly and Annabel Longdon.
The under 12 events were again won by East Cornwall with Walkhampton School second (Adam Thyer, Ben Eggins, William Langdon, Tom Eggins) and Delaware School third (Charlie Shipton, Aiden Jacobs, Reece Stephens, Harry Row).
In the senior relay there was a field of 33 teams, with strong teams from Plymouth Harriers and South West Road Runners looking to stop Tavistock from winning for the fifth year.
After the first lap Plymouth Harriers had the lead with Jack Moxbey coming home in an impressive 5.04 mins, Adam Holland from Tavistock second in 5.17. Pete Freedman had a storming second leg for Tavistock, gaining the lead and establishing a 20 second margin, completing his lap in 4.53.
Despite the best efforts of Chris Champion and Jim Cole Tavistock couldn't hold the lead and SW Road Runners finished ahead in a record breaking 20.26mins overall.
In the women's event East Cornwall (Daine Roy, Sharon Daw, Ashley Sims and Revis Crowle) won emphatically in 25.38mins.
The male veteran event was won by Tavistock Athletic (Nigel Jenkins, Neal Beaumont, Steve Groombridge and Paul Sturtridge), and the female veterans by Tamar Trotters with the Tavistock Baywatch in alluring red swimsuits coming in third (Marion Playle, Dotty Allan, Mary-Bridget Flynn-Samuels, and Lesley Cowie).
In the business section the winners were from Ambrosia with their Devon Dreamers (Gary Chater, Mike Carpenter, Caroline Stevens, and Gary Vernon) and Ambrosia Angels (Caroline Stevens, Ann-Marie Chater, Becky Prideaux and Angie Williams) teams. Full results can be found at http://www.tavistockathletics.com">www.tavistockathletics.com
Anyone inspired by the event is welcome to try a taster session at the club on the first Tuesday of each month.