WHILE enjoying a whirl-wind 11 State road trip in the USA, Bere Alston Trekker club chair and coach Dotty Allan clocked up eight runs in seven of the states and some of them in a club vest!

Dotty ran around Capitol Hill in Washington DC and through the Monongahela National Forest alongside thoroughbred race horses in Lexington, Kentucky as well as with Elvis and his 12 twin brothers in Nashville, Tennessee.  Then it was onto the leafy pathways in Birmingham, Alabama  before the Great Smoky Mountains at dawn before back to Washington for another run and finally onto New York along the banks of the Hudson River with the New York Running Club. 

During her travels Dotty promoted the Bats by leaving cards and leaflets on the way and made friends with other runners and coaches from all over the states and also got engaged to Phil on top of the Empire State Building on June 2.

Now that Dotty is back she will be coaching, via email, American athletes who are taking part in this year's New York Marathon and other races and swapping coaching hints and tips from other coaches met on her travels.