THE annual Tavy 7-mile road race was held on Sunday, starting from Whitchurch Down.
Veteran Simon Edney from Bideford AC won with 13 seconds to spare over runner-up James Farrant of Southwest Road Runners.
First lady home was the former Tavistock girl Jo Kelsey. She was a minute-and-a-half ahead of her nearest rival, Revis Crowle from East Cornwall, and was beaten by only six of the men. This was the latest in a long series of successful runs for Jo in England and in Europe.
There were no senior Tavistock AC runners competing as they were all on organisational duties but there were some good performances from local runners.
Richard Brady of Kelly College won the trophy for the first unaffiliated runner, finishing in an excellent fifth place. His colleague Robin Brew came in 21st and 17-year-old Tom Philips showed great promise for the future by finishing 32nd.
Chris Champion was another Tavistock local who ran well to finish 28th, and another promising junior was17-year-old Emily Blackmore, who finished 29th in the ladies? race. Paul Sturtridge was the ninth runner home, winning the trophy for second place in his age group.
The day?s best performance came from Tavistock AC junior Adam Holland. Adam is only 16, but surprised everyone by finishing in tenth place in his first race as a senior. This was an excellent result for Adam, who surely has a bright future ahead of him in long distance running.
A total of 331 runners of all ages and abilities finished this demanding but enjoyable run.
The race was sponsored by Mansbridge and Balment, whose director Martin Gibbs also competed. His finishing position in 82nd place exactly matched his 2002 result.
The organisation was excellent thanks to the hard work put in by members of Tavistock Athletic Club.
For a full results list, visit their website at http://www.tavistockathletics.com">www.tavistockathletics.com