HAVING raised £1,800 for three local charities and with 20 races under their ?legs? ranging from the British Heart Foundation 5k, to a very wet Bideford 10k to a very warm London Marathon, Bere Alston Trekkers have had an exciting first year. The club now has four sponsors, the most recent being Ian Russell of Design Development Limited, Plymouth who has kindly invested in a new set of running vests for the club. BATs hope to take delivery of these by September. The club is concentrating on developing the stamina, performance and confidence of its newest members as well as the endurance of longer term members who have significantly improved their performance over the past 12 months. September 18 will see members competing in four marathons across the country - the Doone Run; Great North Run, New Forest and Truro - another first for the club. Five BATs have applied to run the London Marathon in 2006. The results of the ballot paper are not known until December, however, our marathon training will commence in October and will be open to all members. In the next 12 months BATs are aiming to create their own website which will hold a race diary, race results, information on running and walking, injury prevention etc. BATs hope to host their own race which will include a fun run aimed at involving local children and BAT family members. The majority of members are from Bere Alston, others are from Tavistock and Plymouth and include men and women of all ages and abilities. New members are welcome on any Wednesday and club members also run on additional evenings as well as weekends - competing in local races is purely an optional extra. We are a fun, sociable club who enjoy sharing this growing sport together, as well as keeping fit and having fun. So it is a very happy first birthday for BATs and all their sponsors.
