ATHLETES from Tavistock Athletic Club were out and about taking part in a wide variety of races over recent days.

The ever-popular Burrator Horseshoe Fell Race took place on Saturday - a tough 6-mile trail race that starts at Meavy, taking in the summits of Sheepstor and Gutter Tor before returning through a welcome cooling water crossing back into Meavy.

In challenging hot conditions, there were some great TAC performances, headlined by Hannah Smith retaining her title by winning the women's race in a time nearly four minutes faster than last year (pictured on the right).

14-year-old Arthur Norton ran a great race to take fifth place overall and winning his U20 age category, with Peter Bazley winning his U70 category. Also competing were Stephen Gokhale, Iain Gillam, Lucy Hann and Hannah Creasy- as a result of their performances, the club was the second placed team overall.

Hannah Smith was also out racing during the previous week at the Start Fitness Fast 5000, a 5km race round the Torbay Velopark organised by Exeter City Runs. She and her two colleagues Emma Ryder and Charlotte Walker were three of the six runners comprising the Devon team racing against Cornwall in the Peninsula Trophy as part of this event.

TAC's Sam Larkham was 13th overall in 16min 8s, with Emma, Charlotte and Hannah finishing in 17:56, 18:40 and 19:09 respectively. This time it was Cornwall who triumphed in the Senior Ladies category.

The previous Sunday saw the running of the annual Rame Head Race - more precisely three races - a 10k, a half marathon and a full marathon. The course is a 10.6km lap around the picturesque Mount Edgcumbe peninsula with two and four laps making the half and full marathon distances.

It's a tough course with some significant hills - the pain only eased by the views.

Tavistock Athletic Club was represented by two senior runners - Les Wilkinson (centre) and Dene Medland (left), both running in their FV60 age category.

Les bravely took on the full marathon course and, thanks to a dedicated training block, acquitted herself well. She took first place in her age category in a time of 6hr 11min 35s - a great effort.

As well as supporting her friend Les, Dene ran the 10k course, a single lap of the course.

Earlier in the previous week, the Armada Network held the latest of their monthly 5k races which took place in Saltram Park on Wednesday - another hilly course. First TAC runner home was Sarah Holland in 25:52, followed by Tony Shearer in 27:43. Hazel Walker completed in 31:42 and then Paula Smerdon in 35:41.

Tavistock Athletic Club has now opened entries for their annual Tavistock Town Relays race - held every year as part of Carnival week - raising money for Tavistock Lions.

The event takes place on the evening of Thursday, July 16 and teams of four can be from running clubs, local businesses, or just groups of like-minded friends.

Each team member runs a 1.1-mile route round the river in Meadows, with separate races for juniors, females and male/mixed teams.

The formal races are preceded by a fun race for youngsters starting at 5:30pm, running the same 1.1-mile course.

A maximum of 80 teams can be accommodated so early entry is recommended. Registration details can be found on the TAC website - tavistockathletics.co.uk.