LAST weekend saw the Bere Alston Trekkers racing close to home and further afield. The largest turn out for the club was at neighbouring Tavistock Athletic Club’s Tavy13, which is always well supported by the Trekkers, and is a race on their ‘Grand Prix’ list.

BATs lining up for this race were Julie Page, Lisa Birch, Chris Anthony, Ralph Eames, Dave Adams, Cally Barnes, Matthew Luckham, Hazel Bickley, Andy Cowden, Fran Morgan and new club member Steve Hill. Race times were unavailable at the time of going to press.

Meanwhile, in Plympton, lady BAT Alison Greaves took part in Plymouth Round Table’s Mad March Hare. This tough 10K race boasts picturesque surroundings starting at Plymouth Devils Speedway taking in the Saltram Estate running along the river Plym and back again finishing at Plymouth Speedway. Alison Greaves (pictured) ran a strong race, and finished well.

Further afield, Heather Lee travelled to Drewsteignton to take part in the Deep River Trail Half Marathon, organised by PureTrail Running. This race starts and finishes on Piddledown Common, on the approach to the iconic Castle Drogo, Drewsteignton, Dartmoor and the trail is both deep and steep, descending to the depths of the Teign River Valley, before rising above the Fingle treeline and as such is an extremely tough Woodland Trail Race. Heather (pictured) finished her race in a time of a 3 hours 17 minutes 13 seconds.

In Reading, Matthew Head ran the Vitality Reading Half Marathon. This popular annual spring event has featured in race calendars since its inception in 1983, and numerous changes to the course since that time has resulted in a fast and flat route and an amazing finish in the magnificent Madejski Stadium.

The Reading Half Marathon not only takes in the highlights of the centre of Reading where participants experience huge crowd support and an electric atmosphere but also still passes through the beautiful grounds of the University campus. The race culminates in a finish rarely found outside an Olympic stadium with over 15,000 people cheering finishers into the stadium and over the finish line.

Matt, with runners from Tavistock Athletics Club, ran an excellent race and finished in 1.26.40.