There were two main races for Tavistock Athletic Club runners in the hot weather of Saturday, and performances to note in each of them, writes Andy Hughes.

Ultra marathons do not get mentioned very often – there are not many of them and there are not a lot of runners willing to take them on.

However, the local big race was the Dartmoor Discovery 32-miler, starting and finishing at Princetown – the longest single-lap ultra marathon in the country, organised by Teignbridge Trotters.

TAC runner Sam Larkham certainly excelled himself in spite of the hot conditions, finishing in second place overall. Incredibly, with the route including 4000 feet of elevation gain, Sam maintained an average speed of 7.1 minutes per mile, finishing in 3hr 53m 45s – a faster pace than that of many 10k runners!

Also deserving praise for completing the race in very respectable times were TAC athletes Ian Trice (4:44:47), Soozie Trice (5:25:31), and Steve Cox (5:53:33).

In the slightly cooler conditions of Saturday evening – and in a more shaded environment – was the Burrator 10k, just under two laps around the reservoir.

Two of TAC’s consistent frontrunners performed once again; Hayden Bond finished third overall with a time of 36m 25s and Nikki Kelly, just one place behind, won the women’s race and beat her nearest rival by nearly five minutes.

However a further eight athletes across the training groups within the club took part, emphasising that running and racing is not just for the elites. Personal-best times were broken throughout the results. Those other runners also completing the course in fine form were Michael Greenacre (39:29), Jenny Bryant (48:25, 1st F55), Samuel Sharland (51:22), Mandy Warnett (58:40, second F60), Thelma Turner (1:06:30, 4th F65), Jean Phillips (1:07:31), Ann Ruddock (1:07:33, 4th F60) and Darren Fisher (1:11:35). Congratulations to all.