LAST weekend saw Tavistock Run Project athletes competing across the county in a myriad of events.

Saturday morning was the date for the monthly Tavy 5 which saw Chris Rimmer victorious in a time of 16 mins and 47 secs. He was followed home in fourth, ninth and 10th positions by Craig Howells, Pete Backaller and Matt Teague, with all three breaking the 20 minute barrier. Also proudly wearing his TRP colours was young Harry Malthouse who crossed the line just in front of his mum, runner Rachael, in an exceptional 28 minutes.

Early afternoon the focus turned to the Devon Schools Cross Country Championships staged at Stover. In the minor girls Holly Cole gave a gritty performance. She was followed by the eagerly anticipated inter boys’ race which saw Oliver Smart run away from a strong field to win the title emphatically.

The final race of the day was the senior boys where Ed Smart led home the West Devon team finishing a strong fourth with Charlie Gibbard running his best race of the year for eighth position. Both athletes along with Ollie go through to the South West Championships in Bath in two weeks’ time.

Finally in the evening Pete Moyse in his first race for TRP and Cassie McDowall took part in the Wild Night Run series at Ivybridge. Cassie ran well for 18th place in the 5K while Pete took seventh in the 10K.

To conclude the weekend races, Jim Cole made the journey to Exeter on Sunday to run the 1st Chance 10k and was rewarded with a win in a time of 32 mins 27 secs against a strong field.

All in all this was another indication of the strength of the club.