THIS weekend saw one male Bere Alston Trekker taking on the Dartmoor Vale Marathon, and one lady BAT lining up to take on the Dublin Marathon.

Chris Anthony, who is no stranger to long-distance races, took part in the Dartmoor Vale races organised by the Rotary Club of Dartmoor Vale in association with Sibelco UK.

This event includes a marathon, a half marathon and a 10 kilometre race and is now in its 13th year. The start and finish is at the East Gold Works, Newton Road, Newton Abbot.

The routes for the marathon and the half marathon take runners out on the roads of the Teign Valley to Chudleigh and back down the leafy country lanes alongside Ugbrooke Park, with the marathon runners having to do a second lap of this tough, undulating course.

Chris finished the marathon in 3hrs 56 mins.

Meanwhile, lady BAT Natasha Ayres made the solo flight to Southern Ireland to take place in the 38th SSE Airtricity Dublin Marathon.

This marathon is a single lap course, starting and finishing close to the city centre, and provides ideal conditions for marathon running.

The event attracts a wide field of both Irish and international participants, and with an entry of 20,000 this year, the SSE Airtricity Dublin Marathon is now the largest marathon in Ireland and the fifth largest in Europe.

The weather provided perfect conditions this weekend, and this, coupled with the support of the crowds of cheering spectators, spurred Natasha on to complete her race in 5 hours and 1 minute.

The next outing for the BATs will be this weekend’s Templer 10 at Stover.