THE Salisbury ­, a hilly Trail Marathon took place, with Tavistock Athletic Club's Ray Bennett as its sole club competitor.

Ray is a seasoned marathoner and a member of the 100 Marathon Club, with more than 120 races over the distance completed.

Despite a recent foot injury, Ray was able to finish in 4 hours, 57 minutes, 41 seconds, coming second in his age category.

The final running of the Saltram 5k Time Trial took place a few days later, in the grounds of Saltram House, Plympton. This has been a monthly event over the summer, with five races in the series.

Ten TACs competed and once again the younger runners excelled on this hilly course.

First club runner home and in second position overall was Samuel Lane De Courtin. Sam, competing in the U17s age group, had a truly excellent race, knocking almost a minute off his previous time on this course, to finish in 17minutes, 37seconds, and gaining a gold award for his age/time.

Harry Herdman running in the U13s category, also excelled, to finish in 22.53.

Caron De Val is the only club member to have run all five races and she completed the series by running a personal best, finishing in 28.19.

Paul Waldron, second TAC to finish, in 21.51, also ran a personal best and gained a Bronze Award.

Graham De Val (24.18) and John Windermer (29.26) also received bronze, while Andy and Sheila Houghton both achieved gold standards, finishing in 24.05 and 26.52 respectively. Silver went to Allan Herman (22.40), mentoring son Harry, while Kate Rogers completed her first 5k since injury to finish in 28.53.

The following evening saw Paul Marshall competing in the Exeter 10k race. Paul ran a course PB to finish in 46.57, which earned him a silver award for his age/time.

A few days later, Paul Waldron was again in action, along with Richard Best, as they ran the 9.6miles of the Sticklepath Horseshoe. This is a tough fell run with 1.700ft of ascent, set on the high moor on rough, unmarked terrain.

The two athletes finished within seconds of each other, Paul in 1.45.07 and Richard in 1.45.28.