Saturday was graduation day at the monthly Tavy 5k race held at the Tavistock Athletic Club running track.

Twenty-seven new and returning runners from the latest Couch to 5k programme ‘graduated’ by completing the 10-week course (overcoming every type of winter weather in the process), and running the full 5k race.

They received their medals at the finish but their real reward was the sense of achievement, shown in their happy faces.

Some had never run in their lives before and finishing times weren’t important – what mattered was their introduction to a way to improve mental and physical well-being in a supportive group environment, which will hopefully last well beyond the 10 weeks of the course.

A further seven who completed the course, but were unable to run the race due to sickness, expect to graduate at the next race in April.

The C25K course was masterminded by TAC coach Val Evans, who expressed her deep appreciation of the large group of supporting coaches and run leaders who gave up their time each week to make this course such a success.

She also applauded the graduates for their significant achievements, some of whom had never run in their lives before.

Devon County Council again provided funding for this particular programme, meaning that runners did not have to pay anything, and TAC is grateful for this support.

The next C25K course, organised by TAC, is planned for September – look out for more information on social media nearer the time.