A NUMBER of Tavistock Run Project (TRP) athletes left the comfort of the roads to take on more rugged trail runs in the last few days.

At the Lydford Dash, an undulating and spectacular five mile course around the village, TRP dominated proceedings, with Ben Neale and Rachael Malthouse being 1st male and female, ably supported by Henry Ware, Dan Pearce, Steve Watson, Dave Chanter, Chris Malthouse and Jon Eatly.

Further afield, Adam Holland joined up with Jordan Andrews and Sam Hortopp to form a strong triumvirate at the gruelling Snowdonia Trail Marathon. After leading for most of the race, Adam slipped back to finish in a superb 3rd place with Jordan closing in 4th and Sam in 22nd for an unofficial team win.

Meanwhile, Liz Vernon took on the challenge of the Bolton Ironman Triathlon, a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26 miles run —recording a brilliant PB performance of just over 12 hours.

And so to the tribulations.

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde to fall once may be considered unfortunate, to fall twice looks like carelessness.

Such was the case with Ollie Smart in his quest for success at the English Schools championships in Birmingham.

Having fallen at the ES x-country earlier in the year, Ollie once more saw his chance of success vanish as he caught the kerb and fell when well placed on the last lap of the 1,500 metres. This was a great disappointment for him but he will bounce back and get his rewards.

This week sees the club return to the Tavistock town relays where they will once more support local athletics.

• See this week’s Times for a story on TRP’s Sam Lake and her world championship bronze.