08 Mar Bideford Half Marathon 2020
A strong contingent of 9 Torbay Tri Club members headed up to the opposite side of Devon for the Bideford Half Marathon. The race which is relatively flat with only one noticeable hilly section is run on roads and partially along the Tarka Trail. The race prides itself on the magnificent views of the Devon countryside as it sweeps alongside the River Torridge towards Great Torrington before heading back to Bideford. Notable performances of the day from Lee Turner finishing 2nd in the MV40 category and for his 2nd PB in a week Bobby Singh. 7 Lee Turner 1:14:48, 64 Ben Gerrish 1:23:54, 96 Nigel Fenn 1:27:19, 187 Ian McClean 1:35:57, 189 Matthew Botting 1:36:02, 341 Bobby Singh 1:44:25, 430 Rachel Longthorpe 1:48:33, 488 Sue Hayes 1:51:49, 686 Adam Williams 2:00:23
This weekend saw the ever popular 20 mile Grizzly run and slightly shorter 9 mile Cub race hosted by Axe Valley Runners in Seaton take place for the 33rd time. The race is popular with runners from far and wide and now has to operate a ballot system to enter due to the high levels of interest. With the recent inclement weather creating some tough conditions it promised to be an unforgettable day. The 20 miles of mud, sweat, tears and hills aplenty along with the bogs, waist deep water, sections across the beach And the 3000 feet of ascent really sets the race apart from other and perhaps explains why the race is oversubscribed year after year. In the Grizzly Darren Francis finished 67th in 3:01:07.
In the shorter but still very tough 9 mile Cub race 4 members of Torbay Tri Club took on the challenge of the the hills, mud and bogs. 13 Jerry Hocking 1:20:14, 29 Simon Johnson 1:27:07, 219 Amanda Francis 1:57:02, 276 Naoko McKinnon 2:02:50