Snell and Eve among the honours

Torbay Amateur Athletic Club were well represented at the Cockington Christmas Caper 2023.
The days of wet weather had given way to a sharp frost and a sparkling winter wonderland on the hills of Cockington, gone were the slippery muddy slopes and the boggy puddles.
The eight-mile course was as tough as ever and the tough 14 Torbay AAC athletes stormed to the finish to claim many age category prizes. Alex Snell raced across the line in 5th place overall and 1st mv40 and Heather Eve won 3rd Lady and 1st fv45 Sarah Harrison was not far behind as 1st fv50 with Ian Hayward 2nd mv60. It was a clean sweep for 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the fv55 category for Deb Webber, Hayley Ratcliff and Nadine Lee.
5 Alex Snell 1:07:14 (1st mv40); 32 Heather Eve 1:20:00 (3rd female)(1st fv45); 34 Ian Hayward 1:21:34 (2nd mv60); 38 Sarah Harrison 1:22:16 (1st fv50); 39 Mark Atkinson 1:22:35; 65 Nick Robinson 1:28:05; 82 Deb Webber 1:32:49 (1st fv55); 96 Hayley Ratcliff 1:37:45 (2nd fv55); 97 Katie Harvie 1:39:12; 105 Nadine Lee 1:40:43 (3rd fv55); 134 Janine Callard 1:50:02; 135 Sophie Thompson 1:51:35; 143 Ian Sharrock 1:54:23; 156 Kirsten Mundy 1:57:37.
On Saturday Gemma Radcliffe took part in Race the Light organised by Outeredge Events. 8.5miles of muddy and hilly woodland trails, a double estuary crossing and a steep uphill finish. This was her 6th time taking part in this event she still enjoys it every time. Gemma finished in a time of 1:47:00
On Sunday Glen Hawkins was in for the festive fun at the Brixham Santa Run. There was a naughty Santa Striptease moment when Glen had to remove his Santa suit trousers!!! It was definitely a funny and uplifting sight to see 300 Santas running along Brixham Breakwater!
With the current Cross Country season now well underway, 22 athletes from Torbay Athletic Club travelled to Newquay. They braved the gusty winds and showers at the second Westward League Cross Country Race on the waterlogged course. Standout performances on the day were Paige Quinn who was 2nd in the U15 Girls race and closely followed by her team mate Scarlett Muscott in 3rd place. Leon Snell also put in a great performance finishing 3rd in the U13 Boys race. The standout team performance so far are the U17 mens team of Joshua Bradley, Oscar Eve and Gwilym Lewis who currently lie 3rd place in the overall league.
Full results on the day were as follows: SM/VM - 8,500m - 54 Alex Snell 34.50, 79 Oliver Weedon 35.48, 112 Martyn Breslan 39.24, 114 Anthony Raine 39.44, 123 James Hartridge 42.45. U17M - 5,400m - 12 Joshua Bradley 19.38, 16 Oscar Eve 20.27, 18 Lucas Vandeweghe 21.59, 20 Gwilym Lewis 22.46. U15B - 3,775m - 4 Theo Glew 12.57. U13B - 3,040m - 3 Leon Snell 11:08, 10 Marlow Kirby 11.38, 19 Adam Holland 12.46. U11B - 1,720m - 15 Roux Tucker 6.52. SW/VW - 5,400m - 51 Heather Eve 23:21, 96 Marta Arcosta 26.24, 97 Hayley Ratcliff 26.44. U15G - 3,775m - 2 Paige Quinn 13.58, 3 Scarlett Muscott 14.41. U13G - 3,040m - 13 Annalise Little 13.23. U11G - 1,720m - 28 Ayda-May Snell 8.43, 30 Darcy Gibbings 9.07.
There was also a good turnout for The Starcross Shuffle organised by Winding Paths. This is a seven-hour Challenge event with a choice of distances from Ultra, Marathon, Half Marathon, 10k or anything in between.
There are seven hours to run as many laps as you want, to achieve your chosen distance or even beat your chosen distance! Runners can even stop anytime after just one lap. Each lap is an out and back, which makes for a very social fun event, as you spot your fellow runners on each lap.
Starting at Starcross the picturesque route follows the Exe Estuary alongside the grounds of Powderham Castle which boasts deer, it then snakes along the Exe Estuary Trail past the Turf Lock Hotel, before the turn around point at mile 3.3.
1 lap = 10k+, 2 laps = Half Marathon, 4 laps = Marathon, 5 Laps or more=Ultramarathon
Results on the day: 1 lap Irene Hewings and Andy Park 1.23. 2 laps Cassandra Harrison 2.11. 2 laps Nick Robinson 1.42. 3 laps Iaen Sell 3.50
Torbay AAC also did a parkrun takeover where members take on the volunteering roles to serve the local running community in the international 5k challenge.