10k debut for Torbay athlete in the Bournemouth Festival of running

Leon Snell from Torbay Amateur Athletics Club travelled to Bournemouth for the running festival where he took on his first 10k.

A cool, overcast Autumn morning set up good running conditions for what’s advertised as a ‘Supersonic 10k’. The race started at Hengistbury Head with the runners initially running along the cliff top before descending a slope onto the beach promenade.

The course took the athletes along parallel to the famous sands to Boscombe pier. Then the final 2k push to a warm welcome from the crowds and a final lap of Bournemouth pier before the finish line.

Leon finished in an impressive 21st position out of over 1000 runners in 37m 50s.

The first Westward League cross country at Newnham Country Park near Plymouth did not disappoint. The sun was out, the course was lush grass with undulating woodland trails and there was a highly competitive field from all over Devon and Cornwall. 

The U17 girls’ team are top of the pack after the first of six races with strong running from Paige Quinn, who came in first place, plus Ella Richards (3rd) and Scarlett Muscott (4th) over a challenging 6k course.

The U17 boys were placed fifth team, despite having only two runners (up to three runners can make a team) with great runs from Theo Glew (6th) and Isaac Hammond (14th).

In her first cross country for Torbay athletics, Neve Blacker was an impressive 9th place. And the U15 girls who are defending their team title from last season, showed great teamwork to claim second place after this first race of the series.

Annalise Little had a strong finish to gain 2nd place, Lola Gay ran superbly to finish 14th in her first cross country for the club, and there was great support from Bea Bateman, who was 17th and Sophia Impey 22nd.

Wearing the Torbay vest for his first time, Henry Gardiner raced well to finish 12th and team-mate Same Freestone was 16th. They both showed great strength in an extremely fast field.

Young Keaton Quinn was a solid 25th in the U11 boys race, while eight year-old Esme Quinn was an impressive 31st with three more years to go in that age group. Coaches Hayley Ratcliff was fourth V55 and Andy Longthorpe (representing Torbay Tri Club) was first V50, while senior Anthony Raine was 12th V55 and Kevin Loft 6th V50. 

It was a great day out with lots of support from the athletes and families. Well done Torbay AAC. The next race in the series is in Newquay in November.