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We thank all of the runners for taking part in the event and trust that you had enjoyable and successful day.
 
>>>  2009 Race Results  <<<

These are the winning Ladies & Mens  teams

 Honiton Running Club
26   1:42:09 DAVEY, Judy
39   1:47:08 HUNTER, Vare
60    1:52:00 BROOM, Marion
88    1:56:45 CAMPBELL, Nicola

Erme Valley Harriers
7    1:16:29 HOLMES, Neil
11   1:18:42 RYDER, Alan 
15   1:20:41 BRISTOW, Allister
17 1:20:56 HANSEN, Mike

If you would like to give us feed back please email Info@torbayhalfmarathon.co.uk or visit Runners World, www.runnersworld.co.uk. -Torbay Half Marathon - past event -and leave your rating.
 
If you have sponsorship money for our race charities please contact Macmillan Cancer Support or Rowcroft Hospice, contact details from the link on the logos.



Running into the future

Monday 22nd June 2009

YESTERDAY'S Torbay Half Marathon was not only a fine example of great organisation but also goes to show how event-led tourism can flourish, given the right conditions.

The sunny day saw more than 1,300 runners take part and run the 13.1 mile route.

What is certain is that those who did who did cross the start line weren't just from South Devon.

There were entrants from across the UK, and a number of international runners joined the fun.

As well as providing a great opportunity for South Devon runners to take part on home turf, it also goes to show how tailored events such as these can be used to help tourism.

Many will have used the event as an excuse to take up a short break on the English Riviera, especially with such good weather this weekend.

Having got around safely and happily, word will spread and repeat visitors will come.

As Torbay Town Centres Company chief executive Lucy Ball recently pointed out, the Bay could do with a major annual event to attract visitors. Other areas have used running events in exactly this way — think of Newcastle's Great North Run, for example. The Torbay Half Marathon is already a highly-rated event. There's no reason it couldn't grow to become one of the country's major road races.

Here some comments from runners...

In short: hot again
In full: 3rd time I have done this race and loved it stayed at the berry hotel so thanks david hyde for putting a great race on see you next year

In short: A fun event, atmosphere makes up for slightly repetitive course.
In full: Very wel organised and good value for money considering the goody bag, road closures, and the feel that this is a 'proper' event rather than a club run. Slightly repetitive course and quite crowded, but this is offset by great spectator support.

In short: good

In short: Fun in the sun!
In full: Well organised, tremendous value in the superb nedal and excellent T-shirt and nice edibles in the goody bag! Quite a few hills, (up and down)and three lanes of runners on different laps/directions at one point. Any way it could go further into Torquay and avoid the two laps of Paignton Green, which were slow and crowded? But many thanks to the sponsors for the generous offer of 3 prizes for each age group, meaning I came away with a prize for the first time ever! We came on a girls weekend outing and all enjoyed the tremendous atmosphere, before and after the race. Well done, Torbay!

In short: Good race for 1st timers - nice medal & v good t-shirt

In short: Well-organised, nice atmosphere, great views and not too challenging course.

In short: My first competitive half, fantastic experience, thanks to the organisers

In full: If I had one gripe/suggestion it would be to maybe have sections within the starting i.e. for peoples expected finishing times, so that faster people who get stuck near the back don't have to fight through the crowds (not that I was particularly fast), this may make the start a little smoother for some. Otherwise a great day out and a really nice 'baptism' for me into the world of competitive half marathons. Well done to all involved in the event and I'll see you next year!!!

In short: Great atmosphere and fantastic scenery
In full: I have only done one half marathon before which nearly put me off running completely. I decided to give this one a go and am really glad I did. Definitely worth the trip from London. Gorgeous scenery and lovely to relax on the beach after. The crowd, marshals and other runners were really supportive. It was amazing to see the faster runners (who lapped me a number of times!), they were incredible. A big well done to everyone who helped organise the event and to all who took part.

In short: Great combination of scenery, organisation and atmosphere!

In short: My favourite to date
In full: Great friendly race, small enough to notice and hear the crowd offering personal support - live band were fab. Really nice t-shirt and medal. and encouragement. Will definiatly be back next year.

In short: once again, smooth organisation, great marshalls, good course
In full: a regular in the calender and again didnt disappoint, great tshirt/medal organisation, and great support around the course from supporters and marshalls.
first aid loooked busy, hope everyone was ok

In short: yet again a PB for me on this my favourite course

In short: great weekend away
In full: travelled down from the midlands for the
weekend so with petrol and two nights
digs etc a bit costly but well worth it.
marshalls galore and also plenty water
all the way round, sponges would have been
appreciated to be honest. the medal was nice
and the t-shirt top drawer, excellent.
have done over 100 marathons/half marathons
and this ranks well in the top.
great race, see you again next year.

In short: Top quality event.
In full: My second year doing this race and I can't wait for next year's! Glorious scenery, top quality medal and t-shirt and a relaxing beer on the Green afterwards.

In short: Great race
In full: Well organised, great route altho 2 laps but great for supporters to see you, lovely weather, great t-shirt, nice medal, would deffinetley travel from Southampton to do it again...

In short: Spectator friendly half with great views and a brilliant t-shirt.
In full: Another great half marathon. This is my local so I do it every year. The course may be repetative but that makes it very spectator friendly. Bring the whole family they will love it. The technical t-shirt was a nice touch this year. One you will actually get some use from.

In short: Well organised, fantastic scenery, great goody bag.
In full: First time at this event, the first 2 laps of the green helped settle you into your pace although a little crowded in some spots. Hills were challenging but no where near as bad as I was expecting. The organisation was spot on. Plenty of water stops which unfortunatley meant a lot of discarded cups to jump over. A sponge station would have been a great help but there was a nice chap with his hose pipe out at half way which was a blessing. Great for supporters with the finish running alongside the beach. Hats off to St Johns ambulance who I saw were quite busy.
Great goody bag with medal and t shirt. Well done to everyone involved, can see why it fills up so quick.

In short: A great trip to the seaside
In full: My first half marathon so a bit apprehensive but the great atmosphere and excellent organization made it a perfectly enjoyable day. Blue skies before the race and the organizers even managed to arrange some cloud cover for the race itself! Nice medals, good T-shirt and a PB (...always good to get a PB on your first at the distance ;o) ). Overall a thoroughly good race.

In short: Lovely race to do.
In full: Well organised and marshalled run,value for money, sufficent water points and even a nice t shirt & medalion at the end. Best half in Devon in my opinion.Ideal for spectators/family too if its sunny.

In short: Thoroughly well organised race, and good service at end massage etc.

In short: Best organised event I've done so far. Excellent.In short: Plenty of helpful marshals

In short: Well orgainised race, and I'll certainly be back next year
In full: Plenty of support from the spectators, and also from runners in the opposite direction, which is nice! I'm not a big fan of laps, but at least you know what's coming next time I suppose. The hills are tame by Devon standards, so decent potential for a PB if you're from around here. Nice goody bag, but an entry fee to match. Good organisation and marshalls, plus plenty of drinks stations.

In short: Very well organised and marshalled race, and very good value with a great technical tee shirt and goody bagIn short: Surprisingly challenging but very well organised event.
In full:
The route out to Torquay included some deceptively challenging undulations - and the double loop around the green at the beginning was nice and flat to spread out the field but slightly boring... overall difficult mental challenge in places with passing most of the field throughout the race (on other side of road) - but very well stationed and nice strong support at finish! Some uplifting music at the end would have helped?

In short: Very well organised, lots of water stations and great support around the way. Super goodie bag - good value for money! A challenging course but would def consider doing it again. Came as a group of ladies from Kenilworth runners- lovely weekend!

In short: Great atmosphere, not as warm as I thought it would be!

In short: Knocked almost 4 mins off PB so happy! The whole race ran very smoothly. Nice scenery and the support was pretty. Perfect for the family watching as they get to see you a few times whilst keeping the kids entertained on the beach lawns!

In short: beautiful setting great crowds
In full: Easy for me to be happy happy as I ran a pb but honestly loved this

 

Toby's Torbay reign goes on

Monday, June 22, 2009, 09:21

TOBY LAMBERT'S domination of the Torbay Half Marathon shows no sign of ending after he claimed a sixth consecutive win in Paignton yesterday.

Torquay-born runner Lambert — who now represents Winchester & District AC — may have been 50 seconds slower than last year's record-breaking time.

But he still clocked a dominant time of 1hr 8mins 11secs to see off nearest challenger Kairn Stone by nearly a minute.

Newham & Essex Beagles man Stone – a former member of host club Torbay AC – has been in good form on the road this year, and he was second runner home ahead of more than 1,300 finishers in a time of 1:09:08.

South West Road Runner Tom Merson crossed the line in 1:10:09 to round off the top three, three minutes ahead of Cardiff AC's Matthew Collins (1:13:14

Torbay's Helen Dyke was unable to add the Half Marathon to her long list of Devon road race ladies' successes this year.

Dyke had to settle for third overall in the ladies' class with a time of 1:25:49 – behind winner Jo Meek from Tavistock AC (1:21:55) and Team Bath AC's Georgia Wood (1:22:18).

Dyke's time, however, was more than fast enough to earn her the FV35-39 class win – one of two category successes for South Devon clubs.

Dartmouth AC's Marie Jones was the best of the FV60+ runners, clocking a time of 2:05:43.

The first of the local club runners home was Teignbridge Trotters' Chris Cleave – he finished 40th in a time of 1:25:41, while Dyke was the 51st runner to cross the line.

Little more than a minute later, the first of the South Devon AC contingent made it back when Jeremy Hocking came home in 1:28:01 for 61st.

Hocking's clubmate Vincent Langdon was 66th in 1:28:18, while James Dent (80th in 1:29:49), James Johnson (89th in 1:30:40), Rick Martin (93rd in 1:30:49) and Robert Forbes (95th in 1:30:53) also made the top 100.

Teignbridge Trotters' Michael Hill was also among the first 100 home – his time of 1:31:51 good enough for 97th.

In other club times, Victor Williscroft flew the Brixham Harriers flag in a time of 1:45:11 to finish 354th, while Peter Bunyan was the first of the Dawlish Coasters home in 1:44:57, finishing 361st.

Dawlish's Simon Bunday (376th in 1:45:39) and Brixham's Terrence McElheron (389th in 1:46:28) weren't far behind.

Craig Churchill finished 568th in 1:52:39 for Teign Valley Running Club, while Gavin and Dawn McNae crossed the line together in 2:28:13 to finish 1235th and 1236th for Teign Valley Hash House Harriers.

TORBAY HALF MARATHON RESULTS

Top ten: 1 Toby Lambert (Winchester & District AC) 1:08:11, 2 Kairn Stone (Newham & Essex Beagles) 1:09:08, 3 Tom Merson (South West Road Runners) 1:10:09, 4 Matthew Collins (Cardiff AC) 1:13:14, 5 Eric Vamben (Serpentine Running Club) 1:13:28, 6 Dave Stone (Exmouth Harriers) 1:16:18, 7 Neil Holmes (Erme Valley Harriers) 1:16:28, 8 Andrew Clare (1:17:37, 9 Paul Duff (unatt) 1:18:00, 10 Jamie Pearson (Exmouth Harriers) 1:18:18.