19 May High-mileage Matt makes headlines in a big week for SDAC
South Devon Athletic Club racers showed their versatility across their latest batch of races, conquering extreme heat, rough terrain and a beast of a hill at Bittaford.
The most exceptional achievement of all went to SDAC runners Matt Dalton and Richard Perry, who kept their cool on the hottest day of the year so far to complete the Devon Coast to Coast Ultra.
The 180km route took them from Wembury on the south coast to Lynmouth on the north, covering the whole of the county and two National Parks along the way.
After all that, they finished just over an hour apart, with Richard Perry completing the endurance classic in seventh place overall in 32h 06m 57s and Matthew Dalton placing eleventh in 33h 12m 54s.
Matthew’s successful completion of the event means he now has all three ‘points’ on his trident, having done Climb South West’s Jurassic Extinction and North Coast races as well as the Devon Coast to Coast.
Jamie Duffield swapped the off-road tracks and trails of his recent ultra runs for the rapid Ivybridge 10k route as South Devon Athletic Club’s year-long Grand Prix series continued.
Fresh from his Butcombe Trail success through the country byways of Somerset, he led the SDAC contingent home at the Erme Valley Harriers’ Ivybridge race.
Duffield’s 37m 49s gave him a seven and a half minute cushion over the next SDAC runner home, club chairman Colin Peters. Kate Foley was the club’s first lady across the line.
Other club members tackling the Ivybridge race, which includes the notorious Bittaford climb, were Shaun Kirk, Rob Foster, Heather Coverdale, Neil Jordain, Roger Webb, Matthew Senior and Alison Ford.
Rob Foster now leads the GP table by just six points from Shaun Kirk, with Colin Peters third. The women’s GP leader is Alison Ford, with Kate Foley second and Heather Coverdale third.
Elsewhere, the club’s runners took in a variety of venues and distances.
Marc Walpot was the first Vet 60 in the 10k race at the Tossa de Mar Run Festival in Spain, finishing in 51m 48s. Meanwhile, the club’s mixed team of Shaun Kirk, Daniel Tagg, Minnie Ashford-Lavery and Colin Peters won their class at the Run Exe 4×4 Relays in Exeter.