What better way to finish an extraordinary year than with a new 10k trail run - The Final Countdown, writes Terry Bewes.

Milly Frankpitt and Terry Bewes (yours truly) took part in the race with Allan Kay and Adrian Horne keeping a watchful eye over the competitors by being diligent Marshals

The Final Countdown 10km race took place in and around the Dartington Hall Estate and was organised by Winding Paths.

The event was well organised with ample parking and a cafe close to the start/finish line.

It was also a sell-out, so when this running event comes around again on December 31, 2020, signing up early is a must.

Milly and myself listened to the race briefing telling us that the start and finish were in the same place.

At the top of a hill for a long downhill run.

However, it soon dawned on us both that it would be a long uphill drag at the end, all the way to the finish line! This was not a personal best (PB) course thanks to the gates and stiles, but it does make the runners start at an easy pace. The route took us through woods, up and down hills, along stoney paths with a bit of tarmac and across fields with a lot of very sticky mud throughout.

There were also some technical sections to keep us on our toes and a third of the run is through fields beside the River Dart with the steam railway on the other side.

With all the beautiful Devonian scenery distracting us, we were soon at the bottom of that aforementioned and dreaded uphill section to the finish line.

We gritted our teeth, dug deep, remembering we were in our Mighty Green colours, and took it on. Both of us ran the race together, so finishing together was a must.

We crossed the line in a time of 1:16:19 to complete the route in 150th and 151st places out of the 245 finishers to collect a very nice medal for our efforts.