Sidmouth Running Club entered 12 teams into the ACR-organised Woodlands Relay which took place in the woodlands near Lea Croft Caravan Park, Colyton, writes Hamish Spence.

The route was reduced in length owing to some fallen trees and this all meant that the relay became an out-and-back race.

The first 600m was almost flat with the next 600m'ish section being a downhill blast with a slippery u-turn at the bottom!

This was the halfway point which meant that it was a very long climb back up to the top, and then a sprint to the finish.

To avoid collisions, the runners had to run on the left hand side at all times. This worked very well with no reported incidents!

The weather had been wet all week on and off, the ground was fairly good for most of the route, but slippery on the hill. There was a great atmosphere on the start line and it was not long before the first leg runners were back for the first 'hand-over'.

Run Boy Three, were the first Sidmouth team to finish with Steve Saunders setting off first and averaging a 10 minute mile followed by Rob Edwards and a very determined Tim Mitchell with the team time being 29:10.

Chafing The Dream saw Chris Day Kerry gain a down hill 400m(ish) section personal best time of 1:39 and was followed by Charlotte Forrer and a flat out Sam Ingram with the team ending with a time of 29:10.

First to get away for mixed gender team, Grand Master Flash, was Simon Holyer who managed a fast 8:15 minute per mile pace and he was followed by Richard King and Ronnie Masters with the team ultimately finishing 13th in 29:43.

Catherine Hilton got 'The Runners Beans' off to a flying start. Next out was Claire Ashby, giving it all she could, especially up the long hill and then Kerry Boyle blitzed the last leg. As a team they found it tough going, but they were the first all-female team to finish, coming 14th with their time of 29:53.

The young at heart 'Young Sexagenarians' were down to two men for this event, with Paul Mitchell and John Hanson who took on two of the laps. Tim Clay had to duck out with an injury. Paul and John completed the event in 30:51, finishing 18th.

Originally named by Paula Farrand, the 'Dream Team' will have 'er' added to Dream for next years Woodlands Relay!

First away was Rocker Sheppard, who set the bar with an average 11 minute-per-mile pace. Hamish Spence took off to chase down team TTT's Karen Farnham and very nearly succeeded on the downhill section, but Karen is an up-hill running demon and so it was over to Adrian Horne to take the baton. Dream Team finished in 32:19 to take 22nd spot, one place better than TTT (Terry's Talkative Trio) who comprised of Christine and Karen Farnham and Sarah Clapham, and they all claim not to have uttered a single word during the race! Is that really possible?

Of course it isn't and the clock stopped when all three took a breath at 33:09 to see them into 23rd spot.

All you need to know about the Sidmouth Green Goddesses is that they were absolutely fabulous…any questions…good!

Introducing Team Ladies And Tramp, and clearing things up for arguments sake, Sarah Watkins (lady and first runner), Paul Williamson (tramp and second runner) and Kerry Agar (lady and fast runner), came 27th in a time of 36:21.

Going quickly, to be correctly named, the 'Slow Motion Ninjas' were, in order of disappearance and re-appearance, Julia Haddrell, Jenny Bentley and Suzi Rockey.

The trio managed a combined time of 37:23, which saw them finish 29th.

Named after three great women of a certain age, 'The Supremes', comprising Sarah Powell, Emma Grainger and Ann Cole, all showed supreme grit and determination throughout the event to get to the finish. They came in 31st position, but by the smile on their faces, they certainly enjoyed themselves!

Their time taken… not important, but they thank all the other Sidmouth runners for their fabulous support both on and off the trail.

This was an event thoroughly enjoyed by all with very high levels of SRC members supporting each other on the track and at the start/finish line.