A RELAY from Ergué Gabéric to Bude was recently completed to help celebrate the 30 years of twinning.

The relay was the brainchild of Ergué's Didier Coustans who wanted to add an exciting new sporting dimension to the twinning associations' celebration for their 30th anniversary.

Didier, together with Neil and Wendy Hutson, meticulously planned and organised the excellent event, enlisting the enthusiastic support of the Bude RATS club on this side of the water, where the route followed the Devon/ Cornwall border as closely a possible.

On Thursday, May 28 the relay covered 92km in Brittany, starting from Ergué Gabéric near Quimper at 8am and arriving at Roscoff at 5.15pm. Eight Ergué runners covered this distance in 18 stages as well as cycling a safety bicycle alongside the runners.

They were joined by two Bude Twinners about 25km from Roscoff and all had a celebratory dinner at the port before taking the overnight ferry.

The relay set off from Plymouth at 7.20am on Friday, this time with 11 Ergué runners joined by Chris Roper, Kelvin Turner, Lee Dawson, Bridget Funnell and Roger Nosworthy of the Bude RATS club, who also provided a support vehicle and one of the four accompanying cyclists.

The 75km route to Bude was run in 11 stages. It was chosen to be interesting and passed through Plymouth alongside the dockyard walls, over the Tamar Bridge and along beautiful and narrow lanes via Botus Flemming, Downgate, Rezare, Polson Bridge, Bridgetown, Brid­gerule and Marham­church.

It was not chosen to be flat and the steepness of some of the Cornish lanes certainly took the French runners by surprise!

Fifteen Bude RATS took part in the relay; two of them in particular, Kelvin Turner and Lee Dawson, covered many of the stages alongside French runners.

As well as the four Bude cyclists, Chris Roper, Mike Johnson, Neil Hutson and Roger Nosworthy, who pedalled as safety bicycles from Plymouth, to be joined, in the latter stages by several RAT children who cycled with the runners from Bridgerule to Bude.

Despite the steep hill and starting 20 minutes late at Plymouth, the relay was back on time at Helebridge, from where over 30 runners and cyclists completed the last stage along the canal path/cycleway to Bude, with Cornish and Breton flags, to be welcomed at the Bude Castle gates at 3.15pm.

The Ergué runners were: Didier Coustans, Monique Roland, Chantal Lejeune, Gilbert Lejeune, Nelly Dumoustier, Cyril Dumoustier, Jean Claud Riou, Michele Guyader, Monique Béon, Christine Daniel, Jean Marc Gueguen.

Bude RATS: Kelvin Turner, Lee Dawson, Susan Van Rensburg, Katie Van Rensburg, Basie Van Rensburg, Bridget Funnell, Peter La Broy, Roger Nosworthy, Emma Bartrop and her son (on bike), Sue Roper and her son (on bike), Mark Ward and his three sons (on bike), Irene Thomson, Isobel Waterhouse, Natasha Jones, Sean Jack, Chris Roper (bike).

Bude Twinners: Lawrence Plaskett, Neil Hutson (bike), Mike Johnson (bike), Yan Fanet and Jackie Foster.