JUST before Christmas, the Bude RATS took part in their last Race of 2015 — the ‘Christmas Caper’.
11 members from the Club travelled over to Torrington to take part in the event, organised by the towns AAC. A 10-mile multi-terrain race, starting and finishing at the rugby club.
Along the way, the RATS found themselves crossing farmland, streams and sections of the Tarka trail as they ran down to Taddiport and through the disused milk factory, before climbing hard in the second half of the race back up to Torrington.
Some great performances in this tough race from the RATS, in a field of over 300 runners from all over the Southwest, rewarded the clubs great turnout.
.jpg?width=209&height=140&crop=209:145,smart&quality=75)
Excellent effort from Paul Corthine saw him lead the RATS in, closely followed by Mark Hutcheson as his fine form continues.
Full RATS results: Paul Cortine 1.12.54; Mark Hutcheson 1.13.46; Paul Kinsman 1.17.11; Phil Aldis 1.18.07; Chris Tucker 1.18.18; Harvey Robert Richmond 1.19.52; Andy Cloake 1.21.34; Sean Jack 1.28.46; Claire Neal 1.40.22; Karen Lisa Moon 2.00.49
The Race marked the end to a great year for the Bude RATS. 2015 saw the clubs adult membership rise to 100 for the first time, many new members joined the club after taking part in the 0-5k ’absolute beginner’ the club held throughout the year. This is something the RATS hope to continue in 2016.
High club turnout at the Barnstaple Marathon earlier this year and events further afield such as the 20mile ’Grizzly’ held at Seaton, show the RATS had an active year on the competitive front along with their weekly social chatty club runs.
Some results highlights for the year included victory for Peter Devenport in the Chagford ’2 Hills’ race and a 1st place age category finish for Stephen Hutchinson in the Turo Half Marathon.
Proud moments for the RATS this year came in the form of Team Prizes for the Ladies, claiming a 3rd Place over 26.2 miles in the Barnstaple Marathon, and for the Men, 3rd place in a contest of over 80 teams in the one mile, sprint based Tavistock Town Relays.
The Club took over the organisation of the RNLI Bude lifeboat run for the first time in 2015 and along with the RATS very own ’Pirate Run’ — a tough coastal path race, both events drew in hundreds of runners and as such are scheduled to take part again in 2016, with the RATS looking to get as many people from in and around Bude taking part whatever their level of experience.
With more beginner groups planned and extra coaches becoming qualified, as the club continues to grow, 2016 is set to be another exciting year for the Bude RATS.