The Toddle is no Doddle!

Initially thinking that it was an off-road 10.25 mile trail run, I, Ellie Sutcliffe, signed up for the Teign Valley Toddle to get a season of nice Autumn trail races underway and to have a break from the roads. However, when I chatted to others it soon became apparent that this race is in fact all on the tarmac so, with roadies at the ready, I toed the start line along with several other confused individuals who were wearing Innov8 fellies, at the race HQ in Christow.

Not off-road but scenic nevertheless, this was a challenging run. The hill profile online looked to be undulating but in fact it was more down right hilly! There is a steep climb from the start for 1 mile before a lovely 4.5 mile long descent down the valley; but, what goes down must come back up, and you spend the remaining portion of the race climbing back up, with a few short, steep descents and equally short steep climbs thrown in for good measure.

Not a true 10 miles, this one measures in at 10.25 and so I was pleased, given the extra 1/4 mile and the hills, to finish in a time of 1:08:49 and to take 1st female spot and 6th place overall, just out-sprinted for 5th place by the guy I had been running shoulder to shoulder with since mile 2. Need to work on that final finish-line kick of mine!

Nice race, lovely scenery, cheap to enter at £8, and fantastic cakes and pasties afterwards. Incidentally, our own Dave Stone is a former winner of this event, clocking a time of 62:00 in 2010.

At the 5.5 mile point, crossing the River Teign and about to hit a killer 2 mile long hill!