Plymouth Half Marathon

At 9am, bright and early on Sunday 30th May 2010 three Harriers, Hugh Marsden, Dawn Teed and Trevor Cope lined up with four thousand, seven hundred and twenty eight runners to take part in the Plymouth Half Marathon. Their heads concentrating on the gruelling thirteen point one miles of tarmac ahead of them and the Cornish pasties awaiting them at the finishing line.

The race started on the Hoe, the site of the famous Beatles photograph from the sixties in the shadow of Smeaton's Tower (the lighthouse in the photo for non-Plymothians), with a circuit of the Citadel and harbour area before heading west along the main road through Prince Rock toward the river Plym. Immediately after crossing the river a sharp left turn took the runners along the eastern bank of the river, and just over four miles into the race the long ascent of nearly a mile into Saltram Park started. After exiting the park at the hill's peak the runners took a right turn and descended along Haye Road to the A379 Elburton Road and back toward the city centre. Once again the runners crossed the river Plym and followed the road around Sutton Pool (the most ancient part of Plymouth) via Coxside, passed the Citadel where a right turn took them back to the Hoe. With the tantalising finishing line in sight a final loop around the Hoe was endured before the athletes crossed the finishing line on the Hoe Promenade itself.

The first runner to complete the race was Jean [John] Ndayisenga of the Birchfield Harriers in a recorded time of 1 hour, 6 minutes and 32 seconds, forcing local athlete Kairn Stone into second place. The first female runner to cross the finishing line, in overall 23rd place, was Yimenashu Taye, unattached runner, in a time of 1-19- 21.

Hugh Marsden led the Harrier's trio home in overall 33rd place in a recorded time of 1-22-46. His valiant efforts won him the first place in the V50 age category.

Dawn Teed finished in overall 1802nd place in a recorded time of 1-59-35. Trevor Cope finished in overall 3257th place in a recorded time of 2-15-23.

The last runner to complete the course was Priscilla Rowe in a time of 4-19-46. The distance and hot weather conditions forced 37 runners to abandon their attempts to complete the race.

(RW)