With a total overall climb of 1200 metres (see Snowdon (1085 m) and Ben Nevis (1345 m) for scale) - the Dartmoor Discovery race is the UK’s longest, single lap, road, ultra marathon. The 32 mile loop starts and finishes in Princetown (famous for its prison and transmitter mast) and takes in some mighty hills. It is, Teresa said, 'simply the most incredible scenery Dartmoor has to offer, the kind of scenery that makes you cry because it is so beautiful'. This was in fact Teresa's fourth time taking part, and six years since her last outing. 'Although I was almost an hour slower than my personal best (which I’ll put down to lack of training and extreme heat rather than age!)' she said, 'the landscape was no less stunning, and the atmosphere no less stimulating. I was surprised and pleased to find I’d won the trophy for second FV45, to complete my set of four DD trophies' 'More importantly, I had the whole morning to think my own thoughts and enjoy the surroundings and company of fellow ultra-runners. Day to day life is hugely busy and complicated; running simply isn’t. You just keep going forward, with nothing else to do but run, then jog, then shuffle. Towards the end (actually the last 19 miles), especially given the heat, I had to summon every bit of willpower I had to keep going. But afterwards, the feeling of achievement and regained identity makes me feel fulfilled.' Thanks to Sarah and Tom for the long training runs and reminding me I can still do this. Thanks to Gerry because my long distance running genuinely makes him happy too and he does everything he can to make it possible!
