Hope Trail Festival incorporating Hope 12, 24 and 36 hour races along with a Kids race are now under the umbrella of GB Ultras as the new owners of the festival of running based in Plymouth.
Danny Slay, co-founder, “I hope our community support them as I am confident they will put on a smashing event, with a mindset on maintaining our same ethos, same brand and name. I am honoured with the calibre of the company willing to take it on.
“For Pete, Susan and myself, it’s been an absolute pleasure and honour to stage this event for all of you. It’s hard work and we are often thrown a few curve balls (weather, deliveries) to deal with, but the fact we have delivered an event we can be proud of is testament to all of you, our volunteers, the landowner, our sponsors and suppliers.”
Over the weekend families and running clubs from around the UK flocked to Plymouth to the Hope Trail Festival. 113 runners took part in the 12 hour solo event, 177 in the 24 hour, and 39 in the 36 hour. There was also a children’s race and team relays with the aim of running as many laps as possible within the timeframe.
On the 12 hour solo: male race winners: Matthew Luck covered 12 laps 60 miles in a total time of 12:06:44, followed by Jamie Frost in 2nd place with 12 laps in 12:53:48 and Ian Wye close behind in 3rd place in a total time of 10:18:47 with 10 laps too. On the 12 hour solo female race the winners were Lizzie Moore covered 10 laps 50 miles in a total time of 12:28:09, followed by Kirsty Prowse in 2nd place with 10 laps in 12:31:30 and Barbara Hatrey in 3rd place in a total time of 11:22:33 with 9 laps (45 miles).
Credit Tony and Nat Wallbank
24 hour solo male race winners: David Davies covered 20 laps 100 miles in a total time of 21:13:41, followed by Nigel Croft in 2nd place with 17 laps (85 miles) in 20:53:17 and Lee Herbert close behind Ian in 3rd place in a total time of 23:05:05 with 17 laps too.
24 hour solo female race winners: Taking the overall race win, Alice Robinson, covered 21 laps 105 miles in a total time of 24:00:17, followed by Vicki Trundle in 2nd place with 14 laps (70 miles) in 21:14:33 and Sarah Reynolds in 3rd place in a total time of 22:47:20 with 14 laps. In total 177 solo runners started the event.
36 hour solo male race winners: David Brock covered 21 laps 105 miles in a total time of 34:36:14, followed by Ian Saxby in 2nd place with 20 laps (100 miles) in 34:36:14 and Alex Hanson close behind Ian in 3rd place in a total time of 35:07:36.
36 hour solo female race winners: Vicky Luffrum covered 16 laps 80 miles in a total time of 27:26:45, followed by Lisa Birch in 2nd place with 16 laps (80 miles) in 36:54:18 and Fiona Caldwell close behind Ian in 3rd place in a total time of 35:48:41 with 15 laps. In total, 39 solo runners started the event.
“What an amazing weekend!!”
Credit Tony and Nat Wallbank
To our runners, traders, suppliers, sponsors and Newnham Estate, thank you so much for making our last event as organisers of Hope Trail Festival such a momentous occasion. We could not of asked for a better send off, perfect weather, a beautiful course and fantastic friends.
So once, again, from the bottom of our hearts; thank you.
Danny, Susan & Peter.”
Credit Tony and Nat Wallbank
Danny, Susan and Peter were given a standing ovation at the end of the race by volunteers and runners who had taken part in the event.
New organiser Wayne Drinkwater said “Danny, Susan, Pete and all the Hope team have established an incredible event over the years hand in hand with each runner taking part and they can be very proud of what they have built. Danny and Pete built the race in the lead up to the 2014 Marathon des Sables (where I got to know them) with the goal of fundraising for a number of incredible and worthy causes and its been fantastic to see the race develop over the years into a very special event. Hope 24 is a race built from the heart of Danny, Susan and Pete and my aim is to keep it that way, with a focus of the race experience and supporting runners, local businesses and charities.”
Credit Tony and Nat Wallbank
“They have set a high standard and we’ll look to continue and develop the concept further and hope to see Danny, Susan and Pete and their families join the start line as competitors next year.”
GB Ultras organise some of the best ultramarathons in England, Scotland and Wales with a focus on 50 mile, 100 mile events and the title event ‘Race Across Scotland‘ 215 mile! Find out more about GB Ultras at www.GBUltras.com
