Naomi conquers Dartmoor with historic Ultra time

Facing 32 gruelling road miles along some of the toughest hills Dartmoor has to offer, Naomi Flanagan ran her way to first place at the iconic Dartmoor Discovery ultra marathon, writes Jon Pressling.

Not only was Naomi first lady across the line but was fourth place overall and secured the second fastest ever women's time since the race began in 1998, along with an age group record time.

Starting and finishing in Princetown, Naomi completed the brutal race in an incredible time of 4.00.29, just narrowly missing the overall women's course record. Jerry Butcher also ran his way to a superb time of 4.56.41 on his Dartmoor Discovery debut, while experienced DD runner Debbie Burman completed the Torbay Tri Club trio in 5.38.53.

Blackpool Sands played host to the popular Dartmouth Triathlon and Ben Flower took a strong second place overall and an age group win in the sprint distance event with a time of 1.15.36 Going longer in the standard distance triathlon, Steve Donnelly finished in a solid time of 2.40.24 and was joined by Chris Martin in 2.53.39.

On the previous day all eyes were on the chilly water, as several swim only events took place. Gary Brenton continued his great swim season, opting for the longest distance race of 3k, and put in a great performance to go under the hour mark in a time of 57.30.