THIS weekend saw members of Bere Alston Trekkers racing on open moorland trails.

On Sunday, Marcia Macey, Fran Morgan, Derek Hicks, Pam and Dave Adams, Heather Lee, Francis Dix and Dave Dencer tackled the Hameldown Hammer, a trail half marathon staged by Puretrail Running.

They were joined by Rachel Wood, recent finisher of the Arc of Attrition, who ran the shorter recovery race in the form of the “Hameldown 7even”, billed as a long 10K race.

Both courses are tough, challenging trail races, with the Hammer designed to be a serious test of endurance.

Both races start and finish in the village of Widecombe-In-The-Moor, at the foot of the Hameldown ‘massif’ and are surrounded by some of Dartmoor’s most iconic granite tors.

The Hammer has a total ascent of over 600 metres.

It is 98% trail, over a series of well defined, grassy, rocky, sometimes muddy tracks and through forestry glades.

Most significantly, there is a double ascent of the Hameldown Ridge, rising high and steep.

It affords spectacular views of the moor and tors, with some of the best trail running Dartmoor has to offer.

The strong wind on the moor added to the challenge in this testing race, as did the conditions underfoot.

Official finishing times were unavailable at the time of going to press, but all the BATs ran well and finished strongly.