The Exeter Half Marathon took place on the second Sunday of February and had a 9am start, writes Judy Davey.

It proved to be a very well-organised event by Exeter Community City Trust, a mainly traffic-free, flat route, run along the footpaths and cycle tracks around the River Exe and Exeter Canal.

The course provided a fantastic opportunity for spring marathon training.

This is exactly why Paula Ferris from Honiton Running Club (HRC) took on the event, to gain an idea of how training was coming along in preparation for her first London Marathion in April.

The two-lap route gave the advantage of knowing what lay ahead and the pace could be monitored.

Feeling strong throughout the race, Paula finished in a respectable time of 1:43:18, which saw her take first place in her age category and she was also the fifth lady home, finishing 29th overall.

There were a total of 293 runners and the race was won by Paul Sawford in 1.22.48.

Paula is running the London Marathon to raise money for the ‘Baton Charity’. If you would like to support this wonderful worthwhile cause, Paula’s fundraising page is https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/PaulaFerris