SEAA Road Relays 2007

[double click on any of the photos for the full effect]

The bronze medal winning team with travelling reserve Les Turner

Here we go again... our third trip to the Rushmoor Arena, Aldershot for the Southern Counties' Road Relays. After and 4th in 2005 and a bronze in 2006, we did wonder if we might go one better again and manage a silver... but it was not to be as you will see.

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Roger led off as usual on an overcast day, after overnight rain. The course had a few puddles and some soft places, but was not at all slippery. Roger blasted off rather too quickly up the hill, and led for the first lap (11:20 for the 3k), but at around 4.5k was caught and passed by Oxford City's Dave Parsons. Dave did not get away however, and Roger managed to hold the gap to 15 seconds at handover, running 23:21 for the 6k.

Ray was, as usual, our second leg runner, and with shouts (from Roger) of "mind that hill Ray" raced away, seeking to hang on to Oxford's Clive Rutland. We soon saw however, that although Ray was running the leg of his life, he was making no impression. But Ray knuckling down to the job in hand, continued to pull away from the third place athlete, in the end running a PB for the course (taking 19 seconds of his previous fastest in 2005); a wonderful effort.

Ray handed over to Jim Wyatt for his first run around Rushmoor's deceptive 'ups-and-downs'. Over the past months the whole squad has been working hard on the track, seeking to knock those 'difficult' seconds off race times; Jim too excelled in his work, running the most even paced leg of the afternoon from the Exmouth team, running a creditable 27:42 for the 6k and handing over, still in second place to new member, and long term elite veteran athlete, Pete Tabenor.

Pete, on paper the second fastest of the quartet was, we felt, just the man to consolidate the gains of the previous legs. That is why he was chosen to run 'anchor' -- the best laid plans! Pete had the unfortunate experience of coming up against the Oxford 'B' team's fastest athlete, who ran not only faster than 3 members of his club's 'A' team, but the second fastest leg of the day, Mick Welland. Mick's faster leg-speed quickly closing the gap that Jim had managed to maintain, and poor Pete was left chasing shadows. Pete is however a very strong competitor himself and managed to finish strongly in 25:39, bringing the Harriers home in a solid 3rd place.

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Then the fun started. The race referee (Paul Ross from Ivybridge) announced to team-leader Rowe that the Harriers would be awarded the team silver medal as Oxford had won the gold in the event, and that one club could not be awarded two medals. However, after some delay this was overturned, and we were demoted again back to the bronze. Pity... but on the other hand we maintained our good record in the event adding team bronze to the team bronzes of 2006. And against clubs with much greater resources than little old Exmouth Harriers.

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We frightened them a bit, that's for sure. Times:

RR -- 23:21

RE -- 25:52

JW -- 27:42

PT -- 25:39

Total time -- 1:42:34 (nearly 5 minutes clear of Burnham in 4th)

Thanks to Mandy for the scrummy date flap-jacky things and Mary for the photos. And for all their support with Les who acted as driver, reserve, encourager and supporter in chief.

(RR)

World Masters - Riccione, Italy

Just managed to track down John Perratt's results from Riccione, all V70 remember:

400 metres... 1:14.89 for 13th in the Semi-Final
800 metres... 7th in 2:43.51
1,500 metres... 6th in 5:41.09
5,000 metres... 4th in 20:03.62
10,000 metres... BRONZE Medal in 43:29.79

8k Cross Country... TEAM BRONZE with Eric Barber (Torbay) and Reg Checkley (Heaton)... John was 2nd in the race, so in addition to the team bronze won the INDIVIDUAL SILVER. The team were just 24 seconds off a team silver. Three medals in all... pretty impressive huh?

John, do let us know the gory details...

JOHN WRITES:

"Italy was a great experience although I possibly did too much and that was reflected in my 10k time. The semi finals for the 800 and 1500 were pretty straightforward but the pace certainly picked up in the finals. I was though pleased with my 400 time in the Quarter Finals when I did 1.12.06 and that got me a place in the 4x400 relay team where we came 4th.

The XC also went well and I did pick up Silver for that. In fact the race was postponed from the Tuesday because of a storm and was held on the Saturday, a rest day. We ran at about mid-day after we had done the 5k on the previous evening so rigor mortis hadn't quite set in.

We also managed a bit of sightseeing at the same time with local trips and further afield to San Marino and Venice. Since coming back I have picked up a nasty cold and feel achy and miserable so not sure that I will be goping to Newtown (BMAF 10K) this weekend. I will see how I feel later."

(RR)

Last Weekend Races

Exmouth Harrier Hugh Marsden produced another superb performance to win the Musbury Castle Challenge, a tough, eight-mile race near Axminster which is mainly off-road, in 53:04. Fellow Harrier Joe Pascoe also ran well to come 6th in 56:21. 101 runners completed the race.

The Dornafield Ladies 10K, Newton Abbot, was won by Alison Thorn of the Womans Running Network, in 39:22. Exmouth’s Julie Gellender had another outstanding race and came 3rd F35 and 9th overall in 42:18, out of 265 finishers.

Of Marathons and Babies

[Adrian Kearns in an earlier 2007 race]

The 25th New Forest Marathon was held on Sunday 16/09/2007. The winner was 47 year old Mark Hargreaves of Bournemouth AC in 2:38:30, who was so quick that he got in front of the lead car, that led to some confusion when it escorted 2nd place Veisters Dude of Crawley AC across the finishing line in 2:49:46. First lady home was Dorset Doddler Lynda Faulkner in 3:16:36. Exmouth Harrier Adrian Kearns finished 29th out of 441 in 3:14:11.

The Truro Half Marathon was won by Jim Cole of Tavistock A C in 1:15:06. Exmouth Harrier Steve Tancock came 56th in 1:31:43, out of the field of 578 finishers.

Apologies and congratulations to Exmouth Harrier Ben White, who was missed from the report on the Grizzly, which he completed in 3:49:33 for 472nd place.

Congratulations, also, to Hannah Dupain who missed this year’s Grizzly due to the impending birth of her baby boy Aiden. He kept the whole club waiting far too long before making his appearance, but has now decided that mum will be able to resume training shortly in preparation for next year’s Grizzly.

(LT)

Final Yeovilton 5k - 12th September

On my own this time. Not exactly earth-shattering, but a 19:12 time on a humid evening was most satisfying; and the final 2k saw an increase in pace rather than a drop off. Amazing winning time, a lad from Wells ran 14:14 with his brother in second a few seconds behind. When did you last see that in the UK?

Rog Rowe - 19:12 - 1st Vet/60

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PS. Just checked the UK rankings and the winning time was the second fastest in the UK this year... with the other in the top 5. I thought it was quick!

(RR)

The Grizzly 2007 - Armageddon Now

Axe Valley Runners, who organise the Grizzly, hope everyone enjoyed themselves on their "hills are lots of fun really" course, but won't repeat what one of the first three Grizzlers called them for subjecting him to such pain! Only one person told them it was actually too hard so it can't have been that bad!

Congratulations to the winners, especially to Frank Zimmer who came all the way from Frankfurt to win overall by a good margin in 2:27:31, and to Erme Valley Harrier Neil Holmes, who's run ten of the last eleven Grizzlies and finished in the top three in all of them. You're all winners, of course, but you knew that didn't you?

Thirteen Exmouth Harriers were among the 996 runners who completed the race. Dave Stone produced another outstanding performance to come 16th in 2:44:41, with Shaun Lock also running superbly and not too far behind in 20th place in 2:49:08. Jon Croome was 54th in 2:59:27, with Hugh Marsden 99th in 3:08:28. Next came Richard Selby, who had an excellent race to come 117th overall and 3rd V55 in 3:09:59, 15 seconds ahead of Joe Pascoe who was 118th in 3:10:14.

Despite completing the mountainous 100 mile North Face Ultra-Trail Du Mont-Blanc race less than a week before the Grizzly, Paul Champion had still recovered sufficiently to achieve 245th in 3:25:35, a terrific achievement. Lorraine Croome came 275th in 3:29:09 and Steve Merry was 376th in 3:40:04. Dawn Teed came 564th in 4:01:36, with Emma Dupain 592nd in 4:04:57, Nigel Dupain 593rd in 4:04:58 and Sue Wilkin 894th in 4:51:02. Well done to everyone who completed this gruelling event!

Recently it was reported that Jim Wyatt won the V65 bronze medal at the South West Vets’ 5k Championship at Yeovilton. Apologies to Jim, because he actually did better than that and won the silver, not the bronze.

Harriers Summary:
Dave Stone - 16th in 2:44:41
Shaun Lock - 20th in 2:49:08
Jon Croome - 54th in 2:59:27
Hugh Marsden - 99th in 3:08:28
Richard Selby - 117th in 3:09:59
Joe Pascoe - 118th in 3:10:14
Paul Champion - 245th in 3:25:35
Lorraine Croome - 275th in 3:29:09
Steve Merry - 376th in 3:40:04
Dawn Teed - 564th in 4:01:36
Emma Dupain - 592nd in 4:04:57
Nigel Dupain - 593rd in 4:04:58
Sue Wilkin - 894th in 4:51:02

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(LT)

The North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc

Well the day finally arrived for Paul Champion to line up with 2,319 other runners for the start of the 5th edition of The North Face Ultra-Trail Du Mont-Blanc. This follows a well-known route around the base of Mont Blanc. Starting in Chamonix (France) at 6.30pm on to Courmayeur (Italy) and then to Champex (Switzerland) before retuning to Chamonix. The route is 163Km long with 8,900m of ascent and descent along the route. The maximum time permitted is 46 hours.

Paul started near the rear of the field not wishing to be lulled into starting too fast to the sound of ‘Chariots of Fire’! Fortunately the first 8k was fairly easy running to allow the muscles time to warm up before being faced with having to go up the famous Kandahar world cup downhill ski run. Reaching the top in 1,686 position. By this time the sun was beginning to set and head torches were going on in readiness for the hours of darkness ahead. By sunrise Paul was well on the way to the Col de la Seigne at 59k and in 1,030th position. It was clear Saturday was going to be hot and by the time Paul reached Courmayeur (907th) just before 10am the temperatures were already in the mid 70’s. This was the first of two points where a bag had been sent forward with clean kit and shoes if needed. Now faced with two big climbs to reach the highest point on the course during the hottest part of the day it was important to keep hydrated. Just after 4.30pm Paul reach the Grand Col Ferret (804th) at 2,537m.

Next followed a long quad bashing descent with a climb at the bottom to Champex (635th) arriving just before dark to the second bag drop control. A welcome change of kit after a very hot day, more chicken noodle soup and other refreshments before donning head light again and heading out for the second night on the run. Only just over 40k to go now but still three big climbs before the finish. A strong second night on the run saw Paul reach Vallorcine in 479th position at 4am. The last control point at Argentiere (457th) was reached at 5.20am. With just 10k left the end was in sight and head lights were again being turned off. This last 10k took 1h 27m. Paul finished in 423rd position in 36hours 14min and would like to say a big thank you to an enthusiastic support team who followed him around the course and encouraged him at some of the control points that were reachable by road.

Well done, Paul! Just completing such a long, arduous course up and down mountains, by day and by night, almost 10 hours inside the maximum time permitted was a tremendous achievement. And to progress steadily through the field to end up beating 1,897 out of the other 2,319 runners was, for a man in his 50’s, awesome!!

(LT)

1st & 2nd September 2007

Exmouth Harriers competed in three events over the weekend, but several runners appeared to be preparing for next week’s infamous Grizzly, rather than racing themselves.

Roger Rowe produced another excellent performance to come 28th overall and 1st V60 in 19:29 at the hilly Saltram 5k, as part of his preparation for the Aldershot Relays at the end of the month. The race was won by Kairn Stone of Newham & Essex Beagles in 15:32. 142 runners completed the race.

The Harriers were represented by a single runner at another event, the even more hilly 5 mile Dartmouth Regatta Road Race. This time it was Hugh Marsden, winning the V45 category and coming 10th overall in 31:27 after another superb race. The winner was Mark Cowan of Exeter Harriers in 29:20 and there were 123 finishers.

Finally, two Exmouth Harriers took part in the Bideford 10 Miles Race. 134 runners completed the race, which was won by Mark Jenkin of Bideford AAC in 54:07. Cathy Newman, still in top form, came 1st LV45 & 1st lady (9th overall) in 61:59. Adrian Kearns was 20th in 65:38.

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(LT)