Devon XC & Wellington Monument

The results of the Brooks Devon Cross Country Championships, which were held in conjunction with the third Brooks Westward League Cross Country event at Exeter Arena, show some outstanding performances by members of Exmouth Harriers.

Out of the seven Harriers who competed, there were four 1st places, one 2nd place, one 4th place and one 5th place, in the various categories. The 1st places went to Cathy Newman (W45), Dave Stone (M35), John Perratt (M70) and Ray Elston (M65). Jim Wyatt was 2nd M65, Jamie Pearson was 4th U17 and Bob Woodall was 5th M55. Well done, everyone!!

Exmouth Harriers also produced some excellent results at the Wellington Monument 10K Race on 21st December. Out of the five Harriers who competed, three won their categories.

193 runners completed the race that was won by Peter Monaghan of Torbay AC in 36:09. Jamie Pearson was 1st U18 and 2nd overall in 36:39 after a fantastic finish that saw him move from 8th place up to 2nd whilst climbing the hill at the end of the race. Well done, Jamie, what a performance!!

Dave Stone was 1st senior man and 3rd overall in 36:40, just 1 second behind Jamie! Congratulations to Dave and also to John Perratt who was 1st MV 70 and 109th overall in 50:00. Andy Kennedy was 48th overall in 44:48 and Corinna Stephens was 174th in 62:24.

A very Happy Christmas to all

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Reindeer and Hogs

Last Saturday, after a night of prolonged, heavy rainfall, Sidmouth Running Club, the organisers of the Reindeer Run at Otterton, had to reduce the multi-terrain course from 10K to around 8K due to the very severe flooding. Although the rain had stopped well before the 10.00am start and the weather remained dry throughout the race, the water level on the flooded roads just got higher and higher, for longer and longer stretches, after the river burst its banks and the water poured down through the fields onto the road.

The runner who coped with all the mud and water best to win the race was James Denne of Honiton Running Club in 30:57, beating the other 161 finishers. Jon Croome, the first of the seven Harriers to finish, was 10th in 35:09, just 8 seconds in front of Jim Pyne who was 11th in 35:17. Andy Kennedy was 53rd in 41:15, Lorraine Croome 57th in 41:53, Lissie Lingard 90th in 47:00, Kevin Lingard 105th in 48:07 and Les Turner 119th in 51:12.

Jon and Lorraine Croome were runners up in the married couples category, despite the fact that their accumulated time was less than that of the winners, Steve and Judy Davey from Honiton. The reason was that the cross country scoring method was used where the winner gets 1 point, 2nd two points and so on, and the pair with the lowest number of points is the winner.

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On Sunday, 14th December, Harrier Andy Johnson had an earlier start - 9:30am - for the 49th running of the Hog's Back race, at Guildford, Surrey. After raining constantly all day Saturday, the runners were fortunate to be rain-free and flood-free, but the whole race was run in mist. There were a couple of short, sharp inclines in the first couple of miles, which were harder than the Hog's Back itself - a long drag up from miles 2 to 3.3. They then dropped for the next mile, and around a dozen runners swarmed past him. As the route levelled off, he maintained a fairly steady pace but couldn't maintain this in the final mile along the long entrance drive to the Losely House stately home, which didn't looks quite so impressive in the mist. He finished 96th out of 644 in 54:27 for the 7.9 mile course.

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(LT & AJ)

Christmas Awards (and some races too)

[Les Turner receives the President's Shield from Roland Young]

First, an apology. In last week’s edition of the Journal, the male athlete of the year (2007) was incorrectly named as John Perratt when it should, of course, have been Ray Elston. Apologies to both Ray and John, who has won the award in the past, but not on this occasion.

Fast forward a year to the Harriers’ Christmas Dinner which was held at the Rugby Club last Friday. The event was a massive success, thanks largely to the efforts of chef Jon Bamsey (alias the Club secretary) and all those who assisted him in setting up the tables, preparing and serving all the food, washing up and clearing away afterwards, etc. On behalf of the whole Club, many thanks to Jon, Steve Merry, Phil Crook, Bob Woodall, Phil Bater, Paul Champion, Sammy Merry, Kayleigh, Hugh Marsden (who helped on Thursday, but unfortunately missed the party due to illness), Jono, Laura, Charlotte and Alice.

[The Kitchen Crew]

Many thanks, also, to unofficial compere Phil Crook who again did a great job organising the raffle and making sure everything went with a swing.

The annual awards for 2008 were presented by Club president Roland Young in the absence of chairman Bob Keast, still unable to attend any functions while recovering from his hip operation.
All members can vote for the athletes of the year, so these awards are valued very highly by the recipients. Congratulations to female athlete Julie Gellender and male athlete Hugh Marsden, who have both had brilliant seasons.

This year’s president’s award went to Les Turner for keeping everyone, both inside and outside the Club, informed of all that’s happening, and assisting with the work involved at the Bicton Blister, etc.

The president was able to pass on the welcome news that Michelmores Solicitors, Sidmouth, have very generously contributed £250 to offset the loss that arose from the theft of trophies, etc., which had to be replaced. This means that the Devon Air Ambulance will now receive £250 more, so very many thanks to Michelmores on behalf of both the Club and the Air Ambulance.

Of course, athletics clubs are not just about annual general meetings and Christmas parties and there are a few races to report, as well.
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Wednesday, 3rd December, saw Round 3 of the Ironbridge Runner Winter 3K Series of five events at Exeter Arena on a very crisp evening with temperatures around freezing and a rather slippery track. The winner was Jack Bancroft of Exeter Harriers in 8:55, just 4 seconds ahead of Exmouth runner Tom Merson of South West Road Runners in 8:59. First Exmouth Harrier home was Roger Rowe in 11:48, followed by John Perratt in 12:29, Lee Russell in 12:50, Les Turner in 15:17 and Dave Eveleigh in 15:58.
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The third of this season’s Brooks Westward League Cross Country series of six events took place at Exeter. 137 runners completed the men’s event that was won by K Haywood of Bideford AC in 28:05. The Exmouth Harriers’ contingent was led home by Dave Stone, 16th in 31:12. Next came Hugh Marsden, 58th in 35:02 and Bob Woodall, 106th in 40:05, just 1 second in front of Andy Kennedy, 107th in 40:06. John Perratt was 3rd V60 and 113th overall in 41:11, Terry Oldham 117th in 41:40, Lee Russell 122nd in 42:35, Ray Elston 125th in 43:34 and Jim Wyatt 130th in 45:03. Exmouth’s Jamie Pearson was 5th in 19:04 in the U17 men’s event that was won by T Gill of Tavistock AC in 18:20. 27 runners completed the race.

The ladies’ event was won by K Humphreys of Exeter Harriers in 20:10. Exmouth Harrier Cathy Newman was 2nd FV45 and 12th overall in 21:02, exactly the same time as the 1st FV45. Lorraine Slight was 57th in 25:57, out of the field of 76 runners.
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Last Saturday, Exmouth Harrier Mark Thompson ran “45 miles of sheer pleasure” at the Beacons Ultra race in the stunning Brecon Beacons National Park. The route is a real mix of picturesque canal towpath, ancient mining tramroads and high mountain passes. Mark came 10th in 9:27:15 out of the 50 runners who completed the race. The winner was Mark Palmer of Team Tan in 6:38:00.

(LT)

Last Weekend's races...

The Dupain family enjoyed a 340 mile round trip to run 10 miles in Wales on 23rd November. The event they contested was the Sospan 10 miles multi terrain race, held in Llanelli in the beautiful Pembrey Country Park. It started on park roads, continued into pine forests, then along a lovely beach (but very windy!!) and back into the pine forest to the finish.

Chris was the first home in 1:14, followed by Emma in 1:17, then Ben in 1:21 and Nigel in 1:24. It was so nice to meet new clubs and they were all very impressed that a contingent from Exmouth had made the journey to South Wales.

The 11 mile Bicton Blister and its little brother, the 5 mile Blister Lite, did not exactly get off to the best possible start when the trophies, drinking cups, safety pins etc. were stolen on Friday night. We were however extremely grateful to Radio Devon, Gemini FM, Exeter FM and the Express & Echo for their assistance in publicising the theft and helping us in trying to recover the items. But despite all the problems we had on Friday with the theft, we are very pleased that we will still be able to make a healthy contribution to the Devon Air Ambulance.

345 runners completed the main Blister event that was won by Jim Cole of Tavistock AC in1:07:26. The first Harrier to finish after a great performance, Dave Stone, won the award for 3rd man in 1:09:19. Only 3 minutes later in 6th place in 1:12:31 after an outstanding run, 17 year old Jamie Pearson is definitely one to watch for the future.

Adam Miller was 22nd in1:18:16, Jon Croome 29th in 1:20:32, Bob Woodall 103rd in 1:30:05 and Lorraine Croome 151st in 1:35:25. Ray Elston was 2nd V65 and 178th overall in 1:38:47, Lorraine Slight was 202nd in 1:41:33 and Jim Wyatt was 311th in 1:58:27.

The first lady to finish was Helen Dyke of Torbay AC in 1:18:59. The first men’s team was Exmouth Harriers comprising Dave Stone, Jamie Pearson, Adam Miller and Jon Croome. The first ladies’ team was South West Road Runners and the first male vet team was Sidmouth Running Club.

Although only 48 runners completed the 5 mile Blister Lite, the event was very popular in that the ages ranged from 11 to 77! The winner was Ben Trigg of Erme Valley Harriers in 39:53 and the award for 1st lady went to Emma Kiernan of Axe Valley Runners in 44:25. But when it came to age graded performance, 71 year old Exmouth Harrier John Perratt, who was 6th in 45:57, was well out in front with a grading almost 8% higher than the next highest graded competitor in this race.

The Committee would like to thank race director Roland Young and all those Club members who assisted him with setting up and dismantling the course, parking, dealing with late entries, marshalling, manning the water station, timekeeping and producing the results. Our thanks also go to the Exmouth Air Cadets, St John Ambulance, the police and Ironbridge Runner with Helly Hanson for their help and support.