A Marathon, a Half-Marathon... and the SEAA Road Relays (4 x 6k)

Les bringing home the V50 team at Rushmoor Arena on Sunday.

Last week-end, Sunday 26th September 2010, members of the Harriers travelled far and wide to take part in races. Lyn Curtis travelled to the New Forest to run in a marathon, Andy Johnson travelled to Windsor to run in a half marathon and eight males members trekked to Aldershot to take part in the SEAA Road Relays.

At 10.30 am on Sunday, in a fully subscribed entry, Lyn Curtis lined up amongst 700 hundred runners to compete in the New Forest Marathon, 26.2 gruelling miles within the New Forest. The race started close to the Rydal Inn in Ashley and finished in the same village near to the Old Barn Inn. Lyn battled well and finished in overall 192nd position in a time 3 hour, 54 minutes and 10 seconds. The first competitor to complete the course was Rupert Shute of Reading Road Runners in a time of 2-42-49. The first female runner, in overall 46th position, was Frances Crozier in a time of 3-23-22.

The same day Andy Johnson competed in the Windsor Half Marathon, which by altering the route ran entirely within the Great Park. The course consisted of one small lap of approximately 4 miles and a second lap of approximately 7.5 miles, with the start and finish of 1.5 miles on the Long Walk. The course having changed, although still undulating, eliminated many hilly sections thus producing a faster course. Andy finished in 101st position in a time of 1 hour, 30 minutes and 14 seconds. The first runner to complete the course was Scott Overall in a time of 1-03-14 and the first female runner, in overall 9th position, finished in a time of 1-17-50.

Still further east in Aldershot, the Harriers entered two male teams in the SEAA Road Relays, four stage race, one in each of the V50 and V60 age categories. This race consisted of two laps of the course covering a total of 6 kilometres which each member of the team had to complete before handing over to his team mate. In this part of the country the weather was extremely autumnal, grey wall to wall clouds with threatening rain and a cold gusting wind. The course was far from flat with many inclines, twists and turns, with the start and hand over line mid way up such an incline. The initial team member in both teams lined together alongside many other runners in the V40 age category for the start.

In the V50 age category Andy Kennedy took pole position alongside Roger Rowe in the V60 team. For the V50 team Andy finished in a time of 24 minutes and 39 seconds and handed over to Terry Oldham who completed his leg in 25-50. Terry handed over to Hugh Marsden who ran his leg in a time of 22-41. Hugh handed over to the anchor man, Les Turner who completed his leg in a time of 31-50.

In the V60 category Roger Rowe completed his leg in a time of 24 minutes and 9 seconds and handed over to Ray Elston who completed his leg in a time of 26-35. He in turn handed over to Bob Woodall who ran his leg in a time of 27-19. Bob handed over to Richard Selby who completed this last leg in a time of 25-21.

The Harriers V50 team finished in overall 17th position and the V60 team finished in overall 8th.

(RW)

Woodbury 10k Fun Run

On Sunday 19th September 2010 amongst the one hundred and twenty one starters of the Woodbury 10k Fun Run eleven of the competitors sported the colours of the Exmouth Harriers. Five of those Harriers, including their partners, were from the Dupain family, who are local to the village. For the family members it was quite an eventful event as Emma finished as the first female runner and elder sister Hannah competed for the first time recent birth of her daughter, Niah. Certainly if traditions are upheld Niah Bown is a name to look out for in the future in the world of athletics.

The run was around the pretty Devon village of Woodbury with varied countryside and gradients, certainly more hilly than some runners expected, but staged in ideal weather conditions for racing. The run, organised by Barbara Woolley and her husband Paul, was in aid of the Christian Aid Partnership, raising money for Zimbabwe. Starting at the Woodbury village hall the run took the competitors around Woodbury Salterton and then back to Woodbury to finish back at the village hall.

The first runner to complete the course was Kevin Hawker of the Honiton Running Club in a time of 36 minutes and 23 seconds. For the Exmouth Harriers Mike Musgrove finished in overall second place in a time of 37-03. The other ten Exmouth Harriers followed behind Mike.

Chris Dupain finished in 7th place in a time of 41-32. Andy Kennedy finished in 10th place in a time of 43-34. Emma Dupain, the first female runner, finished in 12th place in a time of 44-35. Ben White finished in 15th place in a time of 45-59. Lee Russell finished in 29th place in a time of 48-45. Hannah Bown finished in 30th place in a time of 49-29. Nigel Dupain finished in 34th place in a time of 50-06. Joan Mason finished in 56th place in a time of 54-23. Les Turner finished in 61st place in a time of 55-27. And finally for the Exmouth Harriers Stan Mason finished in 76th place in a time of 57-45.

(RW)

Two week's results...

On Saturday 4th September 2010 two Harriers were in action at two different locations, in two very different races. Chris Dupain ran in the Bristol Half Marathon and Les Turner ran in the Saltram 5k Race.

Chris in very wet conditions and despite suffering from blisters to his feet at the eleven mile marker managed to complete the race in an impressive 1 hour, 32 minutes and 22 seconds. This time knocked 90 seconds off his previous best time for the distance.

The first runner to finish the course was Edwin Kipyego in a time of 1-03-08. The first lady was Claire Hallissey of Bristol and West, in overall 35th position in a time of 1-12-02.

The last runner, in 10,964th place, was Ameer Khan, in the MV80 age category, in a time of 4-08-48.

Closer to home in the grounds of Saltram House in Plymouth, Les lined up alongside seventy three others runners to race around the estate over both smooth and rutted paths, amongst the woodlands, where the weather conditions were perfect which matched the scenery. Unfortunately Les felt exhausted before the starting gun but managed to complete the course finishing in 57th place in a time of 27 minutes and 27 seconds.

The winning runner was Afan Humphries of Swansea Road Runners in a time of 15-54. The first lady to finish, Lucy Kelvey of Newquay Road Runners, was 10th overall in a time of 19:27 and the last competitor was Amanda Moxey of Dawlish Coasters finishing in a time of 35-56.

On 8th September 2010 at the Yeovilton 5k [the last of the 2010 series] Roger Rowe, for the Harriers, competed and finished in overall 41st position in a time of 19 minutes and 10 seconds. This effort is a South West Vet's record for a Vet/65 and puts Roger in 4th place in the age category in the UK rankings for 2010.

The first runner to complete the course, on the night, was Dan Cook of Poole AC in a time of 15-22. The first female runner in overall 16th position was Jo Thompson of Team Bath in a time of 17-39.

On Sunday 12th September 2010 three Harriers, Dave Stone, Ray Elston and Kevin Lingard, lined up with the starters for the Ivybridge Beacon Challenge. This is a scenic but challenging multi-terrain race which starts and finishes in Victoria Park, Ivybridge. The course covers around 7.5 miles of woodland and moorland paths and includes the long ascent of Western Beacon with a descent to the finish.

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Dave finished in 5th position in a time of 54-01. Ray finished in 70th position in a time of 1-14-17, and despite his qualifying for the seventy year of age banding, took the 1st place in the V60 age category. Kevin finished in 91st position in a time of 1-21-29.

The first runner home was Lee Turner of Torbay AC in a time of 50-52. The first female runner, in overall 47th position was Bonny Collingborn in a time of 1-07-03 and the last runner, Richard Walters of Plymstock Road Runners, completed the course in a time of 1-46-15.

Also the same day Mike Musgrove and Dave Eveleigh of the Harriers competed in the Force 10k race held in the grounds of Powderham Castle. The event, sponsored by Francis Clark chartered accountants, started in the Castle grounds, meandered along a pathway down to Powderham Road, passed the yacht club and the church. A slight incline took the runners up to Powderham woods through which the route ventured before returning to the Castle and the end of the 10k race.

Mike was the 1st in his age category, MV40, finishing 4th overall in a time of 39-02 but admitted though that Peter Vaughan in the age group above, MV45, actually finished two places ahead of him in overall 2nd place. Also racing on the day was the famous Ron Hill who inspired many a person to take up running. Mike felt honoured to actually meet Ron and chat with the great man. Dave finished in 129th place in a time of 55-03.

The first runner to complete the course was James Wellward in a time of 36-54. The first female runner in overall 8th place was Karen Cook in a time of 44-16. Ron Hill finished in 106th place in a time of 54-08 and the last runner home was Tammy Milner in a time of 1-52-18.

Love? Or Obsession...

It began, my husband likes to recall, with a quiet epiphany one work-day morning. Entombed in a Circle line carriage in yet another hold-up, he decided he could bear it no longer. “I’m not going to sit trapped underground any more when I could run to work in half the time,” he announced one evening. “I’ll buy a pair of running shoes myself a fortune on fares.” A week later, the shoes arrived, a brightly coloured pair with tiny flashes and a matching laces; nothing to hint at the obsession to come.

Come it did, around six months later, in the form of a bespoke Japanese running shoes – several pairs of which clogged up our hall, transforming my husband’s mild interest into a full-blown love affair; he calls 'them “My Beauties”.

Around the same time, new habits developed, evidence that this was about so much more than just running. The spooky appearance of rubbery latex figure-hugging wear, nestling in the laundry basket. Specialist catalogues selling ''bib shorts’’, ''gilets’’ and Lycra shorts. The endless route planning, poring over maps and note-taking before a ''big’’ trip. Then there are the physical absences each weekend morning; the alarm clock set at an obscenely early hour for a ''quick two-hour run” around Richmond Park. The frenzied training for bigger events – like the London Marathon.

Not to mention the mushrooming pile of ''memoirs’’ by his bedside like ‘Put Me Back In My Shoes’, ‘One More Kilometre And We’re In The Showers’ and Jeff Galloway’s “Running until you’re 100”. So what, from a female perspective, is it about? I guess the clues are in the buzzwords on their covers – ''willpower’’, ''inspiration’’, ''endurance’’, ''pain’’. Running isn’t inherently macho but it does have an element of suffering and purgatorial challenge that appeals to a certain male psyche. It is about escape – freedom from family; seizing time to be solitary, beyond responsibility. Not an easy concept to embrace when you’re the Running widow left to look after small children.

I’ve grown to accept that my husband, although not an extreme case (he hasn’t shaved his legs yet) is touched with Running-Obsession Syndrome, a sorry affliction identified by Matt Seaton, author of The Escape Artist, which charts his love of Running. “I got the bug in my twenties but it can strike at any time. I suspect there is a mid-life crisis element. It is also romantic; getting in touch with that first taste of independence from your parents when you were a kid.”

Seaton agrees, even though an increasing number of women enjoy Running, that it can create friction in a relationship. “My partner can resent my devotion and focus,” says Seaton. “Even though I try to keep a lid on it, it definitely grates with her.” Adjusting to a partner’s sudden new-found love can also be more difficult than accommodating it from the start of a relationship. “I’ve got a friend who’s a born-again runner in middle-age,” he says. “And I get the feeling his partner can hardly bear to look at me because she blames me.”

Seaton says one way forward is Running as a couple. “My husband definitely wants to get me more involved,” shudders one friend whose husband has six pairs of running shoes. “I nearly screamed when he asked if I’d like to have a quiet jog with him. He’s got a stationary frame now with a Running video game so he can train in the garage – alone.” Another Running widow complains that her husband gets up earlier and earlier to go to work: “He takes a detour through Kent before he gets to the City.” They live in Balham.

Not that these are habits you can attempt to alter, especially with the moral high ground on their side. Running is the fastest-growing ‘mode of transport’ in cities. Running is green, civilised and healthy.

So I don’t carp about my dear husband’s passion, the time it takes from other family activities, or the money, not to mention the unsightly appearance of him dressed oddly each weekend morning.

Instead, I have gamely tried to join him. In an attempt to bridge the great divide, I gingerly agreed to run to work with him during the recent Tube strike. He waited patiently while I puffed and wheezed across Hyde Park, and we ran together to Oxford Circus. I sensed it was a triumph for him; another converted soul. I even agreed on a trip to Richmond. Just don’t mention the London Marathon.

Emma Cook (Originally published in the Daily Telegraph – 17-Jun-09)

Ron Hill - 2:09:28

A pleasant morning pretty well guaranteed I would think...