One Day Ultra - and an important notice

On Sunday 23rd October 2010 a lone intrepid member of the Harriers, Mark Thompson, joined the "Might Contain Nuts" fraternity to participate in the One Day Ultra Series in the Black Mountains. This was the first event of the series that started and finished in Castle Inn, Pengenffordd, in the shadow of the Brecon Beacons. The route of over thirty miles took in just two miles of tarmac surface with over 1840 metres of ascent. Much of the course took place on land over 600 metres in height that on a clear day would provide spectacular views over the area. However on this occasion the weather provided sleet and rain but occasional clear periods to allow the scenery to be enjoyed. Mark seemed to think that this was an enjoyable experience, but everyone to their own opinion. The first runner to complete the course was Luke Moseley who finished in a time of 4 hours, 24 minutes and 33 seconds.

Mark finished in an impressive 11th position in a time of 5-13-05. The first female runners, in overall 19th position, was Julie Gardner in a time of 5-33-10. The last runner home was Steven Marlborough who finished in a time of 9-42-245. Of the one hundred starters sixteen unfortunately, due to injury or other reasons, failed to complete the course.

Not only does industry and commerce suffer in these times of recession but sport and leisure also. It is with much regret and sadness that after many happy and successful years located at Exmouth Rugby Club the Exmouth Harriers are moving their training base to share the facilities with Withycombe Tennis Club, [Leisure East Devon, LED] in Withycombe Village Road, Exmouth. As of Tuesday 2nd November 2010 the Exmouth Harriers will assemble at the Tennis Centre at 6.45pm before setting off at 7.00pm for a run out about the town. It is hoped that the move will also see the enlargement of the club by attracting new members. Any runner will be welcome at any session on either a Tuesday or Thursday to give running a try. There is also a ladies only night, on a Wednesday evening, for those of the fairer gender who feel inhibited to jog/run alongside the opposite sex. It is hoped, though, that in the New Year the club will be hosting a weekly "newcomers" session to encourage members of the public to try running with a club and hopefully derive enough pleasure to ultimately join the club as a member. Everyone will be welcomed to attend and in the first place make contact with either the club Chairman or Secretary. As the saying goes "a change is as good as a rest" so hopefully the club will continue and thrive and expand at the new venue.

(RW)

Cardiff & Dartmoor Vale 13.1 & Abingdon 26.2

At 9.00am On Sunday 17th October 2010 the running partners of Emma Dupain and Ben White, sporting the colours of Harriers, lined up alongside over eleven thousand eventual finishers of the Cardiff Half Marathon. The route, started and finished in Cardiff Bay, took the runners through beautiful scenery and past historic buildings. The course was flat and fast which allowed runners, who were in peak condition to produce personal best times over a total distance of about 13.2 miles long, or exactly 21.0975 kilometres.

The first runner to complete the race was Edwin Kipkorir in a time of 1 hour, 2 minutes and 7 seconds and the first female runner, in overall 21st position, was Helen Jemutai who finished in a time of 1-10-49.

For the Harriers Emma Dupain finished in 1369th position in a time of 1-36-00 and Ben White finished in 2050th position in a time of 1-42-20. The last runner to cross the finishing line was in 11078th position and finished in a time of 4-26-48. Once again both Emma and Ben managed to produce their personal best times for the race distance.

A touch of frost awaited the Abingdon Marathon in Oxfordshire on Sunday, with sub zero temperatures for 9am start, but with the sun rising in the sky and with light winds the 707 who completed the course didn't have to wait long for ideal marathon weather. First to finish was Colin Paton in 2:33:48 first woman was Helen Taranowski in 2:53:52. Adrian Kearns from Exmouth Harriers finished 108th in 3:06:24. The last competitor, Katharine Tuite, in the V60 age category, crossed the finishing line in a time of 5-29-06.

Slightly later, at 9.15am, the same day Mick Allen for the Harriers competed in the Dartmoor Vale Half Marathon, which was an undulating 13.1 mile race in the shadow of Dartmoor.

The first runner to complete the course was Lee Turner of Torbay AC who finished in a time of 1 hour and 15 minutes and the first female runner, in overall 29th place, was Rachel Tresidder of Mountbay Harriers who finished in a time of 1-31-47. Mick finished in 232nd position in a time of 1-55-31. He was the only finisher in his V70 age category and completed the race ahead of many runners who were in younger age categories.

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(RW)

Parrett Trail Relays

On Saturday 16th October 2010 the Harriers fielded three teams of runners amongst the twenty one teams competing in the Parrett Trail Relays. The Parrett Trail Relay is a 6 stage trail relay run with varying distances of legs from 5.6 miles to 9.5 miles on permissive and public rights of way following the long distance path from the mouth of the river Parrett on the North Somerset coast. It crosses the country to finish just over the border in Dorset close to the source of the river at Winyards Gap. Not only does the course require stamina and speed but each athlete has to navigate their way along the leg. Although the route starts and finishes at the estuary and head of the river there are many extremely hilly sections to negotiate. All three teams produced excellent results with the Men's 'A' team finishing in first place, the Men's 'B' team finishing in 7th position and the Ladies team finishing in overall 12th position, taking the first Ladies team award. The teams entering the event consisted of all men, all ladies or a mixture, all of whom had to race over the same stages.

The 'A' team completed the course in a total time of 5 hours, 24 minutes and 53 seconds, faster than last years winning team and beating the 'A' teams previous time last year by sixteen minutes. The team consisted of, on 1st leg, Hugh Marsden who completed his section, of 9.1 miles, in a time of 60 minutes and 28 seconds. On 2nd leg Adam Miller who completed his section, of 5.6 miles in a time of 32-48. On 3rd leg was Mike Musgrove who completed his section, of 7.7 miles in a time of 50.15. On 4th leg was Jon Croome who completed his section, of 7.7 miles, in a time of 54-01. On 5th leg was Dave Stone who completed his leg, of 9.5 miles, in a time of 59-16 and lastly was Jamie Pearson who completed his leg, of 8.6 miles, in a time of 68-05.

The winning Ladies team completed the course in a total time of 6-52-37 and consisted of Katie Comer on 1st leg who completed her section in a time of 80 minutes exactly. Alison Fish was on the second leg and finished her section in a time of 48-24. Lorraine Croome was on 3rd leg and completed her section in a time of 61-21. Dawn Teed was on 4th leg and completed her section in a time of 66-02. Hannah Bown was on 5th leg and completed her section in a time of 77-20 and Lucy Hodgeson completed the team and finished the 6th leg in a time of 79-30.

The Men's 'B' team completed the course in a total time of 6-06-28 and consisted of Andy Johnson on 1st leg who completed the section in a time of 1-09-24. On 2nd leg was Scott Jordan who completed the section in a time of 39-06. On 3rd leg was Rory Devine who completed his section in a time of 57-16. On 4th leg was Dave Backway who completed his section in a time of 62 minutes exactly. On 5th leg was Terry Oldham who completed his section in a time of 72-12 and on the last leg was Pete McKeown who completed his section in a time of 66-30.

(RW)

A Marathon... and Cross Country events

At 10 minutes after 10 on Sunday 10th October 2010 [10:10 on 10-10-10] the Eden Project Marathon got underway. The race featured a multi-terrain route around the Eden Project which followed a challenging course through areas of spectacular mining heritage and beautiful countryside landscapes. Just the one Harrier, Andy Johnson, joined the 750 entrants. For the first half of the course Andy felt comfortable although the course was tough in parts, but in hindsight he realised the first part was easy compared to the second. Just after the half way mark, back through the Eden Project, there was a two mile downhill section which caused Andy some concern before a relentless uphill section from miles 15 to 23.. Although there were occasional downhill sections these went unnoticed. Unfortunately by mile 18 Andy's energy was fading and he suffered from a bout of 'stitch' which force Andy to slow. Andy finished in overall 44th place in a time of 3 hours, 47 minutes and 28 seconds.

The first runner to complete the course was Duncan Oakes of St. Austell Running Club in a time of 2-55-16. The first female runner, in overall 8th position was Naomi Tier of Cornwall AC in a time of 3-12-24.

Later the same morning Ray Elston and Bob Woodall, running in the colours of the Harriers, travelled to South Molton to take part in the South Molton Struggle, a multi-terrained seven mile course over public footpaths, country lanes, fields and highways. The race was started by the local Mayor who inadvertently positioned himself centrally immediately in front of the runners and was almost carried along with the throng as the starting siren sounded. The route started in the Pathfields Industrial Estate before turning left into the South Molton Recreation Ground. At the top corner the route crossed the B3226 and joined the public footpath that continued through a number of undulating fields, actually quite steep hills, and farms. It was at this footpath, having climbed about one mile from the start that the conditions underfoot deteriorated. Even tarmac gave way to rutted, puddles with deep slippery mud before entering fields of long tufted strength sapping grass, with stiles to cross throw in. From miles 3 to 4 the route continued along the relatively flat highway, B3227. A left turn took the course up a long steep incline to Village hill before returning along the outward route through farms and fields. From the 5 mile marker the inclines ceased giving a homeward downhill run to the finish of the centre line of the South Molton Rugby pitch.

Because their advancing ages both Ray and Bob were competing, not with a hope of featuring in the winning runners, but for high positions within their age group categories. Although Ray, age category V70, was giving away a decade to Bob, age category V60, their’s was a friendly rivalry between the two ancient warriors. Bob lead the way over way from Ray at the starting siren up the first incline over tarmac conditions, but once the underfoot conditions deteriorated and the course levelled and ventured downhill, Ray came into his own. Having controlled his started on the steep downhill section Ray, almost 2 miles into the race, closed down the gap and overtook the struggling Bob. Ray continued his relentless efforts and was soon out of sight of Bob. Knowing the hills still to come Bob expected to catch Ray later in the course and up the long incline of Village Hill Ray was again in sight. The gap was closed to with two hundred metres but at the summit again on uneven ground Ray found the strength to lengthen the distance ahead of Bob. At the end Ray finished in 47th position in a time of 1 hour, 2 minutes and 38 seconds and was awarded the first prize in his V70 age category. His time was only 17 seconds slower than last year but still faster than the winner of this years V65 age category. Bob finished in 54th position in a time of 1-04-54, taking 3rd place in the V60 age category.

The first runner home was Ronnie Richmond of North Devon Road Runners in a time of 47-02. The first female runner was Rosemary Terrible of North Devon Triathletes in a time of 55-57.

Elsewhere on the same day in St. Austell, Cornwall seven Harriers competed in the opening event of the Brooks Westward Cross Country League. On sunny, warm afternoon with light winds the six male athletes, and in the separate race for female the lone female Harrier, started their races around the playing fields of Penrice School and the adjoining farmland. The senior men completed one small loop of the course followed by two large loops and a finishing lap covering a total distance of 8330 metres. The women completed one small loop followed by one large loop and a finishing lap covering a total distance of 5280 metres.

The lone female Harrier in her race, Dawn Teed finished in 62nd position in a time of 29-35. The first runner was A Gummow of Cornwall AC who completed the course in a time of 20-44.

For the senior male Harrier, Tom Merson, finished in first place in a time of 31-08. Dave Stone finished in 16th position in a time of 33-52. Jamie Pearson finished in 27th position in a time of 35-37. Adam Miller finished in 34th position in a time of 36-20. Hugh Marsden finished in 55th position in a time of 38-50. Jim Wyatt finished in 98th position in a time of 48-21. After the first leg of the series the Harrier team, consisting on the first five runners, finished in overall 27th position."

Exeter Arena 3k Series - Race 1

On Monday evening 4th October 2010 the first round of the Brooks Winter 3k Series 2010/11 commenced at the Exeter track. The event is divided into 6 separate races to reduce the number of runners on the track at one time. The overall winner of the series will be the athlete who scores best in 4 out of the 5 rounds, finishing in March 2011.

On the night in ideal conditions for racing local athlete Tom Merson stormed home to cross the finishing line first in a time of 8 minutes and 45 seconds. Representing the Harriers in the event were Andy Johnson, Roger Rowe, Dave Eveleigh, John Perratt and Les Turner.

Andy Johnson finished in a time of 11-38 with Roger Rowe finishing in a time of 11-46. Dave Eveleigh finished in a time of 13-06 and John Perratt finished in a time of 13-15. Finally, Les Turner finished in a time of 15-15. The first female runner was Felicity Elliot who finished in a time of 11-39.

(RW)

Of Burnham & Teignbridge

In Somerset Last Sunday, at Burnham on Sea, a total of 344 runners took part in the half marathon event organised by the Burnham Harriers Running Club. Heavy winds and the occasional rain hit the finishing times of the competitors but seemed not to affect the three Exmouth Harrier entrants, Mike Musgrove, Adam Miller and Adrian Kearns. Mike and Adam, despite the weather conditions both managed personal best times for the distance.

The first runner to complete the course was Luke Scott of Taunton Running Club in a time of 1 hour, 12 minutes and 55 seconds.

Mike Musgrove finished in 7th position in a time of 1-21-45 with Adam directly behind in 8th position in a time of 1-22-56. Adrian Kearns finished in 14th position in a time of 1-25-56. The last runner, Natalya Bull completed the course in a time of 2-45-16.

The first female athlete in overall 10th position was Robyn Golding of Westbury Harriers in a time of 1-23-09.

In Christow again the same day the sole Exmouth Harrier in the Teign Valley Toddle was Dave Stone. This was a 10.25 mile course of scenic undulating country lanes starting and finishing at the Teign Valley Community Hall in Christow. Fortunately the strong winds and rain subsided just before the start but in places the course was under several inches of water from the over night deluge. The organisers, Teign Valley Running Club, undertook an early check of the course and had to remove several large tree branches, which had been snapped off overnight, before the race could commence.

Dave Stone notched up another victory by completing the distance in a time of 1 hour and 2 minutes.

Isabelle Baraffe of SWRR was the first female runner finishing in overall 20th position in a time of 1-20-39.

(RW)

BMAF 10 - Oldbury, Gloucestershire.

[One mile to go, and overtaken by another V65]

'What might have been' again I'm afraid…

No idea of the final time (I forgot to stop my watch) or my position (5th?). But I hit 10 miles on my Garmin watch at 1:06:07 (6:36 pace). I think the course was around 10.05, so what my finish time was I'll have to wait and see. Pretty acceptable however, especially as I had an attack of cramp in my right calf and ham-string from 7.5 to the end.

A couple of weeks ago I reckoned I was capable of 1:07:33 so I am more than pleased with the time. In the V/65 category EVERYONE was there... and I think the first 6 would have beaten the 2010 top ranking time... but we shall see. I was impressed with my 5-mile time of 32:01 - feeling unpressured; and my 10k time under 40 minutes gave me a great surpise.

Dead flat of course down on the banks of the Severn, and the rain had eased although not stopped. The wind was a little troublesome in places, but not too bad. We left immediately as I was getting cold and there were NO facilities at all. I warmed down in a M5 Service area and washed and changed in the gents (why do people stare? Haven't they seen a naked man before)!

More when I get it...
Now for a decent winter to get MUCH fitter than at present…

Roger R.
PS I reckon either John or Ray would have won the V70s... even though the winner ran a new course record.

PPS I know it's name dropping, but really pleased to see old friend Ian Thompson (2:09:12 in the Commonwealth Games marathon in 1974 - STILL a Commonwealth Games Record). One piece of advice from Ian famously quoted at his 1974 peak as saying "I prefer to remain in blissful ignorance of the opposition. That way I'm not frightened by anyone's reputation". Ian's wife Margaret won the LV/55 category. At one time in the 1970s Ian and Margaret both held their respective British Records for the Marathon. THAT's never been done before or since by a married couple. Lovely people...

PPPS Official time 1:06:22, for 5th V/65.