Bicton Blister 2009

The 2009 Bicton Blister results may be found here:
http://www.bictonblister.co.uk/

Sunday 29th November 2009 saw the Exmouth Harriers host the Bicton "Blister" and its baby brother the Bicton "Lite".

The "Blister" challenges runners to undertake, this year, a nine point seven-five mile course, over the testing terrain of Bicton Common, Woodbury Common and Dalditch. The "Lite" follows the same course for the first few miles before returning to Bicton College after covering a distance of five miles.

The event started between the buildings of the Bicton College,in light rain, and exited the grounds towards Blackberry Farm along the tarmac roadway heading towards Crook Plantation where the route went off-road with a vengeance. The rain abated quite quickly but within the first

mile of the start the runners experienced deep puddles forcing all to take an early cold foot bath.

Throughout the next seven or so miles off-road runners experienced severe descents and ascents along river pebble based tracks, soft sand and clinging mud, which attempted to suck the shoes from the feet. Waterlogged tracks under more than 300 millimetres, 12 inches, of muddy water loomed ahead with no alternative to avoid another cold footbath. One stretch of the course ascending to the area known to the Marines as the 'sheep dip' is actually the bed of a flowing stream. The only consolation being that the running water washed the oozing mud from the shoes. More deep puddles through which to charge and more clinging mud to run through before the course emerged back on the tarmac at Crooks plantation. Just the last mile or so of undulating road before the finish at Bicton College after careering through the last two puddles.

In all 16 Exmouth Harriers entered and completed the events, 12 in the "Blister" and 4 in the "Lite".

In the Blister race a resident of Exmouth,Tom Merson sporting the colours of South West Road Runners, crossed the finishing line in first in an impressive time of 61 minutes and 31 seconds.

Just two minutes later and only one second behind the second finisher, Dave Stone, for Exmouth Harriers, finished in third overall place in a time of 63mins 33seconds, followed closely in 5th position by Jamie Pearson, again for the Exmouth Harriers in a time of 65mins 40secs.

The remaining runners for Exmouth Harriers finished valiantly as follows:-

Jon Croome finished in 28th position in a time of 71mins 30secs,
Mike Musgrove finished in 31st position in a time of 71min 34secs.
These first four Exmouth Harriers took the first place in the race team event.
Adam Miller finished in 36th position in a time of 72mins 26secs,
Joel Morter finished in 74mins 19secs,
Alex Hooper finished in 52nd position in a time of 75mins 10secs,
Bob Woodall finished in 116th position in a time of 83mins 32secs, giving him the third prize in the V60 category,
Lorraine Croome finished in 160th position in a time of 87mins 29secs,
Lorraine Gilson finished in 230th position in a time of 95mins 50secs,
Jim Wyatt finished in 237th position in a time of 97mins 3secs,
Completing the Harriers contingent Stan Mason finished in 281st position in a time of 103mins 59secs.

The final competitor to cross the finishing line was Angela Murray, an unattached runner, in 356th position in a time of 136mins 9secs.

In the "Lite" race Mark Shobbrock of Instinctive Sport, finished in first place in a time of 33mins 34secs,
Andy Kennedy for Exmouth Harriers finished in overall 3rd position in a time of 35min 38secs,
John Perratt for Exmouth Harriers finished in 14th position in a time of 39min 46secs, taking the first place award in the V70 category,
Corinna Stephens for Exmouth Harriers finished in 24th position in a time of 42mins 55secs,
Les Turner completed the Exmouth contingent in 32nd position in a time of 44mins 59secs.

The final competitor to complete the "Lite" was Mark Waddicor of South West Road Runners in 78th position in a time of 105mins 38secs..

(RW)

Colyton Fiver

Sunday 22nd November 2009 saw six members of the Exmouth Harriers running club take part in the Colyton Fiver, a five mile road race to raise funds for the Children in Need Appeal. Barring for the first male and female runner to complete the course there were no awards presented at the end of the race as all proceeds were donated to the fund.

Throughout the duration of the race the weather conditions were mainly dry and sunny although one of the lanes was under 225 millimetres of water, (9 nine inches) following the recent heavy rainfalls.

The overall winner was Peter Monaghan of Torbay ACC in a time of 28 minutes and 18 seconds.

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The first Exmouth Harrier to cross the line was Paul Samways in a time of 31.34. Andy Kennedy finished in 32nd position in a time of 35.08. Phillip Quick finished in 36th position in a time of 35.49. Lee Russell finished in 47th position in a time of 37.28. John Perratt finished in 51st position in a time of 38.19. Les Turner finished in 102nd position in a time of 44.49. The final runner to cross the finish line was Harry Moore from the Axe Valley Runners in a time of 1 hour 7 minutes and 46 seconds.

(RW)

Sunday 15th November

On Sunday 15th, members of Exmouth Harriers were entered in several separate race events, namely the Cornish Marathon, the Drogo 10, and the Brooks Westward Cross Country League held at St Austell.

Dave Stone was the lone member of the Exmouth Harriers to enter the Cornish Marathon. From the mouths of competitors this is an extremely hard, hilly course, possibly one of the hardest marathons in Europe. Dave continued in the vein of his previous entries to this marathon and finished in an impressive 4th position in a time of 2hrs, 59mins, 40 seconds.

---oOo---

Eleven members of the Exmouth Harriers entered the Drogo 10, which is a 10 mile off road event staged around the slopes of Castle Drogo.

An impressive 517 runners completed the greulling course with the first home Mark HOPKINSON, of Taunton AC, in a time of 1hr, 02mins and 13 secs. The last runner completed the course in 2hrs, 32mins and 08secs. The event starts at the Castle Drogo and makes its way along the main drive, slightly uphill, before taking a sharp right turn down onto the infamous Hunters Path, which descends sharply to the river. After this the course is at its most demanding with wet, muddy, slippy and uneven surfaces. Most of the route being along a switchback through woodlands and forestry tracks or by the side of the river on waterlogged tracks. Going was made even more interesting by the recent heavy rains which had caused the streams flowing across the track to swell to varing depths. At Fingle Bridge, when energy levels are at a low, a sharp left turn brings the final steep ascent, back toward the finish, into view. Many competitors at this stage are reduced to walking the steep incline before the final stretch of course along the edge of the hill back to the finsh line at the castle.

For Exmouth Harriers Pete McKEOWN finished in 21st position in a time of 1hr, 13mins and 15secs. Pete was the 2nd to finish in his MV45 category. Adam MILLER finished in 34th position in a time of 1-15-38. Mike MUSGROVE finished in 38th position in a time of 1-16-13. Alex HOOPER finished in 62nd position in a time of 1-19-13. Duncan PARKES finished in 96th position in a time of 1-22-50. Emma DUPAIN finished in 145th position in a time of 1-26-46. Terry OLDHAM finished in 148th position in a time of 1-27-07. John PERRATT finished in 232nd position in a time of 1-34-22. John was the first in his V65+ category. Lucy HODGSON finished in 233rd position in a time of 1-34-29. Lorraine SLIGHT finished in 250th position in a time of 1-36-35. Dawn TEED completed the Harriers contingent in 275th position in a time of 1-38-16.

---oOo---

Bob Woodall and Ray Elston competed in the Brooks Westward League Cross Country race at Penrice School in St. Austell. The atmospheric conditions were ideal for the multi lap 9.5 kilometre course around the school playing fields but the conditions underfoot were extremely heavy after the recent downpours experienced building up to the day of the race. As the senior men's race was started after various other categories the ground was seriously cut up and the tight bends resembled quagmires. There were many 180 degree turns and twists and several short severe ascents with equally severe descents. The senior men's race was won convincingly by Tom Merson in an impressive time in the colours of South West Road Runners. Bob Woodall finished in 93rd place in a time of 44mins 37secs and Ray Elston, first in the v70 category, finished in 108th place some three minutes later.

(RW)

Winter 3K Series

Round 2 of the Ironbridge Runner Puma Winter 3K Series of five events took place at Exeter Arena last Monday. 110 runners completed the event including five Exmouth Harriers.

Altogether, six races were held and the winner of the A race and overall event was Jack Bancroft of Wells City in 8:47.

The first Harrier to finish was Andy Johnson in 11:08. Lee Russell was next in 12:30 with John Perratt recording 12:46.

Dave Eveleigh came home in 13:50, just ahead of Jim Wyatt who took 13:54.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has taken up jogging. By pure chance I've had sight of a copy of his training diary.......

Day One
I have decided to take up jogging in order to eliminate the excess weight I have inherited from my predecessor. This morning I attended Hyde Park in the company of my friend Comrade Personal Trainer Smith. I can report here that he wanted me to jog for one mile without stop and that I wanted to jog no more than half a mile without stop and that we were therefore in complete agreement that I would not jog two miles without stop. Negotiations having been concluded to my satisfaction I then jogged one mile without stop. The following discussion then took place:

Comrade Personal Trainer Smith: “What I want you to do now is to run as hard as you can from here to that tree. By the time you arrive at the tree I want you to have worked so hard that you are actually in oxygen deficit.”

Comrade Me: “I can predict now and with confidence that any oxygen deficit I incur will be eliminated by the first quarter of 2015. Myself and the Chancellor have put in place prudent measures which will ensure that I emerge from oxygen deficit well before that old man over there by the bandstand.”

Comrade Personal Trainer: “No you misunderstand me. What I mean is that by the time you reach the tree you must be physically spent.”

Comrade Me: “I will not be physically spent but I will have invested physically to a greater degree than the Tories. If David Cameron were to sprint to that tree and still have some breath left then we will know that he intends to axe the jobs of thousands of nurses and teachers. I will sprint for the many and not the few.”

Comrade Personal Trainer: “Let me put it another way. I want you to go for bust.”

Comrade Me: “But I have abolished bust.”

Comrade Personal Trainer: “You have abolished going for bust?”

Comrade Me: “I never said that. I’m just getting on with the jog”

Day Two
Today during my morning training session I hit the wall. It was not my fault. I’m not sure who put the wall there but the bricks probably emerged in the American sub-prime market and the emergence of the wall overall could not have been predicted by anyone.

Day Three
Today I entered my first 10K race. At the registration desk I noticed a slim runner with a lawyerly presence who looked like he had done this sort of thing before. I therefore approached him and made the following suggestion: “I think it would be best for the running community overall if we agreed now that you take the lead for the first half of the race and then drop out and allow me to lead thereafter. Whilst you are leading I will try and stay on your shoulder and constantly snipe at you in a constructive way. I might even attempt to trip you up as a gesture of my complete support. Do we have a deal?”. The man looked at me, spat on the floor, turned around and walked off in a gesture of complete agreement. Nothing can go wrong now. I have been running for a week so it must be my turn to win.

OMM & Templer '10'

Six Exmouth Harriers were among this year’s competitors in the OMM (Original Mountain Marathon). This event first took place over 40 years ago and was the originator of the 2-day mountain marathon type event. Teams of two competitors carry all their clothing, equipment, tent, sleeping bags and food, navigating their own route and including an overnight camp.

Teams are totally self-supporting and no GPS or outside support is allowed. It is against the rules to reconnoitre before the event.

This is the premier UK event for testing teamwork, self-reliance, endurance, outdoor and navigational skills. Its reputation is worldwide, with entrants from 12 to 14 countries every year.

There are two different types of course split into seven different classes. The “Line” type (check points in a pre-designated order) with the Elite, A, B and C classes. And the “Score” type (Long, Medium and Short) which need higher levels of navigation skills to optimise points scored and ensure completion within the time allowed.

All the Harriers opted for the toughest Long Score class. There were 29 control points and a time limit of 7 hours for the Saturday, with 30 controls and a 6-hour limit for Sunday. Both days carried a penalty of 2 points per minute late.

The first Harrier to finish was Jon Croome and his partner in 8th place with 645 points. Pete McKeown and Jim Pyne were 29th with 575 points. Lorraine Croome and her partner came 144th with 330 points and Paul Champion and Bob Keast were 155th with 295 points. 179 teams completed this class.

Last Sunday, ten Exmouth Harriers were among the field of 207 runners who completed the Templer Ten (9.5 mile) multi-terrain race that starts and finishes at the Passage House Inn, Kingsteignton.

The course follows approximately two miles of road, then five miles of fields and paths around Stover Park, returning across the fields. It then goes back on the road for two miles or so, finishing with half a mile on off-road paths, returning along the riverbank to the finish.

The race was won by Neil Mytton of Plymouth Harriers in 55:10.

Jamie Pearson was the first Exmouth Harrier home in 5th place in 57:50. Adam Miller was 19th in 1:02:04 and Paul Samways was 27th in 1:03:50.

Joel Morter came 45th in 1:07:37 with Duncan Parkes 52nd in 1:09:05. Terry Oldham was 65th in 1:11:12 and Emma Dupain 72nd in 1:13:10.

Lorraine Gilson was 92nd in 1:17:27, Dawn Teed 110th in 1:21:03 and Kelly Woodgate 181st in 1:36:16.