Tavy Town Relays ~ Thursday 17th July

Another outing for the Harriers V/60 squad members, this time to Tavistock for the evening relays through the park and around the River Tavy. Always well attended, this year there were 37 teams of 4, with the eastern side of the county being represented by a very hot South West Road Runners squad, in addition to ourselves.

Roger ran the first leg in a solid 6:34 (5:58 pace), handing over to Jim. Always a keen team member Jim did not disappoint with a creditable 7:22 (6:42 pace).

Senior super-vet Ray was our secret weapon on leg three, and he ran a superb leg to finish in 7:00 dead (6:22 Pace - where does he find the gas?).

Les ran anchor, with marathon training in his legs, but held together well with an 8:18 (7:33 pace). Total time 29:14 for the 4.4 miles.

The aformentioned SWRR squad obliterated the field to run 20:26, a new record! Hey, guys, that's inside 4:39 pace for the whole distance, including as it does two very sharp turns and a nasty uphill 300 metres. What a performance! Phew!!

On examining the age-related percentages, it turns out that Ray beat Roger into second place in the squad with 81.29% to Roger's 81.11% ~ what a great run, well done Ray.

Members of the V60 squad (and anyone else who fancies it) will be at the track again this coming Tuesday and Thursday. Two more of their weekly interval sessions seeking to add a bit more speed in their aim for better than their two successive bronzes in the Southern County Road Relays at Aldershot in September.

(RR)

Yeovilton 5k - Race 4

7:15pm tonight - 9th July at the Yeovilton Air Base.

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Only yours truly from the Harriers, but absolutely ideal conditions... light rain, but not cold. Best result this year as I finished in 19:27 (6:16 pace), 1st Vet/60. Not too far away from last year, but a long way from 2005 results. Did enjoy it!

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Heel still a bit sore... but much better than of late.

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First mile in 6:02, second in 6:15, and third in 6:27 (into the wind). The final 0.1 in 43 seconds. Much better than of late, but still a bit too quick over the first kilometer or so.

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(RR)

Erme Valley Relays, Charmouth & Launceston

The Harriers had a great turnout when they sent a large squad of athletes to the increasingly popular 4 x 2 ½ mile Erme Valley Road Relays at Ivybridge, and seven of the 73 teams who competed were from Exmouth.

Despite the weather, Exmouth had a very successful evening, taking three of the 16 team awards. They won both the ladies team categories with their “A” team (66:45) of Julie Gellender (16:35), Emma Dupain (17:21), Jo Darwood (15:44) and Hannah Dupain (17:05), and their “B” team (77:20) of Lorraine Croome (17:34), Katie Comer (19:36), Nicky Crook (20:15) and Lorraine Slight (19:55).

Exmouth also won the men’s V60 team award in 67:01 with John Perratt (16:42), Ray Elston (17:38), Roger Rowe (16:15) and Duncan Linklater (16:26). They have now won this category four years in a row, i.e. on every occasion since its introduction.

Exmouth’s other teams were their men’s “A” (56:10) of Shaun Lock (13:35), Hugh Marsden (14:04), Adrian Kearns (14:54) and Dave Stone (13:37), and “B” team (62:37) of Chris Dupain (15:20), A. Miller (14:42), Ben White (18:26) and Shaun Lock (14:09).

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The men’s V40 team (59:02) was Andy Johnson (15:30), Paul Samways (14:34), Pete McKeown (14:33) and Jon Croome (14:25).

Finally, the men’s V50 team (75:24) with Terry Oldham (18:15), Jim Wyatt (19:06), John Perratt (17:44) and Les Turner (20:19).

Congratulations to the overall winners, South West Road Runners men’s “A” team (52:25) and their anchor man, Tom Merson, who ran the fastest leg in 12:21.

Special thanks go to Exmouth team manager / timekeeper Dawn Teed who recorded the times for every one of her club’s runners, together with the team totals. Subsequently, her quick wits and rapid intervention enabled her to ensure that the trophies for the ladies “A” team, which had been incorrectly awarded to Plymouth Harriers, were retrieved and presented to the rightful winners, Exmouth. Well done, Dawn, for an excellent evening’s work!!

The Charmouth Challenge follows a hilly, multi-terrain course of about eight miles through coastal scenery, including an ascent of Golden Cap, the highest point on the South Coast. This year’s event took place in very wet and windy conditions and it was none too pleasant on the high, exposed ground.

There were 242 finishers and the race was won by Tom Fisher in 52:52. The two Exmouth Harriers, Hugh Marsden and Mark Thompson, came 8th in 57:20 and 31st in 62:50, respectively.

The Launceston Half Marathon, which was won by Kevin Heywood of Bideford A A C in 1:10:18, is fondly known as “the Real Beast of Cornwall” and starts and finishes in Coronation Park, Launceston. Exmouth Harrier Trevor Cope came 262nd in 2:11:18 and there were 327 runners.

(LT)

Forde Abbey XC

On Tuesday evening, 17th June, Exmouth Harrier Mark Thompson competed in the Forde Abbey Cross Country Race, coming 12th in 42:58 out of the field of 205 finishers, after a good performance. The winner was Garry Perratt of Axe Valley R C in 37:17. The weather was fine and the race involved 10 km of challenging cross country through the stunning Forde Abbey Estate, crossing meadows, rivers and woodlands in its idyllic corner of West Dorset.

Inaugural Festival Four - Exeter

113 runners took part in the first inaugural Exeter Festival Four on Thursday evening, 26 June. Starting at the Canal Basin, the route (which was actually 4.3 miles) followed the River Exe to Countess Weir Bridges, returning to the finish at the Canal Basin along the Exeter Ship Canal cyclepath and towpath. Although dead flat, the course was not without its challenges. On the outward stretch, through the Exe flood plain, competitors had to contend with a herd of cows stampeding past runners and criss-crossing the course, while the return was into a stiff breeze.

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Of the four Exmouth Harriers who took part, Pete McKeown coped best with the challenges, finishing 10th in 26:01. Andrew Johnson ran the first half faster than he had planned, having to sprint past the cows before they blocked the course, and as a consequence he found himself struggling later. Although he was able to keep the two leading women (Caroline Hewitt of Tiverton Harriers, 27:04, and Karen Cook of South West Road Runners, 27:22) in his sight along the canal, he was unable to close the gap, eventually finishing 14th in 27:35.

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Ray Elston was 31st in 30:25 and Jim Wyatt finished 54th in 32:33. The race was won by James Bellwar of Exeter Tri Club in 22:54.

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Full results from

http://www.city-runs.co.uk/fest4/images/festive4_results.xls

Torbay Half Marathon

Seven Exmouth Harriers competed in the Torbay Half Marathon which was won by Toby Lambert of Alton Runners in 1:07:21.

Altogether, 1215 runners completed the race and the first Exmouth Harrier to finish was Adrian Kearns who came 42nd in 1:27:48, after an excellent performance. Eight minutes later, after an even better race, the evergreen John Perratt came 1st V65 and 130th overall in 1:35:31.

Next across the finish line were the three members of the Dupain family, Chris 221st in 1:39:41, Hannah 262nd in 1:42:13 and Nigel 447th in 1:49:26. Les Turner was 726th in 2:00:25, just ahead of Trevor Cope who was 744th in 2:01:49.

Of Talaton & Yeovilton

[Escot House -- the Talaton route passes through the Escot Estate]

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The Talaton Trotter, a 6½ mile multi terrain event, largely off-road following fields, footpaths, woods and country lanes, was held on Talaton Village Day, amongst all the other village festivities.

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The race was won by Gary Perratt of Axe Valley Runners in 44:12 and the field of 112 included two Exmouth Harriers. Adrian Taylor was 28th in 56:22 and Tim Gent was 42nd in 58:10.

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Lee Russell represented Exmouth Harriers at the June event of the Yeovilton 5K Road Race Summer Series. The winner was Toby Lambert of Winchester & District A C in 14:47 and 136 runners completed the race.

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Lee started the race rather tentatively, but soon found that he was able to increase the pace to consolidate his position. As the race went on he was able to speed up even more and enjoy the experience of passing runner after runner in the latter stages, coming 61st in 21:15. Although pleased with his performance and the result, he felt so strong as the race ended that he hopes to do even better at his next 5K race.

(LT)

South West Vets T&F Championships

At the South West Veterans’ Track & Field Championships at Exeter Arena, gold medals in all his four events, and setting new championship records in two of them, meant only one thing. Exmouth Harrier John Perratt (M70) is still a top performer in his age group and ruthlessly efficient at destroying the opposition.

In his first event, he reduced the championship record for the 5000m from 20:38.5 to 20:14.9. Then he won the 800m in 2:52.5 before going on to win the 400m in 76.6 secs. Finally, he reduced the championship record for the 1500m from 5:48.9 to 5:35.5.

During the course of the championships, John was also presented with the award to the winner of the South West Veterans’ Road Racing Grand Prix for the best average age graded % over four races. Congratulations to John on a brilliant set of performances!!

Les Turner also took part in the Track & Field Championships, coming 2nd in the 100m (M65) in 17.4 secs and 2nd in the 200m in 37.7 secs.

(LT)

Bampton 10k

At 18.30 hours on Saturday 14 June 2008 the long standing Bampton 10 kilometre road race commenced on a fine sunny evening. The windless, cloudless sky illuminated the runners as they lined up at the start in the picturesque village centre. There was a happy atmosphere hanging over the start line as the runners realised that the proceeds of the entry monies was being donated to the Exeter Leukaemia Fund.

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The starting gun saw Hugh Marsden, Exmouth Harrier, away at a fast pace with the front runners, followed further back in the pack by the other Exeter Harriers contingent consisting of Andrew Johnson, Bob Woodall, Ray Elston and Dawn Teed. Dawn who prefers longer distances was the sole female club entrant.

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The course is run through scenic countryside over extremely undulating lanes around the village of Bampton. From the start in the centre of the village the course immediately rises along the first hill and dwellings are soon left behind in the distance. The only sounds to disturb the birds in the hedgerows, was the slapping of the runners footwear on the metalled road surface, along with the laboured breathing of some of the competitors.

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Hugh Marsden maintained a in close contact with the race leaders throughout and about two kilometres into the race Andrew Johnson, as his norm starting well back in the pack, steadily overtook the middle markers and progressed higher up the positions. Hill after hill was mounted by the runners before descending into the valleys to be greeted by yet another hill.

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Just after the five kilometre marker, approaching the drinks station, a new sound greeted the athletes. The sound of leather on willow mingled with the other country chorus as the runners skirted the local village cricket green which was hosting a match. Much needed refreshing water was taken on board by some competitors as they faced the homeward stretch of the race.

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As the nine kilometre marker approached the last long hill stretched into sight before the final fast down hill stretch into the finishing lap of the football pitch.

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Hugh Marsden romped home in 11th overall place in a respectable time of 37 minutes and 19 seconds just two and one half minutes behind the ultimate winner, Peter Monaghan of Torbay Harriers. Andrew Johnson finished in 37th place in a time of 42 minutes and 11 seconds followed by Bob Woodall in 64th position in a time of exactly 45 minutes. Ray Elston finished second in the over sixty age category in a respectable time of 46 minutes and 9 seconds, in an overall position of 74th out of 214 finishers. Dawn Teed completed her valiant race in 122nd position in a time of 50 minutes and 54 seconds.

(RW)

A week's races...

Andrew Johnson ran the Michelmores 5K on Wednesday night. This is a difficult course, with lots of turns and a couple of nasty short rises, so he was quite pleased with his time of 20:44. (And according to his Garmin, it was a little long!) He was 35th (in the under 50 category - 39th overall), after losing a few places on the descent to the entrance to the Imperial.

Then Andrew travelled to Plymouth on Saturday for the Saltram 5K. He reports, "legs felt like lead after Wednesday and wandering round the house and garden during the afternoon. The course takes you downhill for about a mile before the stretch along the river and then the final long drag and I was quite pleased about how I managed to hold onto a decent pace until the final, steeper climb near the finish. My official time has me at 20:00 but I ran 19:59 on my watch - so I was just on my sub-20! 39th overall - I was on my own after turning away from the river, so I had no help at all on the hardest part of the course".

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Three Exmouth Harriers competed in the Killerton Kanter cross country race. Phil Bater was 59th in 52:43, Jim Wyatt was 1st V65 and 66th overall in 54:12 and Terry Oldham was 71st in 55:11. Peter Monaghan of Torbay A C was the winner in 37:48 and there were 147 finishers.

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The Ruby Run Half Marathon at Holsworthy was won by Peter Hockin in 1:16:15. Harrier Cathy Newman was 1st lady and 6th overall in 1:27:47 and Peter McKeown was 24th in 1:38:48, out of the field of 150 runners.

Crewkerne 9

Sunday, 1st June 2008
One of the most 'undulating' courses I have ever run. No mile of the nine is complete without flogging uphill for a while and plunging down the other side. "A good test" as they say.

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Just John Perratt and I made the short 30-mile trip to Crewkerne (plus Bill Valentine from Torbay AC). John finished on top of the 'age-related percentages' with 81.44% (1:06:49) - 3rd Vet/60. Just three others broke the 80% barrier, Paul Rose (2nd in the race) from Yeovil Town RRC with 80.71% (52:27), Martin Pearse (4th in the race) from Taunton AC with 80.36% (53:28), and yours truly with 80.38% (1:01:55) - 1st Vet/60.

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A tough undertaking, but very satisfying for all that. At one point in the lanes we were running through the flood-water that has plagued Crewkerne -- around a foot deep I'd say. And we all arrived back at the finish looking like we had run a particularly muddy cross country race.

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At least I feel that I can enter and run a race again without thinking about whether the medics are well trained!

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(RR)

Plymouth 13.1 & Edinburgh 26.2

Six Exmouth Harriers completed the Plymouth Half Marathon which was won by Jean Ndasenga of Birchfield Harriers in 1:06:00. A large field of 3,421 runners finished the race.

The first Exmouth Harrier to finish was Shaun Lock, in 21st place in 1:17:57, after a superb run that saw him knock around 2 ½ minutes off his personal best. Well done, Shaun! Hugh Marsden, consistent as ever, was next to the finish line, 1st V45 and 25th overall in 1:18:33. The equally consistent Cathy Newman was 1st LV45 and 63rd overall in 1:24:37. Dawn Teed also ran well for 969th in 1:48:41 and Stef French was 1486th in 1:56:59, a good result considering her lack of training recently. Trevor Cope may have been the last Harrier to finish, in 1501st place in 1:57:48, but he achieved an amazing milestone in the process. He has now completed 230 half marathons, an English record by a considerable margin and quite possibly a world record as well!! Trevor, has also completed around 70 marathons too... Congratulations!

Another Exmouth Harrier, Julie Gellender, ran a superb race in Scotland at the Edinburgh Marathon. Her time of 3 hours 18 minutes was a personal best, achieved in difficult, windy conditions. Well done, Julie!

(LT)

BMAF Road Relays - Sutton Park

17th May - 21st Year of the event.

[The Exmouth Harriers BMAF 2008 V60 team]

35 V/60 teams entered this year, and the Exmouth 'lads' came in a respectable 17th overall.

Roger took his accustomed place -- 1st leg runner -- but found the pace very hot (the 2008 race was the fastest in some years due, no doubt, to the cool weather). he struggled somewhat up the hill, but found from then on he could gradually move up the field. At the turn he was around 16th place in the V/60s, but running down the hill he quickly caught and passed the 'gaggle' in front driving home up the hill in 18:53 in 12th place overall.

Jim, taking on the mantle that Ray normally carries, was our 2nd leg runner. His gutsy performance against much faster men showed his grit and determination, but overall lost 9 places to the V/60 field in 22:54 a decent effort.

New team member Duncan (Linklater), new to such distances (3 x 3 miles) flew away as if he was going to pull everyone back in the first mile. But as always for the Sutton Park 'rookie' found the long hill not much to his liking. However, his strength and power saw his gain place after place to the field, and 4 places in the V/60s. Pulling away from his chasers came home in a great time of 19:46 -- a great 1st attempt at anchoring the team.

Our friends from Clydesdale - Bobby, Brian and Peter, like us all another year older, came in a brilliant 4th overall. This is quite exceptional as all three of them are over 65.

Here is a photo of both squads in front of the Harriers tent.

Many thanks to 'supporter in chief' Mandy Marvin and the date flapjack, and especially to Les Turner acting as driver and travelling reserve (never a great position to be in). And Mary for the photos and encouragement.

Overall, Oxford City were knocked off their perch (hooray) by Elswick, with Rotherham coming in 3rd, with the aformentioned Clydesdale boys in a close 4th (we almost feel they are honorary members of Exmouth Harriers, as they feel we are of Clydesdale Harriers)!

(RR)

Kernow May '5'

The Kernow May 5 Miler took place on bank holiday Monday in Launceston, Cornwall, and was unusual in that the first and second places went to two brothers. Matthew and Ryan Cleave of Cornwall AC. They completed the race in 28:07 and 28:45 respectively, to head the field of 133 runners. Exmouth Harrier Andy Johnson was 29th in 33:36.

Ivybridge 10k

At 18.30 hours on Saturday 10th, on an evening better suited to barbeques and cold beer, several hundred runners lined up at the start line for the 2008 Ivybridge 10k road race. A contingent of eight Exmouth Harriers lined up with the starters.

The start was fast with the a short descent from the Station car park to the main road, B3219 where the course took a sharp left turn. The front runners set a blistering pace on a hot balmy evening hoping to achieve a course record, which was, unfortunately, not ultimately achieved.

The course followed a gradual ascent to just after the 2k marker where the course again turned left under the railway bridge for a very steep ascent for nearly a further 2 kilometres. The runners had to dig deep to maintain their momentum along the gruelling stretch. This climb highlighted the need for both speed and hill work in training. The course was well marshalled as the course meandered through the quiet lanes of Bittaford where at the 5k marker essential supplies of water were available. The hot night saw a greater than normal supply of liquid taken.

Shortly after the drinks station the course took a right turn to rejoin the B3219. The runners faced an undulating 3.5k run along the road before turning left off the main road for the final stretch to the finish.

The first runner home, Kairn Stone of the Newham and Essex Beagles, completed the race in 32 minutes and 6 seconds.

Andrew Johnson was the first Exmouth Harrier home in 80th position in a time of 41-26, followed by Mark Thompson in 107th position in a time of 42-51. The next Exmouth Harrier to complete the race was Chris Dupain in 115th position in a time of 43-11 followed closely by his sister Hannah Dupain in 137th position in a time of 44-06.

Bob Woodall finished in 143rd position in a time of 44-16. Ray Elson was the second Vet65 in 181st position in a time of 46-08. Nigel Dupain completed the family trio in 195th position in a time of 46-56. Finally Jim Wyatt complete the Harriers contingent in 320th position in a time of 53-24.

All the Harriers turned in admiral performances and there were some good individual performances especially from Jim, who considering that 24 hours previous he was still languishing in Gambia completing his "bird watching" holiday, without his wife finished strongly.

A total of 552 runners completed the course and the last runner home completed the 10k in just over one and one half hours.

(RW)

Great West Run (13.1 miles)

The official account of the Great West Run stated that "Twenty-two years after she first won the half marathon the 46-year-old Exmouth Harrier Cathy Newman underlined what a great competitor she is with an emphatic victory. Newman and Torbay AC rival Helen Parkinson ran together for the opening three miles before Newman edged clear and opened a gap that stretched to 59 seconds by the finish line, which she crossed in 1hour 21mins 11secs. 'I have run it a few times since then but not for a couple of years now so it is great to come back and win it again. I’m pretty pleased with that,' said Newman", who was also 14th overall out of the field of 2043 finishers. Congratulations, Cathy, on yet another awesome performance!!

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The race was won by Kairn Stone of Newham & Essex Beagles in 1:10:26.

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Fourteen other Exmouth Harriers completed the race:

Paul Samways was 42nd in 1:27:06 and Roger Rowe was 2nd V60 and 79th overall in 1:31:08. Considering that Roger had not been able to train properly for 7 weeks, his time was very acceptable and he was pleasantly surprised to be 2nd in his category. He felt strong all the way, but found the last 5k pretty tough due to a right heel problem he has been carrying for months.

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Andy Kennedy was 3rd V50 and 204th overall in 1:39:15, Hannah Dupain was 208th in 1:39:21 and Chris Dupain was 245th in 1:40:20. Duncan Parkes came 350th in 1:43:42, with Nigel Dupain 514th in 1:47:38 and Emma Dupain 661st in 1:51: 13. Katie Comer was 666th in 1:51:17, Trevor Cope 873rd in 1:55:50 and Nicky Crook was 1040th in 1:59:40. Liz Pridham came 1328th in 2:07:29, Denise Kennedy 1444th in 2:10:46 and Guy Somerfield 1577th in 2:14:59.

(LT)

Great Edinburgh Run (10k)

Just heard that Mandy Marvin ran 1:06:57 in Edinburgh this morning. Nice to know there was a representative of Exmouth Harriers in 'Old Reekie'.

(RR)

A Jurassic Coast Jaunt? No, a real Toughie!

The 78.6miles (3 Marathons over 3 days on the South West Coastal Path) Jurassic Coast Challenge 2008 was completed by Exmouth Harrier Sue Wilkin. Fellow Harrier Paul Champion completed “the oner” form of the event which involved doing all 3 coastal marathons in 24hrs, starting at night, navigating yourself round. After the remarkable 20 starters : 5 finishers ratio of 2007, thirty five runners signed up for a crack at 2008 including past winner Tim Holsgrove.

Like many of the other runners, Sue and Paul both felt that the organisation was brilliant and the camaraderie was fantastic. They completed the JCC as part of their preparation for the single stage North Face Ultra-Trail Du Mont-Blanc this August. Paul plans to run the 102-mile route (time limit 46 hours) for the second consecutive year, while Sue will be attempting the 60-mile route (time limit 25 hours) for the first time. Two other Exmouth Harriers, Jon and Lorraine Croome, are also training for the 60-mile Tour Du Mont Blanc.

Day 1 – Lyme Regis to Chickerell (Weymouth)
Taking in Charmouth, Seatown, The Golden Cap and heading for Burton Bradstock for the rough half way point for the day, most of the hills were done and dusted in the first half of the day.
The runners, who had to navigate their way from checkpoint (CP) to checkpoint, had to deviate inland slightly after CP3, through the Abbotsbury Swannery to edge around Fleet Lagoon and complete the last 8 miles to the finish.

Day 2 Chickerell to Lulworth Cove.
With the new Portland leg of the 2008 route finally cleared, everyone moved onto the Weymouth sea front, with ever more forceful gusts of wind and heavier showers drilling the runners as they mounted the coast path proper once more bound for Osmington Mills. From Osmington to Lulworth took in the steep paths of Ringstead Bay, White Nothe and the legendary photography spot of Durdle Door, before plunging the athletes on a roller coaster descent to the finish at Lulworth Cove.

Just as the majority of the 3-day challengers were finishing their day at Lulworth the 35 competitors of “the oner” were gathering at Lyme Regis at 6pm Saturday night before purposefully moving off from the Lyme Regis Cobb and up the hill to Charmouth. The winds then approached force 10 and the rain drove across soaking the runners from every conceivable angle within seconds of exposure.

At CP 1 (Seatown), with no sign of imminent improvement, the event had to be interrupted so as not to endanger the lives of the competitors. Then they re-commenced at 5:30am for a double marathon stint to arrive at the finish at Studland around the same time as the JCC 3-day competitors.

Right from the re-start Tim Holsgrove took advantage of the favourable conditions and assumed the lead that he held right through to the finish line in 8hrs 55mins, over half hour before runner up Andy Barnsley, to pick up his second “oner” title.

Of the 35 runners who started, only 18 completed the “oner” (or the 2/3rder) as it was now being nicknamed. Exmouth’s Paul Champion, up against some much younger runners, ran superbly for 5th place in 10hrs 33mins. Genuine congratulations go to all the runners for handling some atrocious weather, changed plans and a really tough course to make the finish.

Day 3 – Lulworth Cove to Studland (the finish line).
The course for day 3 took over where day 2 left off with massive undulations over the ranges to Kimmeridge for CP1. From Kimmeridge the increasingly tiring athletes conquered Hounds Tout, Chapmans Pool and St Aldhelms Head before reaching Peverill point and the last CP before the finish. From here it was up and over Ballard Down and along the beach to the end of the challenge. Oliver Sinclair led them home to claim his second ‘Golden trainer’ award in 14hrs 12mins, and Lucy Brooks and Steve Hilton were once again in together joint 2nd just 8 minutes later.

Exmouth Harrier Sue Wilkin struggled with badly battered feet but is certainly no quitter and was never going to be one of the 30 or so runners who failed to run the full distance, which turned out to be 23 to 25 miles more than that completed by the oners. Sue finished 63rd in 23hrs 20mins out of the original 80 + starters.

Taunton Half Marathon
Three Exmouth Harriers were among the field of 1,089 runners who completed the Taunton Half Marathon, which was won by Philip Parry of Bristol & West AC in 1:11:30. Andy Johnson, the first Harrier to finish, needed to average 6:50 pace to avoid the ignominy of his first 90 minute + half marathon since 1990. (That would leave him with 30 seconds to spare for the final 5K). He had to work hard into the breeze and up the long incline but got through 5 miles in 34:11. By half-way he felt very tired and stopped looking at the pace on his watch so that he could concentrate on running as fast a pace as he could maintain. After going through 10 miles in 68:19 - bang on target - he really struggled up the climb to the 11th mile (7:20 split), so his 30 seconds to spare had already gone. Fortunately, the next mile was downhill and he picked up more time on the final mile to finish inside 90 minutes, in 1:29:53, in 85th place.

Julie Gellender had an outstanding race to come 1st LV35 and 79th overall in 1:29:27. Although she arrived at the finish line after Andy, she had been much further back in the starting pack and her adjusted time for the race was slightly quicker. Trevor Cope was 577th in 1:55:03.

(LT Reports - 29.4.08)

Arlington Court Canter 10k

Three Exmouth Harriers were among the field of 233 runners who competed in the Arlington Court Canter 10K Race on a scenic, undulating course through the extensive National Trust grounds at the country estate. The course is mostly off road and follows woodland trails, tracks, parks and lakes and takes in several testing climbs mixed in with some fast downhill and flat sections.

The race was won by John Ward of Bideford A C in 35:52. The three Exmouth Harriers were Ben White 97th, Nigel Dupain 98th and Emma Dupain 99th in 51:41, 51:42 and 51:44, respectively.

Tresco Marathon

The field of 125 for the Tresco Marathon, which was won by Bob Brown in 2:59:29, included Exmouth Harrier Richard Selby, competing in his first marathon for 22 years. He picked a beautiful but gruelling event for the occasion, because 7 ½ laps of an island with 4 hills on it means 30 hills in total!

The runners had a rude awakening when the boat taking them to the island put them down in the water, which they had to wade through, getting nice and wet in the process. Despite this, Richard thought the organisation was brilliant.

The conditions were reasonably good and Richard ran superbly to come 1st V55 and 10th overall in 3:26:22. He was very tired, but managed to maintain a steady pace throughout.

Richard was delighted that he was able to raise around £600 for the official marathon charity, Cystic Fibrosis and would like to thank all his sponsors, to whom he is extremely grateful.