Bideford & Plymouth

510 runners completed the Bideford 10K Race which was won by Steve Gallienne of Bideford AAC in 32:24. Exmouth Harrier Andy Kennedy was 73rd in 41:30, an excellent time.

The winner of the Plymouth Half Marathon was Jean Ndayisenga of Birchfield in 1:05:31. The large field of 3,889 runners included just one Exmouth Harrier, Dawn Teed, who ran well to come 1,047th in 1:51:45.

(LT)

How about a picture of a train?

A great photo of a 'Southern region' express taken near Feniton Station -- Sidmouth Junction as was -- before the demise of steam. As a boy brought up with both Western and Southern Region locos, I was always mesmerised by the valve gear of the latter. They seemed most exotic to me somehow.

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In the photo, the line on the left running out of the picture is the branch to Ottery St. Mary, and thence via Tipton St. Johns (sic) to Budleigh and Exmouth. Still a great run!

BMAF Road Relays - Sutton Park

Lots to say about this year's BMAF Road relays with Ray, Mick and John winning the first national relay title ever to grace the club -- 1st V70 team --John bringing the side home well clear of 2nd place Bingley Harriers, and incidentally running the fastest leg of the day.

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And all this after Ray (and Roger) were tripped on the start line and completed the first legs covered in blood. Ray finished looking as if he had gone 3 rounds with Phil Crook!

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The gruesome details:

Awaiting the start Roger and Ray were deep in conversation, not realising that within a second of the 'off' both would be lying on the road in various undignified positions spouting blood. For Roger that was left shoulder, hip, knee and elbow (plus a 'spout' from the right thumb). But Ray came off far worse... his arms were caught too, so he hit the tarmac with forehead, nose and chin. And for both the usual (in these cases) 'gravel rash'. Both were up in a second or two, and both set off to chase the disappearing field.

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Ray says that he did not really know where he was until the beginning of the first hill, about 400 metres from the start. But streaming blood and, no doubt, causing much concern to those watching, he gamefully continued.

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By the end of his first leg, Ray had caught the two V70 teams in front -- Sutton Coldfield (last year's winners) and Bingley Harriers.

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Leg 1:

Rich Cashmore - Sutton Coldfield (21:43)

George Perkins - Bingley Harriers (21:59) and

Ray Elston - Exmouth Harriers (22:01)

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Ray handed over to new 'first claim' member (from Sidmouth Harriers) Mick Allen, who like both the V60 & V70 'squads' have been working on the track at Exmouth over the past month or so. With the 2nd-leg Sutton Coldfield athlete dropping well off the pace, by the time the first two came into sight at the Keepers Pool (three-quarter of a mile to go at that point), Mick was on the shoulder of the Bingley athlete. A position that he more-or-less maintained to the handover.

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Leg 2:

John Smithhurst - Bingley Harriers (22:54)

Mick Allen - Exmouth Harriers (22:58)

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Therefore handing over to John Parratt with a 6-second deficit to Fred Gibbs of Bingley. Now, the topic of conversation that morning was how John would fare against Fred if they came into direct opposition? Fred's best 3k time in 2008 was 11:52 against John's 12:25, and Fred's 5k time of 20:09 against John's 22:19? This was going to be a race worth seeing.

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In the event John quickly moved alongside Fred going up the hill, and pulled away rapidly as it seems Fred was having a problem with a leg injury. Pity for the watchers, but by the Keepers Pool, John passed with Fred not even in sight -- bringing the team home in 1st place with a leg of 20:43. A BMAF medal for the team, and the indivual 'gold' for John -- I think the V60 watchers and Mary and Mandy were more excited than Ray, Mick and John! A momentous occasion for the club too -- our very first national relay title.

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Our V60 team of Les, Jim and Roger were, as expected well down the field, but they really enjoyed supporting their more illustrious club-mates.

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As always, a very exciting event. Now, for 2010, could we not run to entering three teams? To add a V50 team to our V60 and V70 effort would be amazing. And how about a V35, V45 or V55 ladies team(s).

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Oh! I nearly forgot. Derek Donaghy ran a quick leg -- 17:22 (a V50 of course).

[John bringing the victorious V70 side home]

[V60 and V70 Lads pose - the former basking in the glory of the latter]

Sandy Bay Beach Race - enter now!

[The cliffs half-way from Sandy Bay to Orcombe Point]

Sunday, 7th June, will see the first ever running of Our New Beach Race which will replace the former Manor Hotel 10K Road Race, last run in June, 2007. The start and finish will be, thanks to the kind permission of Haven Holidays, at Haven Holidays’ Devon Cliffs Holiday Park (Sandy Bay) Exmouth, on the beach. The run will be to the far end of the beach in Exmouth, below the Beach Hotel, turn and return to Sandy Bay. The approximate distance is 9K (5 ½ miles) and runners may choose their own route, as long as they stay on the beach, and turn at the marshal at the end of Exmouth Beach. All finishers will receive a unique memento, but there will be no prizes or category awards.

Please note that there will be no drinks station, so runners who will need a drink, during or after the race, should bring their own. Or better still, the excellent café just above the beach will be open for food and drink.

Entry costs only £5 (http://www.exmouth-harriers.co.uk/). For further information, contact race director Bob Keast at robert@keast.org .

Ivybridge 10k

"On Saturday evening 9th May 2009 four Harriers donned their club shirts and joined the other 672 finishers of the Ivybridge 10k race.
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Those members competing were:-
1] Andy Johnson,
2] Bob Woodall,
3] Lee Russell, &
4] Jim Wyatt.

The evening was bright and sunny and the temperature not excessive so ideal racing conditions. The near capacity entrant of 700 runners lined up noisily at the start in the railway car park ready to launch themselves down the incline to exit the car park before turning a sharp left onto the carriageway. Unfortunately many runners selected an incorrect position at the start,inconsistent with their ultimate finishing times. Much pushing and shoving was necessary at the start to get through the throng.

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Once on the open road space allowed the competitors to settle into their stride. Just two kilometres into the race along a relatively flat straight stretch the course turned left under the railway bridge to ascend a steep climb for about a further 2 kilometres before descending to the much needed and appreciated drinks station. At this location, of the four Harriers entrants, Andy Johnson was well ahead of the quartet with Bob Woodall and Lee Russell jostling for the front place at the second and third positions with Jim Wyatt bringing up the rear. Lee unfortunately lost ground struggling to cope with drinking from the bottle which allowed Bob to stretch out his lead.

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After the drink station the course once again emerged onto the main road to head back toward the finish. With about one and one half kilometres to go the course turned left onto the country lanes again with a slight decline before the finishing incline to the rugby club.Andy Johnson finished in an impressive 57th position in a time of 40 minutes 34seconds. Andy felt disappointed with his own performance although his finishing time was impressive.

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The second Harrier home in 152nd position was Bob Woodall in a time of 44minutes and 24 seconds, just 9 seconds slower than last year which could be directly attributed to the poor start.

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Lee Russell finished the third Harrier in 157th place in a time of 44minutes and 39 seconds just 5 positions behind Bob. A good strong performance by Lee.Jim Wyatt completed the entry for the Harriers in 319th position in a time of 50minutes and 26seconds. Jim still looked as if there were many miles left in his legs as he crossed the finishing line.

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The first runner home completed the course in a blistering 32minutes and 44seconds with the last competitor finishing in 90minutes and 7seconds."

(BW)

Great West Run

It was fitting that the 25th anniversary of the Great West Run Half Marathon should turn out to be such a thrilling race. Kairn Stone, the defending champion, of Newham and Essex Beagles, just succeeded in retaining his title with a time of 1:09:03, but only by the narrowest of margins, a mere two seconds. The man he beat, Tom Merson of South West Road Runners, had pushed him so hard all the way round that the two men were only separated by the sprint finish over the final 200 metres. And both had beaten the course record by over a minute!

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2254 runners completed the event including nine Exmouth Harriers. Still only seventeen years of age, Jamie Pearson produced another brilliant performance to finish in 1:15:18, 1st U20 and 6th overall. Well done, Jamie!

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Adam Miller was 36th in 1:25:11, with Andy Kennedy 3rd V50 and 183rd overall in 1:35:28, and Duncan Parkes 199th in 1:36:04. Next came Harriers first lady, Hannah Dupain, 257th in 1:38:20, followed by the rest of the family, Chris 337th in 1:40:01, Emma 342nd in 1:40:13 and Nigel 814th in 1:50:28. Denise Kennedy was 2010th in 2:22:51.

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A new event, the Great West 5K Race, also took place last Sunday morning. The winner was Matthew Clark of South West Road Runners in 16:38 and the field of 147 included two Exmouth Harriers. Andy Johnson was 2nd V45 and 14th overall in 19:43 and Les Turner was 1st V65 and 33rd overall in 25:51.

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Various photos from the Great West Run... with Tom and Kairn disputing the lead until the final straight on the track, when Kairn managed to pip Tom by 2 seconds (!) 1:09:05 to 1:09:07. Pretty good times on a windy day.

(fin)

London Marathon

Ten Harriers travelled to the capital to be among the throng of over 35,000 who completed this year’s London Marathon. Although they turned in some good performances, none of them caused too many problems for the winner, Olympic champion Sammy Wanjiru with his new course record of 2:05:10.

Dave Stone was the first Harrier to finish, 319th in 2:46:18. Hugh Marsden was 933rd in 2:59:53, with Adrian Kearns 1,393rd in 3:07:43 and Paul Samways 2,042nd in 3:15:19. Ben White came 11,145th in 4:14:03 and Chris Dupain was 14,763rd in 4:34:04.

The first of the Harriers to complete the ladies’ race after an excellent performance was Steph French, 707th in 3:36:07. Dawn Teed came 1,319th in 3:51:28, with Emma Dupain 1,346th in 3:52:03 and Nicky Crook 5,489th in 4:47:14. Unfortunately, Nicky suffered a calf injury a few weeks before the race that slowed her down considerably and meant that she did well to reach the finish.

(LT)

Honiton Hippo

Last Sunday a new event, the Honiton Hippo, was run for the first time on a glorious spring morning. The 7½ mile multi-terrain race was organised by Honiton Running Club and started and finished at Honiton Primary School.

The route took the runners down Clapper Lane, around Coombe Wood, then on a hard climb through Coombe Raleigh to the bottom of St Cyre’s Hill. Onwards and upwards through the woods and the bluebells to the top of the hill, followed by a sharp descent on the road to Awliscombe.

Half a mile further on, another climb took the runners to the zig-zag down the hill and through two very muddy hippo wallows. The hillside was traversed and the runners proceeded towards Tracey Mill and forded the river Otter. They crossed the fields towards Coombe Raleigh, then ran down the road back to Honiton – but had to negotiate another river crossing and a short, sharp climb before they finished.

127 runners completed the race and the winner was James Bellward of South West Road Runners in 47:58. Harrier John Perratt was 71st in 1:11:48 and Lee Russell was 73rd in 1:13:20.

(LT)

Bampton to Tiverton (7.1m)

[The White Horse at Bampton - the race start since 1946]

Great to see such a good turn-out from us 'oldie' members today -- and in Jamie one of the youngest -- all a credit to the club.

Much to my surprise once I read the results, I was 1st V60 behind John -- no idea why they missed me on the list, but at least that was some consolation for the slowest (%-wise) race I have ever run. Ho hum... wonder if I'll ever fire on all cylinders (not to say two feet) again sometime.

Today's results:
Tom M - 2nd in 37:12 (Tom looked strange in Bristol AC colours)!
Jamie P - 4th in 38:53 (What a great run)!
Andy J - 40th in 47:22
Andy K - 49th in 48:50
John P - 66th in 50:51 (1st V65)-(How does he do it?)
Bob W - 67th in 50:51 (Nearly a dead-heat)
Rog R - 77th in 52:10 (1st V60)!
Ray E - 88th in 53:24 (3rd V65)
Jim W - 104th in 55:32 (4th V65)
Mick A - 133rd in 58:55

And a happy time was enjoyed by all.

Thanks to Mandy Marvin all the way from Bedford who supported.

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Last Sunday, the Harrier who likes to do things a little bit different, Mark Thompson, was brushing up his French at the Trail des Citadelles in Lavlenet.

The race, which is 73km (46 miles) long and has 3700m of climb, was won by Patrick Bruni in 8:22:54. Mark was 77th in 11:39:13 out of the 175 finishers.

(RR & LT)

Sunday 5th April...

Sunday, 5th April was a glorious day for the Exe to Axe grade “B” Fell Race organised by Sidmouth Running Club and sponsored by Ironbridge Runner. Fortunately, there was a cool breeze to prevent the runners from overheating too much in the blazing spring sunshine.

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The race starts at Foxholes Car Park, Exmouth and follows the breathtaking East Devon Coastal Path for 20 miles, finishing at the Hook and Parrot on the Esplanade at Seaton. It accommodates both individuals tough enough to tackle the complete distance single-handed, and lesser mortals operating as relay teams of two, three or four runners. The three handover / check points are at Lime Kiln Car Park, Budleigh Salterton, Sidmouth Sailing Club and Branscombe Mouth.

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The race was completed by 133 individuals and 11 relay teams. Some of the runners completed the whole 20 miles, but ran as part of a relay team in the process.

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The individual race was won by David Miller of Teignbridge Trotters in 2:56:06. After a strong performance, Paul Champion was the 1st of the five Exmouth Harriers to finish in 45th place in 3:36:14.

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Lorraine Croome was 81st in 4:01:09 and Terry Oldham was 89th in 4:04:58. Lorraine Slight came 90th in 4:04:59 and Sue Wilkin was 117th in 4:41:57. Sue had saved sufficient energy to run the final stage again, in reverse, taking her total mileage to 24, as part of her buildup for the much longer events that she will be contesting in the course of the next few months.

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Exmouth Harriers also provided four of the eleven teams in the relay event that was won by South West Road Runners “A” in 2:44:04. The Harriers’ 50’s team (Andy Kennedy, Steve Merry, Richard Selby and Bob Woodall) were 3rd in 3:09:30. “Just the Two of Us” (Ben White and Chris Dupain) were 5th in 3:18:21. The 60’s team (Ray Elston, Bob Woodall, Jim Wyatt and Les Turner) came 6th in 3:20:42 and the ladies team (Lorraine Slight, Nicky Crook and Lucy Hodgson) were 10th in 3:53:45. Lorraine had run the 1st leg of the relay, then continued to complete the full 20 miles.

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The Taunton half marathon was won by John Mcfarlane of Thames Hare and Hounds in 1:08:22, only 21 seconds ahead of Exmouth runner Tom Merson of South West Road Runners who took 1:08:43, a new PB. Adrian Kearns was the 1st Exmouth Harrier to finish in 71st place in 1:26:45, followed by Andy Johnson, 122nd in 1:30:48. Duncan Parkes was 178th in 1:35:31 with Nigel Dupain 557th in 1:50:27. 1193 runners completed the race.

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(LT)

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PS I understand that Dave Stone completed the Marathon at Taunton in around 2:50 for 6th place. (RR)

British 100k Championships

Imagine the scene... there was I this afternoon, just back home after a day out in Exmouth, when a breathless Heather Foundling-Hawker come running up our drive shouting, "I did it Roger... I did it". "Did what", I shouted back. "I won the 100k Championships on one leg!"

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Heather has been a friend for ages, originally as we often paced each other in races, and then following a serious injury about 18 months ago, I tried to help her recover with advice, massage and a bit of training together. She became very much a friend of the family, and for ages has been working to recover from the foot injury she had suffered.

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On Sunday she ran the Celtic 100k race in Galway and came away with a second place in the race (to Irish athlete Helena Crossan) so ended the race as the new British 100k Champion, and with Angie Sadler winners of the team title.

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Although not yet firing on all cylinders, Heather is an amazingly determined competitor as anyone, male or female, will agree who have tried to race her in the closing miles of a race.

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She intends now to race the Edinburgh Marathon in May before the World 100k Championships in Belgium later in the year.

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She asked to be remembered to her many friends in the Harriers.

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The race report:
A sunny and cool day greeted competitors at the Celtic 100k race, which took place in Galway, Ireland on 28 March. The 100km (62.1 miles) road race incorporated the 2009 Anglo Celtic Plate competition between the home nations of Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales.

The Mayor of Galway, Councillor Padraig Conneely, was on hand to start the race at 08:00. The event was overseen by race director and organiser, Richard Donovan.

In the men's competition, England's Jez Bragg ran a stellar race to take the individual title in a world class 6:58:00. The winning time, a PB for Bragg, meant he ran each mile at an average pace of under 6 minutes 44 seconds. He was followed by Germany's Stefan Hinze and England's Allen Smalls in second and third place, respectively. The Anglo Celtic Plate team competition was retained by England with Scotland second and Ireland third.

Helena Crossan brought great cheer to the home crowd when she overtook England's Heather Foundling-Hawker in the latter stages to take the female title. Crossan, the Irish 100km record holder with a PB of 7:52:45 settled for a time of 8:11:04 on this occasion. Angie Sadler of England finished in third position to ensure England retained the Anglo Celtic Plate team title for women ahead of Scotland and Ireland.
(RR)

Teignbridge '10'

The Great West Teignbridge Ten is a 10-mile race that starts and finishes at Teign School, Kingsteignton. The route starts with approximately 1½ miles around the upper end of the village, followed by two slightly undulating rural laps through Sandygate and Fosterville, then via Preston Manor and back to Kingsteignton.

The race was won by Alan Ryder of Erme Valley Harriers in 57:00 and there were 262 finishers, including five Harriers.

Andy Kennedy ran well to lead the Harriers home in 65th place in 1:10:31, followed by John Perratt, 2nd V60 and 96th overall in 1:15:03. Stan Mason came 182nd in 1:28:01 with Joan Mason 198th in 1:29:55. Denise Kennedy was 225th in 1:35:24.

(LT)

All sorts of SUCCESS (!)

[Hugh in the Falklands Marathon]

On Sunday, 15th March, Harrier Hugh Marsden ran an excellent Falkland Islands Marathon and came second, just as he did last year, but in a PB of 2:57:08. The conditions were reasonably warm, but not as balmy as last year, and the race was won by Lee Pattison in 2:55:51. The Argentinian Marcelo E DE Bernardis came 3rd in 2:57:22, several minutes faster than last year and only 14 seconds behind Hugh.

The fifth and final round of the Ironbridge Runner Winter 3K Series at Exeter Arena on Wednesday, 18th March, was won by Tom Merson of South West Road Runners in 8:56. Congratulations to Tom, who also won the overall series (4 out of 5 races to count) with 3 wins and a second place.

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Harriers athletes were very successful with 3 overall series winners and a second place, out of the 7 male categories. Roger Rowe was 1st V60 in 12:13, and also 1st for the overall series, having won all 5 rounds. Well done, Roger!

Congratulations, also, to Ray Elston, who was 1st V65 in 12:37 and 1st V65 overall, having won all the 4 events he contested. And to Jim Wyatt, 3rd V65 on the night in 13:42 and 2nd over the whole series.

Finally, John Perratt was 1st V70 in 12:25 (and he’s only 72!) and, like Roger, 1st overall in his category with 5 straight wins out of five. Well done, John!

Last Sunday also saw the final event of another winter series, the 6th round at Redruth of the Brooks Westward Cross Country League. Only 56 runners, around half the usual number, completed the senior men’s event that was won by Jim Cole of Tavistock AC in 26:12. Although there were no senior Harriers at Redruth, congratulations go to Ray Elston who was 3rd V60 over the whole series (5 out of 6 races to count).

Exmouth did, however, have rapidly improving Jamie Pearson in the Men U17 event. And, after coming 2nd in both of the last 2 rounds at Bideford and Bovey Tracey, Jamie finally beat both the overall series winner, Tom Gill of Tavistock AC, and the series runner-up, J Waldie of Cornwall AC, to win his category, together with his trophy for a thoroughly well-deserved 3rd place over the series, just 1 point behind J Waldie. Well done, Jamie! (Definitely one to watch in the future)

Finally, last Sunday, Harrier Mark Thompson took part in the Hogweed Hilly Half Marathon, a great race for those wishing to get away from it all across prime South Gloucestershire countryside, with hills that require runners to put their legs in gear and forget all about PB’s. 270 runners completed the race that was won by Tom Fisher in 1:19:00. Mark was 31st in 1:36:47 after an excellent race, following a recent viral infection.

(LT)

Ironbridge Runner Winter 3k Series - Final results

Tom Merson (Senior Man) 1st in three races, 2nd once - 1st overall

Roger Rowe (V60) 1st in all 5 races - 1st overall

Ray Elston (V65) 1st in the 4 races competed - 1st overall

Jim Wyatt (V65) 3 seconds and a third - 2nd overall

John Perratt (V70) 1st in all 5 races - 1st overall

(4 out of 5 races to count)

I hear from Peter Ferlie that there are still a few places left for the Great West Run (9:30am - Sunday, 3rd May). They will of course disappear very quickly, so if you would like to run enter now!

(RR)

Tom at Bath - Sunday 15th

Tom Merson marked his debut for Bristol & West AC with a personal best in the Bath Half Marathon. Merson shrugged off a 30 minutes delay at the start due to traffic congestion and unseasonably warm conditions to clock a time of 69mins 29secs for 18th place in a field of almost 11,000 starters, eight seconds quicker than he ran in Nottingham last September though clearly Merson has a lot more to offer.

Merson should also get a nice cash bonus in the team contest. While official results had still to be confirmed the initial feeling was the Bristol & West AC squad finished runners-up to Cardiff so will get a cheque for £50 each. Top Devon runner was new county champion Kairn Stone, who pulled clear of Merson in the second half of the race to finish 11th (68:29).

(Kevin's Column - Ironbridge Runner)

The Grizzly, and other races...

Wednesday, 4th March saw Round 4 of the Ironbridge Runner Winter 3K Series of five events at Exeter Arena on a cold evening with temperatures only just above freezing. The winner was David Wilkinson in 9:43, over ¾ minute slower than the winning time of 8:55 at Round 3 in December.

The first Harrier to finish was Andy Johnson in 11:35, followed by Roger Rowe in 12:10, John Perratt in 12:27, Ray Elston in 12:44, Jim Wyatt in 13:46 and Les Turner in 15:00. The fifth and final round, postponed from 4th February, will be held on Wednesday, 18th March.

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Last Sunday, the Grizzly 2009 duly took place and, fortunately for the participants, the weather was much less hostile than forecast. So although the strong, cold wind caused some discomfort at the more exposed locations, the rain / hail was limited to a few very short-lived showers. 1446 runners completed the full 20-mile event, including 15 Exmouth Harriers, who produced some excellent performances.

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The race was won by John Macfarlane of Thames Hare & Hounds in 2:19:21. Dave Stone had a superb run to lead the Harriers home in 40th place in 2:49:01. Well done, Dave!

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Adam Miller, 53rd in 2:52:21, Jon Croome, 63rd in 2:55:21 and Paul Champion, 214th in 3:16:01 all ran excellent races. Joe Pascoe was 144th in 3:08:59, Ben White 295th in 3:23:27 and Hannah Dupain 296th in 3:23:34. Lorraine Croome came 452nd in 3:35:56, Terry Oldham 521st in 3:41:47 and Emma Dupain 531st in 3:42:15. Dawn Teed was 542nd in 3:42:52, Lorraine Slight 718th in 3:55:20 and Matt Mason 765th in 3:58:04.

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Sue Wilkin was 1139th in 4:32:25 with Les Turner 1140th in 4:32:58. However, on an age-graded basis, Sue was in the top 750. And this was despite waiting several minutes while Les, who managed to get well and truly stuck in the deepest bog and was “claimed” by the Lean, Mean BogStalker, had to be pulled out and rescued by several stout-hearted helpers.

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The 9-mile Grizzly Cub run was won by Martin Owen in 1:04:34. Congratulations to Harrier Jim Wyatt who had a great race for 1st V65 and 55th overall in 1:33:31, out of the 277 finishers.

(LT)

Recent races...

On Sunday, 22nd February, John Perratt took part in the Dalwood Three Hills Challenge. The race, which starts at the village hall in Dalwood, near Honiton, is 10 miles and largely off-road with only three hills – but each one is 500’ high! 158 runners completed the race that was won by James Denne of Honiton Running Club in 1:12:40. John was 1st V70 and 81st overall in 1:40:43.

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Our man in the Falklands, Hugh Marsden, has just won the Island’s Half Marathon for a very impressive fifth consecutive year!! The Falklands’ weather was quite nice for a change and Hugh took full advantage to run 2 minutes faster than last year and win the race in 1:19:31, beating the runner-up by nearly 7 minutes. Congratulations to Hugh, who will be taking part in the full Falklands Marathon on 15th March.

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Eight Harriers were among the field of 1000 runners who completed the Bideford Half Marathon last Sunday. The race was won by Kairn Stone of Newham & Essex Beagles in 1:10:48. Adam Miller was the first Harrier to finish, 61st in 1:26:38, just 8 seconds ahead of Adrian Kearns, 64th in 1:26:46. Andy Johnson came 147th in 1:33:15, Terry Oldham 291st in 1:42:33 and Dawn Teed 359th in 1:45:33. Lorraine Slight ran superbly for 2nd FV50 and 376th overall in 1:46:21, Lissie Lingard was 636th in 1:58:28 and Corinna Stephens 981st in 2:32:41.

(LT)

Ho, Ho, Hoe...

[Tom leaving Kairn Stone for dead, second time up the Hoe hill]

[Andy, enjoying it rather too much]

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The Plymouth Hoe 10 (miles) Race, which started and finished at the Brickfields, Devonport, was also the annual Peninsula Challenge between Devon and Cornwall. The first of the 558 runners to finish, Jim Cole of Tavistock A C in 52:06, led home the victorious Devon County squad that included Exmouth athlete Tom Merson who was 2nd in 52:13.

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Although Devon won the men’s race easily, the women’s event could not have been closer. Devon and Cornwall finished on the same number of points, but the Duchy were awarded the title on countback.

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Harrier Andy Johnson had an unusual experience. He completed the race in 1:08:29, but was not included in the official results list. Had he appeared there, he would have come 110th.

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Exmouth Harriers were well represented by eleven runners in the 9th Sidmouth Four Trigs Challenge, out of the field of 92 who completed the race. The 15 – 16 mile Fell Runners’ Association Cat. B course started and finished at Sidmouth Sailing Club and visited each of the four Triangulation Pillars around the Sid Valley, with what the organisers described as “…an obscene amount of climb involved!” The hardest part of the event, however, was trying to finish the enormous Hayman’s pasty that was given to each runner to restock the energy reserves after the race.

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The event was won by Edd Charlton-Weedy in 2:19:07 and the first Harrier to finish, after a superb, strong run, was Jon Croome, 4th in 2:27:34. Paul Champion also had an excellent race to come 28th in 3:01:00, Lorraine Croome was 40th in 3:14:08 and Tim Gent was 43rd in 3:19:45. Dawn Teed, Lorraine Slight and Terry Oldham were 62nd equal in 3:44:09. Nicky Crook ran really well and was 66th in 3:45:12, with her coach Steve Merry 67th in 3:45:30. Sue Wilkin also had a very good race to come 78th in 4:04:23 and Les Turner was 79th in 4:05:10. Sue would have been several minutes faster without the handicap of having to drag Les around the course behind her – he did finish all his pasty, though!

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Last but not least, Exmouth Harrier John Perratt took part in the South West Veterans A C 5K Road Championships at Barton St David, Somerset. There are no prizes for guessing that he was 1st V70 and his time was 22:19.

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(LT)

Brooks Westward XC League - Round 5

Round 5, the penultimate race of the 6-round Brooks Westward Cross Country League 2008/09 series, was held on Sunday, 8th February, at Bovey Tracey in the picturesque National Trust grounds of the Parke Estate.

The race involved four laps of the course that commenced with a small loop around the flood plain of the river before rising steeply along the muddy track into the Blackmoor Copse. Several hundred metres along the wooded ridge, the course took a dogleg right turn down a steep incline back towards the river. At the bottom, another sharp dog-leg right turn took the runners back to the starting loop.

93 runners, including six Harriers, completed the senior men’s category that was won by O. Shilston of Cornwall A C in 34:06. Hugh Marsden led the Harriers home in 29th place, in 39:54. Bob Woodall was 68th in 48:32 and Lee Russell 77th in 50:24.

John Perratt was 3rd V60 and 79th overall in 50:35, Ray Elston 82nd in 51:29 and Jim Wyatt 87th in 53:23. Congratulations to Ray Elston, who has now completed all of the first five events and is already assured of 2nd or 3rd V60 over the series, dependent on the results of other runners in the final race at Redruth on Sunday, 22nd March. As the awards are based on the best five races out of the six-race series, Ray does not need to take part in the final event. And if Jim Wyatt, who has only completed four races so far, runs well at Redruth, he could achieve 3rd or 4th V60 over the series.

Jamie Pearson is having to battle really hard for a top three place over the whole series in the U17 men’s category. On this occasion he was 2nd in17:55 behind the strong Cornwall A C runner, J. Waldie. It looks likely that these two athletes will take 2nd and 3rd place over the series behind Tom Gill of Tavistock A C, but everything again depends on the results at Redruth.

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(LT)

Blackmore Vale 13.1 & Fulfords '5'

A freezing cold Sunday morning in Dorset was the setting for the annual Blackmore Vale Half Marathon. The race starts in the village of Bishops Caundle before heading out along quiet country lanes with plenty of hills, including a long drag up the final mile to the finish. 550 runners took part and the race was won by Doug Hall of VOTwo in 1:13:58, with Sara Winter the first lady in 1:22:01. Exmouth Harriers Jenny Timms and Mark Thompson were 64th in 1:30:25 and 68th in 1:30:52, respectively.

Although the weather stayed dry for this year’s Fulfords’ Great West Run Five Mile Road Race, the runners had to endure a bitterly cold wind, particularly along Exmouth’s exposed sea front. Congratulations to the winner, Exmouth runner Tom Merson of South West Road Runners in 25:26.

Twelve Harriers competed in the race and it was good to see the group led home by its two youngest runners – hopefully this bodes well for the future! Seventeen-year old Jamie Pearson, continuing his rapid development, was 6th in 27:43. Even younger Adam Cornish, still sixteen, was 23rd in 30:45. Well done, Jamie and Adam!!

Andy Kennedy was 42nd in 33:24, Emma Dupain 51st in 33:44 and Lee Russell 80th in 35:09, all turning in excellent performances.

Also outstanding were John Perratt, 1st V70 and 81st overall in 35:22, Ray Elston, 1st V65 and 100th overall in 36:51 and Jim Wyatt, 3rd V65 in 38:22. Congratulations to the three award winners!

Ben White was 85th in 35:59, Nicky Crook 159th in 40:35, Stan Mason 175th in 42:21 and Joan Mason 178th in 42:31.

As on previous occasions, the race followed the lead car provided by Fulfords, who have now sponsored the event for at least ten years. Before presenting the awards, Bob Keast said how grateful the Club are for the continued support of Fulfords, who provide assistance on race day as well as sponsoring the event. He also thanked the Air Cadets, who turned out in force to do a great job once again, St John Ambulance, the police and all the members of the Harriers who helped out on the day. Without all this assistance, we could not put on the race.