The London Marathon

Five Harriers ventured to the capital to join the other 35000 runners who were taking part in the Virgin London Marathon for Sunday 25th April 2010. Twenty-six miles and 385 yards of road to pound before taking their medals at the finish.

The event commences at Blackheath after which the runners headed off in an easterly direction toward Woolwich before turning westward, keeping south of the River Thames, toward Rotherhithe. The route continued south of the river before crossing London Bridge and turning easterly following the river course toward Millwall. Through the docklands and back toward the Tower of London and finally to the finishing line at Green Park.

The first athlete to complete the course was Tsegaye Kebede in a time of 2 hours, 5 minutes and 19 seconds. Only just over 35 minutes ahead of Harrier, Dave Stone. A really impressive performance from our Dave especially considering that the first passed the post is a professional athlete. Neither does the winner have to complete his hours of training in the dark hours, either pre dawn or post sunset, nor undertake full time employment and juggle his time with considerate family members. Dave Stone finished in overall 194th position, just 29th in his age category, in an impressive time of 2 hours, 40 minutes and 41 seconds.

Adam Miller finished in overall 454th position, 300th in his age category, in a time of 2-49-57. Another good sub three hour performance meaning that Adam, on average completed each and every mile in less than six and one half minutes.

Joanne Darwood finished in overall 8324th position, 861st in her age category, in a time of 3-50-41.

Shaun Lock finished in overall 8325th position, 3715th in his age category, in a time of 3-50-41.

Trevor Cope completed the Harriers contingent in overall 31731st position, 812th in his age category, in a time of 5-34-17.

Congratulations to all the athletes completing the marathon especially to those local club runners.

Three races...

At 10 am on Sunday 18th April 2010 a full compliment of athletes lined up for Tavy 13, which is the brand new, officially measured, half marathon race hosted by Tavistock Athletic Club. The Tavy 13 is outstandingly scenic with only one significant hill in the first half and many miles of flat or gently undulating running. The course goes through the historic town along a former main line railway and onto the edge of the Tamar Valley – a designated area of outstanding natural beauty, for those runners able to take in the natural beauty whilst competing in the race. Amongst those starters Mark Thompson was the sole entrant representing the Harriers.

The first runner to complete the race was Peter Freedman, of Tavistock AC in a time of one hour, eleven minutes and twenty-seven seconds. Mark Thompson finished in overall 40th position in a time of 1-31-30.

Elsewhere on the same day 153 runners lined up for the start of the Honiton Hippo 7, a tough multi-terrain race which sees runners scrambling up hills and fording rivers and once again beautiful views over the surrounding countryside. Again only one athlete represented the Harriers in this race, namely, John Parrett. The first runner to complete the course was James Waldie of Cornwall AC in a time of forty-seven minutes and fifty-one seconds. John Parrett for the Harriers finished in overall 70th position in a time of one hour, thirteen minutes and eleven seconds.

Much futher afield Adrian Kearns, yet again the sole entrant for the Harriers, was amongst the numerous finishers that competed in the Lochaber Marathon which started and ended at Fort William in the Scottish Highlands. Despite being surrounded by the Grampian mountains with Ben Nevis, the UKs highest mountain just behind the town fortunately the marathon routes highest point was just 60 feet as the route followed the shores of the sea Loch Eil out and back, with great views of the snow covered mountains. Adrian Kearns finished in an impressive time of 3-08-31."

(RW)

Yeovilton Summer 5k

John Perratt ran 21:26 in the first race of the Yeovil Town RC Summer series at Yeovilton on Wednesday to finish well ahead of his V70 rivals.

Taunton Half Marathon

On a hot and breezy morning at 10.30am on Sunday 11th April 2010 in excess of twelve hundred runners lined up for the start of the Taunton Half Marathon. Amongst those starters were just two members of the Harriers, Dave Stone and Adrian Kearns.

The course, of one lap, started and finished at the Somerset College of Arts and Technology, Taunton. After leaving the college grounds the competitors ran through the main street of Taunton before heading out into the countryside of Somerset. The route went through the villages of Oake and Bradford on Tone and back via the A38 to the finish at the college. The course was undulating with the main hill at the eleven mile marker.

The first competitor to cross the finish line was Adam Carison of Torbay AC in a time of 1 hour, 10 minutes and 30 seconds. Dave Stone, in overall 5th place, finished in 1-15-16 taking the 1st V40 category prize. This was Dave's fastest time for a half marathon in five years. Adrian Kearns finished in 64th overall position in a time of 1-27-46.

(RW)

Bampton to Tiverton

On Easter Monday 5th April 2010 the latest meeting in the long running event of the Bampton to Tiverton Road Race took place. The first Bampton to Tiverton Road Race was held on 22 April 1946 with 27 competitors. It was won by John Harvey from Tiverton in a time of 42 minutes 19 seconds. The 7 mile race has been held on Easter Monday virtually every year since then.

The race started at 10.30am in Bampton at the White Horse Inn where the route then followed the mostly downhill country roads, first along the Tiverton Road then the A396 to Bolham. Here the runners climbed the steepest hill of the course, passed the front lodge of Knightshayes Court and then across the bridge over the North Devon Link Road. The race finished in 'Peoples Park' overlooking the Tiverton Football Club.

The weather conditions were favorable to the runners not too warm nor rain, but unfortunately there was a slight head wind along most of the course until the runners took the left turn into Bolham.

First was Kevin Heywood of Bideford AC in a course record time (for the 'new' course, now 20+ years old, of 35 minutes and 32 seconds, nearly three minutes ahead of his closest rival.

The first Harrier to cross the finishing line was Roger Rowe in overall 41st place in a time of 50.38, and taking the first place in the V65 category. Bob Woodall finished in overall 44th place in a time of 51.07. Ray Elston completed in overall 56th place in a time of 52.43, taking the first place in the V70 category. Finally, Mick Allen finished in 88th position in a time of 58.42, taking 2nd place in the V70 category.

(RW)

Exe to Axe

On Sunday 4th April 2010 over one hundred and fifty competitors lined up at the Fox Holes car park adjacent to the new Life Boat Station in Exmouth for the start on the Exe to Axe race. The course, some twenty miles in duration, following the route of the coast path to Budleigh Salterton, Sidmouth, Branscombe and finally finishing at the west end of the promenade in Seaton. This course has a total altitude climb of nearly three miles along the switchback coast path.

Seven members of the Harriers entered and run the entire twenty miles. The first individual runner to complete the course was James Bellwood in a time of 2 hours forty minutes and forty seconds.

For the Harriers Dave Stone took the third position in a time of 2.56.37 followed closely by Mike Musgrove who finished in forth place in 2.57.36.

Jon Croome finished in 19th place in a time of 3.17.55.

Lorraine Croome finished in 69th place in a time of 3.56.56.

The final trio of Harriers finished in a group taking the positions 89,90 and 91. Lucy Hodgeson finished in a time of 4.17.35, Lorraine Gilson finished in a time of 4.17.40 and Terry Oldham finished in a time of 4.17.41.

(RW)

Teignbridge '10'

On the first official day of British Summer time, Sunday 28th March 2010, the lone Exmouth Harrier, Joan Mason, lined up for the start of the Teignbridge Ten. At 10.30 am prompt the race started on the playing field at Teign School before completing about 1.6 miles around the upper end of Kingsteignton, followed by 2 slightly undulating rural laps through Sandygate, Fosterville, then via Preston Manor and back to Kingsteignton. The ten mile race finished on the field at Teign School.

The first runner to cross the finishing line in a time of 52 minutes and 57 seconds was Pete Freedman of Tavistock AC.

Joan Mason, for the Exmouth Harriers, finished in overall 148th position in a time of 89-01, giving her an average speed, for the ten mile course, of 8.45minutes per mile.

(RW)

GWR Warm Up 10k & Westward League XC

At 11 am on Sunday 21st March 2010 the final round of the Great West Run Warm up 10K race started. The weather for the days event was almost perfect for racing. The conditions at the start were calm, sunny and windless and although the wind picked up slightly as the race progressed it was nothing like as strong or as cold as at the previous round on 28th February. Again the course was a fast and flat. James Denne of Exeter Harriers finished in first place in a time of 34 minutes and 10 seconds, taking the first place in the series.

Four members of Harriers competed in this race with Dave Stone taking the second position on the day in a time of 34-46.

Andy Johnson finished in 7th position in a time of 40-47.
Phil Quick finished in 12th position in a time of 43-47.
Les Turner finished in 45th position in a time of 55-31.

Later the same day three intrepid Harriers, Ray Elston, Jim Wyatt and Bob Woodall travelled to Redruth in Cornwall to compete in the final round of the Brooks Westward Cross Country series. At 1.35 pm under a bright and sometimes cloudy sky saw the start of the Senior Mens race get underway. The temperatures were mild with a gusting wind which made for difficult ascents of the short sharp slopes which connected the four separate fields which made up one lap. Five laps of the course each of 1.6 kilometers plus a run in to the finish completed the total distance of 8.1 kilometres. Conditions underfoot were good with just a few wet areas and churned up corneres on the steep corner descents ensuring the runners selected the correct line.

The first runner home in a blistering time of 26 minutes and 36 seconds was Kevin Haywood running under the colours of Bideford AC.

For the Harriers Bob Woodall finished in overall 56th place in a time of 38-51, taking 2nd place in the V60 category for the series.

Ray Elston finished in 63rd place in a time of 41-28, with Jim Wyatt completing the trio in 64th place in a time of 45-21.

(RW)

31st Murcia Half Marathon

On Sunday 14th March 2010 Exmouth Harrier, Carlos Payan, lined up with over 1700 runners to compete in the 31st Murcia Half Marathon, in Spain. This particular course was graded as flat and fast. Although the sun was shining the temperature was a lowly 8 to 10 degrees, chilly for the region, but made ideal conditions for racing.

Carlos put in a good performance finishing in overal 29th position in a time of 1 hour 17 minutes and 40 seconds. A personal best for this distance, beating his previous best by over four minutes.

The first runner completed the course in a time of 1-06-26 and last runner in 1714th place finished in a time of 2-32-12, which indicates that there were good quality athletes throughout the field."

(RW)

The Grizzly

On Sunday 7th March 2010 Axe Valley Runners hosted their famous "Grizzly" which for this year was called the Beauty and the Beach. The Grizzly is a race over 20 miles of East Devon's beautiful countryside and is complimented by "the Cub" which is just nines miles in length.

Both of the races were hilly and included rough ground, much of it steep, slippery or both, and some of it exposed to the elements. The terrain included roads, tracks (some very stony), paths, shingle beach, fields, woodland, bog and other surfaces. On previous years runners had been up to their waist in mud and water but this year the weather looked more favourably upon the athletes. The Grizzly is likely to take nearly as long as a marathon.

Nearly 1500 runners lined up at the start for this epic race and amongst the number were ten members of the Exmouth Harriers.

The first runner to complete the course was John McFarlane of Thames Hare and Hounds who finished in a time of 2 hours 29 minutes and 36 seconds.

The first Exmouth Harrier to complete the race was Dave Stone who finished in 20th place in a time of 2-46-43.

Mike Musgrove finished in 44th place in a time of 2-52-21.

John Croome finished in 90th place in a time of 3-02-49.

Terry Oldham finished in 357th place in a time of 3-32-36.

Lorraine Croome finished in 381st place in a time of 3-35-05.

Emma Dupain finished in 384th place in the same recorded time.

Lucy Hodgeson finished in 497th place in a time of 3-41-34.

Steve Merry finished in 508th place in a time of 3-43-06.

Ben White finished in 575th place in a time of 3-47-18.

Paul Champion in his first race since suffering a foot injury over six months ago and completing very little training finished in 896th place in a time of 4-11-37.

The last runner to cross the finish line was Chris Stables in a time of 5-51-05.

(RW)

Duchy '20'

[Andy in the Duchy Marathon in 2005]

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Andrew Johnson's time of 2:34:37 in Sunday's Duchy 20 was a new PB! Ok, so it's his first 20 mile race and it's probably slower than his 20 mile split when he ran the Duchy Marathon in 2005, but it's stilll a PB... isn't it?

Here is Andy's account of the race...

T'was cold and windy and occasionally sunny. The aim was to run around 8 minutes/mile and hope to finish in around 2:45, recognising that the hills would slow me down. I couldn't run that slowly, however, and ran the first 8 miles in an average of 7:38. This was partly because (I later discovered) we had the wind at our backs and partly because I stuck with a group of runners to avoid running on my own.

At 8 miles, we turned off the coast run and smack into a very strong wind. We kept running into the wind - and up all the hills on the course - between 8M and nearly 13M. My average pace between 8M and 12M was 8:12 minutes/mile.

I realised that 17M to the finish was going to be into the wind again, so I decided to push the pace on the sheltered (and flat) part of the second lap, between 13M and 17M, which I did (average pace was 7:28 min/mile). 17M to 19M was really hard work (8:04 and 8:08), but the final mile is mostly downhill.

I was 44th, about 15th in my age category (MV45).

Split times, for 5M, 10M, 15M and 20M - 37:59, 39:19, 38:21 and 38:58. So that's 1:17:18 for the first 19M and 1:17:19 for the second.

(RR & AJ)

Sunday & Monday

Sunday 28th February 2010 saw the latest in run series of the Great West "Warm Up" This is a fast 10 kilometre race over a traffic free course around the River Exe and its flood plan in Exeter. Eighty-one runners lined up on a bitterly cold windy morning, which fortunately was without rain. Included in the line-up were three Exmouth Harriers, namely, Dave Stone, Chris Dupain and Les Turner. The runners set off into the wind along the River Exe bank towards Exeter St David before turning and making their way back towards the start line with a following wind. Four laps confronted the runners.

The first runner to cross the finish line was James Denne of the Exeter Harriers in a time of 34 minutes and 092 seconds. For the Exmouth Harriers, Dave Stone finished in overall third place in a time of 35-38. Chris Dupain finished in 9th place in a time of 41-47 with Les Turner completing the trio in 55th place in a time of 56-55. The last runner to finish the race was Vicky Wensley in a time 75-01.

The Ironbridge Runner Puma Winter 3k Series held at the Exeter Arena Running Track was staged on Monday night 1st March 2010. The weather was ideal for racing of the final stage of the series, a cold clear night but no freezing conditions under foot. Five Exmouth Harriers competed in the last race of the series. On the night Jack Bancroft finished first in the Senior Men category in a time of 08 minutes and 55 seconds. For the Exmouth Harriers Andy Johnson finished in a time of 11-16. Andy Kennedy finished in a time of 12-11. Roger Rowe finished in a time of 12-53. Jim Wyatt finished in a time of 14-14 and Les Turner finished in a time of 15-40.

To qualify to win an award each competitior has to complete four of the five races, and for those completing all five races the four best times are used in assessing their overall positioning. The overall series winner was Jack Bancroft of Wells City who raced in the Senior Men's category.

Exmouth Harriers made a good showing in the age category awards, having members with great ability in the older age categories. Andy Johnson took the first place in the male veteran 45 category. Jim Wyatt took the first place in the male veteran 65 category with Les Turner taking the second place award in the same age group. John Perratt won first place in the male veteran over 70 category."

(RW)

The South Georgia Half Marathon

On Sunday morning of 21st February 2010 Hugh Marsden, a senior member of the Exmouth Harriers, was lined up on the start line awaiting the distress flare to explode to start the South Georgia Half Marathon. South Georgia is a small island about 800 miles north of the Antartic Circle and a similar distance east of the Falkland Islands. Hugh is a vetran athlete with 40 years of competitive running but he could never be prepared for what was about to come. Perhaps if he had taken note of the map he would have realised that with about 1.500 feet of ascent over 13 miles, the race was not going to be your average half marathon/fun run.

The race got underway with the usual chit chat associated with the first rush of endorphins. The runners floated along the track to Grytviken but this feeling quickly subsided as the runners ascended the track towards the church and headed towards dreaded football pitch. This is the area of the top bog which masqueraded as the whaling station's "all weather" football pitch. Here a rickety wooden bridge with a tricky 45 degree camber to the left had to be negotiate. The track up to Gull Lake acted as the human separator and it became a two horse race. This soon became a two mule scramble as the two leaders negotiated the scree slope that took them up to the top of Brown Mountain. For those readers who don't know, Brown Mountain is the feature to the south of the base that even the SAS had refused to climb during the recapture of South Georgia from the Argentines.

Unfortunately Hugh took full advantage of the race marshall's infinite generosity at the summit checkpoint and made the mistake of taking that mouthful of South Georgia's finest sparkling mineral water. For that split second of refreshment Hugh was the lone runner, having lost sight of his rival and was faced with a lifeless moonscape of shrapnel sharp scree. The race instruction sheet (that had been so helpfully placed placed on the breakfast table) advised runners to keep right and follow the ridge down. Not being a continental fell runner, Hugh decided to keep to the left and maintain height. That was his first mistake. After about a minute his rival suddenly reappeared below at a 2 o'clock angle some 500 metres ahead and was charging like a hovercraft over the razor sharp scree. This lead was to get even greater as Hugh passed another check point at the lower end of the mountain. The marshall had carefully positioned articles of clothing in key positions to guide competitors off the mountain and down the steep slope. He stood there, almost naked directing runners with the style and efficiency of a sub antarctic traffic warden. During last year's race this position was not marshalled and one unfortunate "non local" runner opted to take the wrong decent and was not seen until 4 hours later. He being an ex military man, he must have appreciated his impromptu battlefield tour of the Operation Paraquat landing site.

Once again Hugh followed his "helpful" breakfast briefing notes and scanned the lower slopes for the remains of the heavily camouflaged Argentine helicopter about a one and a half kilometres in the distance. Eventually he decided it was far safer to look at where gravity was taking him (whilst tobogganing down the slope on his backside) and worry about the helicopter later. Once down, he was on familiar ground and managed to reel in his rival's lead on the way back to the station. Hugh even managed to stay upright on a particularly slippery part of the coast that had caught him out on training runs. Other competitors were not quite as fortunate. The decent into the whaling station was more like a scene in a James Bond movie. A bit like the one where Roger Moore had to escape from the crocodile farm. In place of the crocodiles the South Georgia runners had to dice with death against their very own fur seals (intent on biting ankles off,) enormous elephant seals, swimming pool sized seal wallows, invaisive bitercress, detritus left over from the whaling station and unexploded ordinance.

The second part of the race took the runners along the well commuted trail to Maiviken Hut via the Bore Valley. Yet again Hugh was on familiar ground and managed to close down the gap on his rival all the way to the hut turn round point where another marshall was strategically positioned. Unfortunately the marshall appeared to have "lost the plot" and failed to send the race leader down to Maiviken beach as instructed. On the decent back down the Bore Valley the leader once again appeared to hover over the ground at breakneck speed crossing the finishing line in 1 hr 37 minutes and had comfortably taken 8 minutes of last years unofficial (shortened) record time.

Hugh managed to pull back a few seconds on the track back to base and was delighted to have survived the ordeal in a time of 1hr 39. Hugh took the second place in the race.

A great day was had by all on one of those rare and special South Georgia summer days.

(Our Special Correspondent)

Last weekend's exploits

On Saturday 13th February 2010 Axe Valley Runners hosted the "Nightrun". a mini Grizzly race run at night, a near eight mile course, was raced over country roads and rugged open countryside. The route was mainly off-road with hills, mud and even beach thrown in. The race started at 6.30 pm at the Barrel of Beer Public House in Beer and headed out toward Branscombe where after rounding the village eventually returned to the starting point. Four members of Exmouth Harriers, namely, Mike musgrove, Adam Miller, Jon Croome and Lorraine Croome, took up the challenge and raced the course.

The first runner to reach the finishing line was James Jackson of Dartmmoor Runners in a time of 57 minutes and 53 seconds. Mike Musgrove finished in 8th place in a time 63-22 followed immediately behind in 9th place by Adam Miller in a time of 66-05. Half of the husband and wife due, Jon Croome, finished in 13th place in a time of 67-48 and Lorraine Croome finished in 28th place in a time of 77 minutes. The final runner to complete the course in 98th place in a time of two hours fifteen minutes and three seconds was Nick Edwards of Wells City Harriers.

Meanwhile on Valentines Day, Sunday 14th February 2010, ninety-eight men in the Senior and above categories lined up for the penultimate round in the Brooks Westward Cross Country League at Parke in Bovey Tracey. Included in the line up for the Exmouth Harriers were John Parrett and Bob Woodall.

The course was tough, being three loops covering a total distance of 9.3 kilometres. From the start after an initial circuit of over 500 metres around the flat marsh grass covered field the runners were lead into the first of the three long ascents overlooking the river Bovey. This incline rises over one hundred and fifty metres before at a sharp right angled bend the course descended to the footpath at the side of the river back to the starting loop. Once back at the level area two more loops confront the runners. The weather conditions were ideal on the day with no wind and cool temperatures. Unlike last years event where snow and heavy mud greeted the runners around the whole course, this year the ground underfoot was extremely dry with only three areas of boggy conditions.

From the starting gun John Parrett led the pair of Exmouth Harriers but before the completion of the opening loop Bob Woodall had passed his colleague. Not for long though as once the pair reached the first incline John Parrett showed his leg strength and mounted the ascent, ever increasing his lead over his team mate. For the remainder of the three laps John Parrett continued to open the gap between the pair. At end of the race John Parrett finished in 83rd position in a time of 50 minutes and 14 seconds and Bob Woodall followed behind in 92nd position in a time of 52-10.

The winner of the race, K. Toher of Newquay and Par AC finished in a time of 32-21 and the last runner, M. Lee of Erme Valley Harriers finished in 98th place in time of 65-45.

Exwick Fields, late 1960s

To someone brought up on Western (GWR) Region engines, there has always been something exotic about Southern Region trains (I think it's the amazing valve gear). Here is one such... wonder the reason for the chalked numbers on the boiler(?)... pulling mixed carriages along Exwick fields heading away from Exeter St. Davids Station towards Dawlish. Any guesses as to the class Ray?

Fulford '5'

At 11 o'clock on a cold grey morning on Sunday 7th February 2010 two hundred and sixty runners lined up for the start of the Fulford 5 Road Race. This race is five miles in distance around the town centre of Exmouth, hosted by the towns own running club, the Exmouth Harriers and sponsored by Fulfords Estate agents.

The start of the race was in The Royal Avenue out side the dive centre. The course then went followed along Imperial Road before turning left into Victoria Way to Mamhead and along the Esplanade. At Carlton Hill a left turn saw the course ascend to the roundabout where a sharp left turn took it into Rolle Road and along the decline back towards the shopping centre. Once around the Strand and back into Imperial Road to Victoria Way saw the completion of the first loop of the circuit, some two miles into the race. The route followed the same course but on the second loop instead of turning left into Carlton Hill the circuit continued into Queen's Drive and, after a quick glimpse of the new life boat station, the course took a left turn into Maer Road. Along another, longer, ascent and the course turned left into Douglas Avenue and again into Rolle Road before descending into the town centre for the final time. Around the Strand, along Imperial Way and a right turn into The Royal Avenue saw the finishing post beyond the entrance of the lorry park.

From the sound of the start local runner Tom Merson, sporting the colours of Bristol and West Running club, led the field at a blistering pace, despite recently recovering from a bout of "swine flu". At the end of the first loop Tom Merson was several metres ahead of the field and continued to increase this lead for the duration of the race. A relentless pace set by Tom Merson saw him cross the finishing line in first place in a time of 25 minutes and 11 seconds, some 29 seconds ahead of the second athlete home, and still faster than his last years time.

For the Exmouth Harriers the first member to complete the race was Jamie Pearson who finished in a time of 27-23 in overall 6th position. Just three places behind, in 9th position was Dave Stone who finished in a time of 27-49.

Andy Johnson finished in 36th position in a time of 32-14, again, just three places ahead of fellow member, K. Nicholas, who finished in 39th position in a time of 32-39.

John Perratt finished in overall 73rd position in a time of 35-22, taking the award for the first place in the V70 category. Immediately behind him in overall 74th place was Ray Elston who finished in a time of 35-30, taking the second place in the same category.

Roger Rowe, making his comeback after suffering from a serious injury causing him to suspend his running for 6 months, finished in overall 88th position in a time 36-15 which saw him taking the award for the second place in the V60 category.

Jim Wyatt finished in 124th position in a time of 38-30, taking the third place in the V65 category.

Lyn Curtis, the first female member of the Exmouth Harriers, finished in 139th position in a time of 39-10. This time gave her the third place in the FV40 category.

Dave Eveleigh finished in 174th position in a time of 43-22.

Ian McDonald finished in 198th position in a time of 45-42.

Trevor Cope final member of the Exmouth Harriers to complete the course in overall 247th position in a time of 53-53.

The final athlete to finish the race was Harry Moore, wearing the colours of Axe Valley Runners, another spritely runner in the V70 category, in a time of 64-40.

(RW)

Laat week's races...

At 09.30 hours on Sunday 31st January seventy six runners lined up for the start of the Great West Run Warm-up Race Series. The first in the series was 5k in distance over a flat traffic free course around the River Exe and the flood relief system. Andy Johnson was the sole Exmouth Harrier participating.

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Kairn Stone of Newham and Essex Beagles finished in first place in a time of 15 minutes and 21 seconds. Andy Johnson, representing Exmouth Harriers, finished in 14th place in a time of 20-13, taking the 2nd V45 award.

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On Monday 01-01-2010 the fourth round of the Puma Ironbridge Winter 3k series commenced at the athletics track in Exeter. A total of 84 runners, including for Exmouth Harriers, Andy Johnson, John Parrett, Lee Russell, Jim Wyatt and Les Turner, competed in four heats. The overall winner and in the A race was Jack Bancroft representing Wells City who completed the seven and one half laps of the arena in a time of 8 minutes and 48 seconds.
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In the B race Andy Johnson finished in 15th place in a time of 11-37.

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In the D race John Perratt finished in 3rd place in a time of 12-49 immediately ahead of Lee Russell who finished in 4th place in a time of 12-52. Jim Wyatt finished in 17th place in a time of 14-29.

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In the E race Les Turner finished in 6th place in a time of 15-18.

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(RW)

2010 SW Vets XC Championship

Sunday 24th January saw the 2010 South West Veterans Cross Country Championship, in co-operation with Sidmouth Running Club, held with the kind permission of the East Devon District Council for the National Trust, around The Byes at Sidmouth. This is the first time the course has been used as previous races had been held at Muttersmoor, Sidmouth. Although the new course does not appear to be as severe as the Muttersmoor course the new route proved to be just as taxing.

Despite the mindless endeavours of local vandals, who removed some stakes and tape, which had been set out the previous evening marking the course, the valiant efforts of John Perratt and his crew ensured the race started as scheduled.

Twenty-six runners in the under 17, ladies and men V65 plus categories joined the twenty-seven runners in the men up to V60 category to pound their way around the heavy going of the course. The men up to V60 category had to endure 5 laps of the course whilst the other categories completed four laps. After the recent adverse weather conditions the standing water had dried just making the going under foot sticky in places and heavy. With windless skies and efforts by the sun to emerge the race began at 11.15 in the morning.

In the category U17, ladies and men V65 plus the first runner to complete the four laps was Stephen Moss, U17, of Sidmouth Running Club in a time of 28 minutes and 47 seconds. Close on his heels in second place came the first lady, Marilyn Blair for Torrington Running Club in a time of 29-39.

Ray Elston, the first Exmouth Harrier, won the V70 category by finishing in overall 15th position in a time of 34-19. Had Ray been young enough this time would have given him first place in the V65 category. The actual winner of the V65 category was Jim Wyatt, for Exmouth Harriers, who finished directly behind his Exmouth Harrier colleague in 16th position in a time of 35-38. Les Turner completed the Exmouth Harrier trio in these categories by finishing in 24th position in a time of 39-47. The last runner to cross the line in 26th position was Louise Brown, for Sidmouth Running Club, in a time of 44-24.

In the other men's categories, up to V60, saw Richard Drage,V50, running for Tavistock AC, complete the five laps in first place in a time of 32-19. Exmouth Harriers' Lee Russell finished his five laps in 18th place in a time of 43-29. The final runner, in 27th place was David Welsh, for Sidmouth Running Club, in a time of 50-22."

East Devon Way Relay

Sunday 17th January 2010 saw the inaugural "East Devon Way Relay Race" won by a strong team from Exmouth Harriers.

The new race was in the shape of a twelve stage race along a 42 miles route starting at the long term car park at the rear of the railway station in Exmouth and finishing at the "Cobb" in Lyme Regis. Although there were twelve separate stages the teams of consisted only four runners, so each runner had to negotiate several stages. The stages varied in length from 2.1 miles, which included much uphill work, to the longest stage of 5.8 miles, by far the toughest section, which included lengths of flat terrain with both downhill and uphill sections.

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Exmouth Harriers entered two teams, one men only and the second a team of both sexes.

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The men's team consisted of Mike Musgrove, who ran legs 1,6 and 7, Adam Miller who ran legs 2 and 9, Dave Stone, who ran legs 3,4 and 5, and Jamie Pearson, who ran legs 8 and 10. This team finished first in an overall time of 4 hours and 56 minutes some 20 minutes ahead of the team finishing in second place namely the host club Axe Valley Runners.

The mixed team consisting of Emma Dupain, Steve Merry, Lucy Hodgeson and Terry Oldham. This team opted to complete the course by each member completing about ten miles, subject to hand over locations and , finished in 11th position in an overall time of 6 hours and 11 minutes.

As would have been expected following the recent adverse weather experienced the conditions underfoot was very heavy indeed. Parts of the course were awash with water, especially the section between Colyton and Musbury where runners waded through knee deep puddles. However, fortunately, the weather conditions on the day were dry with bright sunny skies. A really great new race and an excellent performance from both Exmouth Harrier's teams.

Unfortunately due to the recent adverse weather conditions the latest round of the Brooks Westward Cross Country League to be held on Sunday 17th January 2010 in Bideford was cancelled. The overall results will now be ascertained from the best four results of the five races which are scheduled to be completed in March at Redruth.

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(RW)

Dartmoor train in the 1950s

No races to report, so a train photo taken just a few miles from Princetown from Plymouth (change at Yelverton). Is that South Hessary Tor I can see in the background (on the left)? Certainly looks like it.