Sidmouth Running Club’s Jo Earlam, Leeann Thomson and Rachel Barnard headed down to St Ives Bay Holiday Park last weekend but this was no holiday! The trio were taking part in Votwo’s The Atlantic Coast Challenge, 78.6 miles over 3 days, along some of the wildest coastline in Britain.
Day 1 saw the Mighty Greens run from Padstow to Perranporth, 27 miles with 4,000 feet of climb. They had an unexpected phone call from chairman Terry Bewes enroute who was following their progress on the GPS tracking app and realised they had gone off course! Despite the deviation the ladies finished in 8:55 hours.
Still smiling!
A fresh pair of legs joined the trio on Saturday, vice chairman Sarah Watkins. Together they ran the second marathon distance Perranporth to St Ives. The Mighty Green ladies tackled the wild and rugged terrain in brilliant sunshine which made the sea turquoise and the scenery stunning and finished in 9:21 hours.
Sunning scenery in the Autumn sun
Day 3, the third marathon was from Lelant to Lands End and was full of steep climbs and descents that tested their concentration as well as their strength and stamina. All four MG’s were delighted to cross the finish line after a long, hard 11:06 hours and receive their well deserved classic challenge medal and a Cornish pasty!
Some of the rocky terrain conquered
With these 3 marathons in the bag, Jo is getting ever nearer to her 100th marathon with just 6 to go!