It was an early start on Saturday for six Sidmouth Running Club members as they headed to Exwick for the start of the City to Sea Marathon. Organised by the charity Torbay Holiday Helpers Network the route followed the canal path to the Iron Bridge with a cheeky loop back to the river before crossing over the road to follow the train line to Starcross, Dawlish Warren, Dawlish, Teignmouth and Shaldon. This section was a relatively flat scenic 20 miles with swans, trains and two check points to distract you. This event was Mighty Green Jo Earlam’s fifth City to Sea and her 91st marathon so the group were pleased to follow her lead as she knew what was coming! The final 6.58 miles were very unforgiving following the SW coast path from Shaldon to Babbacombe Downs and the pace dropped dramatically but the group climbed their way up and down steep steps and valleys to the finish line in one piece. Jo’s experience had paid off and the group were very proud to receive a very snazzy weighty medal and a bar of chocolate! Finishing the City to Sea meant Jane Hemsworth has now completed 35 marathons, Sarah Watkins 17, Rachel Barnard and Leeann Thomson 3 and Alexa Baker her first. All ladies were pleased the rain stayed away until the end and enjoyed the train ride back to Exeter!
Wearing A Marathon Medal To Be Proud Of
On Sunday a band of Mighty Greens lined up at the start of the inaugural Budleigh Salterton Lions 10k Trail event starting from Withycombe Raleigh Common and heading out and around Woodbury Common.
Thirteen Mighty Greens Ran The Inaugural Budleigh Lions Trail 10k
The route was full of ups, downs, twists and turns with two river crossings which made for an interesting challenging run. The route was very clearly marked out and had plenty of cheerful encouraging marshals to keep you on the right track. Ollie Goodchild Horne was the first Mighty Green over the finish line in 56:16 with Mark Norton and Clive Gilbert close behind and under the hour too; a great run from all three as it was a demanding course. Special mentions go to Carol Hounsell who carried on running to Budleigh and followed the coast path back to Sidmouth as part of her London Marathon training, to Donna Womersley Westlake for running up those hills and not stopping until the end, to Terry Bewes for completing his first race following injury and to Alexa Baker who didn’t let a marathon run the day before stop her from taking part in one of the Autumn series club challenge races.
Results
Ollie Goodchild-Horne 56:16, Mark Norton 59:53, Clive Gilbert 1:00:56, Christine Farnham 1:06:26, Becky Knapman 1:08:04, Karen Farnham 1:09:08, Becky Procter 1:09:04, Sarah Clapham 1:12:25, Adrian Horne 1:15:30, Carol Hounsell 1:17:40, Donna Womersley Westlake 1:37:12, Alexa Baker 1:37:18, Terry Bewes 1:38:21