Author Archives: sidmouthsrc

Inter-Counties

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Toby Garrick Competes In The British Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships
Toby Garrick competed at the British Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships in Loughborough on Saturday the 9th of March. It was a very windy day and on a very open course. Toby had to leave by 6am, so it wasn’t just physical fatigue that he had to fight! But, with determination he managed an average of 5.45 minute miles over a 9km route that had thick mud and hills. He came 58th in a very tough field of runners and was the first Devon runner by over 70 places. He was running as an U20, so was nearly the youngest in his category.

 

The Grizzly 2019

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The Grizzly 2019. Trails Of The Unexpected.

Organised by Axe Valley Runners, this year’s version of the Grizzly (2019) was given the title of The Trails Of The Unexpected. This is a tough 19 (ish) mile, cross country all terrain race with hills, mud and 2 bogs. There are streams and sea water to wade through, pebble beaches to run along and the killer Stairway To Heaven to climb. With over 3000 ft of elevation gain to get around the course, it is not for the faint hearted.

So, on the blowy but sunny Sunday the morning of March the 10th, there were 44 Mighty Greens amongst the 2000 plus runners. All of which were very excited and dead keen to get going.  All were waiting behind the start line, with hundreds of spectators looking on. The loud chatter came to a sudden stop when the Seaton Town Crier loudly rang his bell to address all in attendance. He gave encouragement to all participants raising their spirits with some light hearted banter. He also announced that this would be his last Grizzly duty… and so The Trails Of The Unexpected began.

In the Full Grizzly was Jessica Raynor, who was doing very well until around the 16th mile when bad cramp set in! She tried walking, but this made it worse! However, not wishing to stop, she gritted her teeth and continued at a slower running pace for the last push home. Back from injury was Antony Hall with an average 9.30min/mile pace, he got around in very good time having felt encouraged by the race Marshals and spectators. Danny Painter took off from the start and never held back. He even managed a PB from Branscombe Mouth all the way up The 168ft of Stairway To Heaven in13m54s. Sue Coleman survived the icy stumble through the Bog and retained her composure and an average pace of 11.19min/miles over the whole route with a superbly fast 7.31mi/mile sprint over the finish line. She ran with Charlotte Forrer, Jim Forrer and non MG Andy Rosewarm. Knocking around 13 minutes from his last time at the Grizzly was Ross Walton. Ross did a 10 mile training session the day before this race as he is preparing for a ‘back to back’ long run weekend in the East Devon Round. Martin Trueman puts his successful Grizzly run down to his pre-race prep…a banana and Latte at Le Pisani, while soaking up the warm morning sunshine. I think it’s more likely that what got him through his run was the re-fuelling of Jelly Babies and Beer sampling for pain-relief. Either way i think he had it sussed. He also thanks the fantastic Marshall that found his phone and took the time and effort to reunite him with it at the finish line. This was Sam Ingram’s first Grizzly run and he was using it as a training run in preparation for the forthcoming London Marathon. He took it easy and really enjoyed the camaraderie amongst both competitors and Marshals. Naomi Garrick having checked the days weather report, made a wise decision on her attire, opting for proper running kit instead of the fancy dress option. This was by far the toughest run to date for Els Laureys who said she loved the atmosphere created by runners, marshals at the spectators. She also enjoyed the scenery, the flapjacks and the well stocked Jelly Baby watering stations. Sarah Watkins ran with Terry Bewes for the first half saying that “she was making sure he didn’t do himself in, as she was not quite ready to take over as Chairperson”! However, at the halfway point Sarah took off and left Terry in the capable care of Helen Palmer. As it turned out, it was Terry who did the saving of the day. When the pair were running through the second bog, Helen got her foot stuck in a tree root. She then got severe cramp in her calf while in the ice cold water and was only stopped from falling head first into the bog by the Mighty Green King Terry.

In the Cub, was Ben Chesters who had decided to limit himself to this race due to oncoming orienteering events, set out to run at a constant effort pace. He stopped once at the memorial to remember lost family and friends. His effort pace worked very well for him as he took first place over the line. Colin L’Anson was impressed by the news being given to him by the Marshals who kept him informed of who was in the lead, even their encouragement to run fast and catch him up was helpful.  Steve and his son Jack Saunders ran most of the way together. Steve was very pleased to have knocked 10 minutes from his previous time. This was the second Cub for Kat Hall and although she found the Stairway To Heaven tougher this time, she also managed to make better time than the previous attempt by 20 minutes.

RESULTS: Full Grizzly.

Mark Souter 1st MG in 107th in 2h57m09s, Antony Hall 148th in 3h01m30, Jessica Raynor 177th in 3h08m24s, Danny Painter 203rd in 3h12m10s, David Chipping 255th in 3h18m29s, Nick Dicks 430th in 3h32m10s, Nicola Dowsing 510th in 3h40m09s, Sue Coleman 513th in 3h40m15s, .Jessica Trim 569th in 3h44m43s, Sophie Trim 570th in 3h44m45s, John Keast 578th in 3h45m27s, Mark Welland 583rd in 3h45m50s, Charlotte Forrer 590th and Jim Forrer 591st both in 3h46m06s, Martin Trueman 600th in 3h46m46s, Simon Stokes 628th in 3h48m35s, Greg Ward 659th in 3h50m58s, Sam Ingram 672nd in 3h52m09s, Claire Ashby 818th in 4h03m12s, Simon Hollyer 860th in 4h06m41s, Naomi Garrick 861st in 4h06m41s, Kaylee Hawkins 1009th and Lynda Hawkins 1010th both in 4h20m28s, Graham Sheppard 1235th in 4h41m41s, Els Laureys 1267th in 4h45m05s, Sarah Watkins 1332nd in 4h51m15s, Terry Bewes 1505th in 5h23m06s, Helen Palmer 1506th in 5h23m07s, John Sharples 1565th in 5h37m53s. Out of 1589 Runners. Out of 1605 Runners.

RESULTS: Cub.

Overall Winner Ben Chesters and first SRC in 1h10m20s, Colin L’Anson 54th in 1h30m18s, Jack Saunders 62nd in 1h31m47s, Steve Saunders 182nd in 1h47m57s, Renata Mihalik 183rd

Woodbury Common

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Battle Of Woodbury Common.

   Hosted by Wild Night Events and based at Bicton College, The Battle Of Woodbury Common took place in the evening of the 2nd of March 2019. There were four races, a 1k for 3-7 year olds, a 2k for 8-11 year olds, a 10k and a half marathon.

The sun was sinking below the horizon, on a cold, windy, damp evening, with Storm Frayer threatening to blow up at any moment, five hardy Mighty Green’s got themselves prepared for what was to come. Just as the participants were gathering to do battle, the darkness descended upon the Common! At 19:00hrs the Half Marathon and 10k races were started from the helm of Uphams Plantation and Crook Plantation. The runners exited Bicton College along the back entrance and then skirted around the Castle Plantation. The half marathon adds on a section through Colaton Raleigh Common towards Hawkerland, making this battle similar to the Bicton Blister.

The route was hilly at the beginning, with very thick mud and some deep puddles in many places. There was also a lot of ducking and diving to miss low hanging and storm damaged branches. At the halfway point there was a very well stocked water station with fruit and jelly babies ,which helped the last leg of the race pass wonderfully. Laura Broughton, invited her friend Becky McDonald for an evening out… only telling her at the last minute that it was actually a 10k night run! Laura, Becky and, Terry Bewes all ran together. Emma Vine was using the race as a warm up for the London Marathon. Martin Truman took Stig his dog with him and ran the half marathon canicross. Stig was rewarded with two warm pasties for his part. Phil Welsford blinked at the wrong moment, missed a directional marker and ran extra distance totalling 15.6 miles!

A birch wood medal was given to all that completed, along with pasties and lots of cake at the finish line. A tough experience , with a great sense of achievement at the end.

SRC Results

In the Half Marathon, Martin Truman arrived back in 2h16m14s, with Emma Vine not far behind in 2h19m34s and 2nd in age group. Amazingly Phil Welsford who missed a directional marker, ran 15.6 miles and still arrived back 2h19m34s.

In the10k, Laura Broughton and Becky came back in 1h19m30s, and Terry Bewes in 1h19m39s giving him a 2nd in age group

Dalwood 3 Hills

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Debbie and Don Do The Dalwood.
The three hills challenge is a distance of 10 miles, with a multi-terrain route which took the runners around the beautiful hills of Dalwood which lie between the towns of Axminster and Honiton. Edmund Grierson came in 3rd in 1h11m25s, gaining 1st SRC runner and 1st M17. Then Don Cawthera crossed the finish line in 88th with Debbie Marriott in 89th, both with a time of 2h03m33s. There were 97 runners.

Exeter 10k

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The Exeter 10k.

 Laura Broughton ran in the Exeter 10km on the 24th of February and was really chuffed with her performance. The race started and finished at Exeter Quay after completing two laps of Dukes Meadow and Valley Park. Our Mighty Green lady come home with a new personal best time of 57m:56s, crooning the finish line in 203rd place out of 351 runners.

Resolution Run

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Resolution Run 2019 at Escot.
 An absolutely beautiful day for a fun-run in the sun came on Sunday the 24th of February for the Resolution Run 2019. The Resolution Run takes place in many locations around the U.K. It is an annual event and raises funds for the Stroke Association. The participants all wear the colours of The Stroke Association which is purple, so there was not a green shirt in sight.
Our local event in East Devon took place in the scenic grounds of Escot Park. The route goes through the parkland and includes running on roadways and on tracks, with a hill and some easier, flatter trails through the woods at the top, then it’s down the hill again to the finish line. There isn’t proper time keeping as this is that oxymoron, a Fun Run, although there was a big clock at the finish. 
 
With 100% perfect conditions at 11 o’clock, Jo Pavey MBE did the honours and started the ‘fun run’ race. The Mighty Greens, that turned purple for the day, were Carol Hounsell, one of the new intake beginners and Emma Granger who both did the 5k route in around 33 minutes, along with Jodie and her sister Chloe Hawkins. Also, a pregnant Emma Salter, walked the route in just over an hour and ten minutes. Kat Hall went solo and took on the 10k and Sarah Clapham along with Theo Burgess did the 15k. At the end, on the finish line was Jo Pavey, congratulating and awarding medals to every finisher.

Jo’s visit

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Jo’s Visit to Sidmouth Running Club

 
 
On Wednesday evening Sidmouth Running Club’s Ambassador Jo Pavey MBE, was welcomed by Chairman Terry Bewes to the weekly club night meet up. She gave the club members a very interesting talk about part of her olympic journey. She gave words of wisdom and many words of encouragement, especially too our new intake of beginners. After the talk, Jo ran with all the beginner groups for part of their routes and also with the 3 mile and 4 mile groups. This was a very carefully organised operation, with tight scheduling for all groups to be in the right places on time. This is now the second time SRC has had the pleasure of running with Jo and she really is an inspiration. So our thanks go to her and we wish her all the best for Tokyo 2020. 

Photos courtesy of Tony Velterop

Exmouth Parkrun

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Mighty Greens at Exmouth

On Saturday 16th of February, fourteen Mighty Greens took part in the Exmouth Parkrun. Not a day for great views as it was pretty misty, but the conditions were perfect for running. The course is a dead flat, single loop along the seafront and is ideal for fast times, which probably explains why it is so popular. For 10 Mighty Greens this was their first time running at Exmouth, but I suspect for most it won’t be the last. 
Mark Souter was the first Sidmouth runner back with an excellent time of 18m57s, which follows on from being the first Sidmouth runner home at the Four Trigs the weekend before. Also doing something completely different were Don Cawthera, Debbie Marriott, Karen and Christine Farnham who had also been in action in the Four Trigs, Karen and Christine doing their first parkrun in 4 years.
Jo Earlam decided to run her 2nd Parkrun with her dog Freddie, which may or there again, may not have helped her to a time faster than her previous appearance. Freddie took off on a mission, but peaked to early and Jo almost had to carry him across the line!
Don Cawthera, John Sharples and Rob Edwards have run at Exmouth before, but all ran their best times for the course. Noticeable was the Don Cawthera “friendly” competition effect which dragged Chris Day-Kelly and Rob Edwards in his wake to produce personal best times for both of them over all parkruns. Also Parkrun PB’s were set by Mark Souter, Greg Ward, Sarah Clapham and Jo Earlam.
Results: Mark Souter 18m57s, Greg Ward 22m13s, Don Cawthera 23m03s, Chris Day-Kelly 23m03s, Rob Edwards 23m08s, John Sharples 24m39s, Debbie Marriott 25m25s, Sarah Clapham 25m31s, Christine Farnham 25m50s Karen Farnham 26m06s, Jo Earlam (and Freddie) 30m04s, Christie Ward 31m53s, Jessica Daer 34m38s.

 

Four Trigs 2019

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Jo Pavey MBE Starts The Four Trigs 2019.
Club ambassador, Jo Pavey MBE started the Four Trigs 2019 running event from Port Royal on Sunday morning. One Hundred and seventeen runners, thirty one of which were clean looking Mighty Green Sidmouth Running Club members, all set off on a a quest to stay firmly upright and on two feet.. i wonder how many achieved that after the deluge of rainfall from the night? 
   
   This event is organised by Marion and Robert Hayman. The event raises funds for the charity CRY ( Cardiac Risk in the Young ). For a small donation when the runners returned to the clubhouse, they were able to take advantage of a free 20 minute leg massage provided by Kate Truman and Michaela Miller. So with donations and entry fees the event made £1,870.50 which will go to CRY.  Marion and Robert Hayman first heard of this charity after losing their son Jon aged 27, six years ago. They have been raising funds since then to provide screening in the local community. Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) was founded just over 20 years ago in 1995 and has become a leading national charity, striving to prevent young sudden cardiac death (yscd) through awareness, screening and research. CRY also provides a “bespoke” bereavement support programme for families and partners who have been tragically affected by the sudden death of a young person. 
   Marion and Robert would like to thank all the competitors for the spirit in which they ran the race. They would also like to thank Hayman’s Butchers and Ian Winchesters and sons for sponsoring the race by providing the much needed and appreciated pasties and bananas. They would also like to thank the marshals, and the ladies in the kitchen, for all their hard work and dedication This event can only take place due to the goodwill of the volunteers.
  
  Jo Pavey MBE gave the orders to start the 19th version of the Four Trigs at 09:30 on a windy Sunday in front of the Sailing Club on the seafront. The competitors set off in an eastern route via Weston, and Buckton Beacon and then trek over to the High Peak Trigs, as well as that, there are all the hills in-between. This year, due to the outbreak of equine flu there was one area that was out of bounds, which meant a detour around Donkey Sanctuary land near Harcombe woods. This did cause some confusion with some runners.
   Successfully avoiding problems with routes around the donkeys were Charlotte Forrer and a small group of friends Jess Trim and her sisters Nicky and Sophie Trim. Cathy Keast ran the whole route with a stinking cold, but kept going thanks to her home baked Delia cookies. John Keast retained his title of the only runner to complete all 19 Four Trig races, keeping a smile on his face all the way around and back to the bar of Port Royal for a well earned beverage.
   Debbie Marriott had considered starting an hour earlier so she could complete the course. However, on the day her determination showed through and she started with the rest of the Mighty Greens and kept with them. Naomi Garrick spent her time chatting her way around the route to as many competitors as possible. Karen and Christine Farnham kept each others spirits high choosing to slip, slide, wade and swim their way around. Apparently they did also enjoy some of the running (the down hill bits). Don Cawthera’s training programme of running 4 miles to work and back again each day really paid off. He must have covered over 20 miles on the day, going back and forth along the group of Mighty Greens, shepherding and encouraging them all the way around. Richard Summerhayes paid the price of starting off to quick and by the time he got to the Donkey Sanctuary his legs had seized up, luckily Nick Read was on check point duty and gave him a lift back to the clubhouse. Els Laureys was very pleased with her first Four Trigs run and was glad she took part in all the Sunday training sessions. Terry Bewes had set a 5 hour time limit for himself to complete the course. It all was going so very well, until he and his running buddy, Helen Palmer got to Harpford woods. They deciding to be a bit more adventurous and not to take a track that they had run many times before! Instead they took a path that they had not been on for years. This path ran out, was overgrown and they found themselves stuck and surrounded by gorse bushes, brambles and pine trees! It took them over 10 minutes to fight their way out to a path. 
Quote of the day by Marion Hayman. “The first is last and the last is first”. Terry Bewes was the first one to enter and the last to finish.   
Results
Congratulations must go to James Green, first man home in an amazing 2 hours 15 mins: to Elizabeth Kendon, first lady home in 2 hours 52mins and to the youngest runners Samuel Kelly,(U23), who came in 3rd:  Floyd Ratcliffe (U21) who came in 5th.
Fist Sidmouth runner back was 12 Mark Soutar 2:43:04, 27 Tim Mitchell, 34 John Keast, 37 Jim Forrer, 39 David Chipping, 47 Ross Walton, 50 Catherine Hilton, 55 Martin Truman, 57 Charlotte Forrer, 58 Jess Trim, 60 Sophie Trim, 63 Simon Stokes, 64 Simon Hollyer, 65 Claire Ashby, 82 Rocker Shepard, 91 Naomi Garrick, 97 Sue Collman, 99 Dave Palmer, 100 Els Laureys, 101 Christine Farnham, 102 Karen Farnham, 103 Sarah Watkins, 104 Cathy Keast, 105 Monica Read, 106 Debbie Marriot, 107 Don Cawthera, 108 Richard King, 111 Kaylee Hawkins 113 Helen Palmer, 114 Terry Bewes. Retired Richard Summerhouse  

Photos courtesy of Chris Woodcock.

Exeter 1/2M

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Exeter Half Marathon 
The Exeter Half Marathon started from the quayside at Exeter with a traffic free and mostly flat route, apart from the hill from the crematorium up to Bridge Road. The event was held over the weekend (9th/10th of February ) with Saturday  being completed by Tim Swarbrick. Tim set a realistic pace by not trying to go too fast too early and run out of steam. This tack-tick gave him the the honourable position of being first and only Mighty Green to cross the line. He secured a place of 230th in 1h58m02s.
Going as a solo MG on Sunday the 10th, was Cheryl Boulton. This was her first half marathon since 2015 and the first as a Mighty Green. With very wet conditions underfoot and in places ankle deep in flood water, good progress very tricky. However and despite the rain, wind and deep puddles, she did it in 2h06m14s coming in 148th position out of 293 runners and also getting the honour of first and last MG over the line.