Author Archives: sidmouthsrc

Taunton Canal Run

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The Bridgwater to Taunton Canal Run

A 6am alarm and 4 members of SIDMOUTH Running club Sarah Watkins, Jessica Raynor, Dave Wright and Terry Bewes drag themselves out of their beds; look out the window to a scene of fog and frost and wonder, back to bed or run? As members of the Mighty Green there was no hesitation, run it was. So, into the car, and up the M5 through thick fog and minus 2 degrees to Taunton to take part in the 16 mile Bridgwater to Taunton canal run. This run, not a race is organised by Taunton Running club the biggest independent running club in the UK with around 750 members.

Terry & Jess on the train

The event starts with a short train ride from Taunton to Bridgwater and Terry was well excited about this because he had not been on a train for years.

So the four off us and the 80 or so runners from 8 different clubs left it until the last minute to emerge from the waiting room to get on the platform to avoid the freezing conditions. Arriving at Bridgwater station it was then a short jog to the start at the canal basin.

This was to be a new experience for us as we can normally be found running the hills and coastal paths around here. This was a nearly flat 16 mile run along the tow path back to Taunton. The conditions had not improved as we set off, it was quite eerie in the fog and it soon further deteriorated freezing the water in Terry’s water pack.

Arriving at Maunsel Lock which is around half way the Taunton club had laid on food and hot drinks for all which were well received. Suitably refuelled and thawed out we set off only to be told that the police had shut the canal a mile further on in order to recover a body.

The canal in summer

Luckily with local knowledge and a mobile phone app a detour was sorted to take us around the closure. This came as some relief to us as it took us over more familiar terrain in the way of fields, lanes and paths. A couple of miles later we were back on the tow path and conditions had started to improve for the run to the finish.

Dave had a good run going ahead with local runners recording a time of 2:52:00. Sarah and Terry tried to keep up with Jessica who is 5 months pregnant and finished 20 minutes later.

To put this run into some context, over the 16 plus miles we recorded an elevation gain of 204 feet with the majority of that being gained on the diversion. The previous week we ran a 9 mile local route with an elevation gain of 1,453 feet. It is well worth doing this run if only to appreciate how lucky we are to have the diversity of terrain to run locally.

Boxing Day Run

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Boxing Day Run

SIDMOUTH Running Club’s annual Boxing Day run was an outstanding success this year with a record number taking part. It was great to see returning members and past members who now study or work away. Another development this year was the number of members’ families and friends who took part.

The four mile route, far enough after the festivities of the previous day took us up through the Byes and through Margaret’s Meadow and onto Fortescue. The climb up Griggs Lane and Soldiers Hill was tackled with gusto as this was meant to be the only hill on the course.

Reaching the top and a run through the wood and across a field took us to the War memorial at Salcombe Regis. It was then during the route through the woods on the East side of Salcombe Hill that the front runners became disorientated and we found ourselves on the track at the bottom of the woods instead of at the top. However such was the enthusiasm of the group that the climb back up George’s hill was soon accomplished.

It was then on across the fields to the Frog stone and back down to the club having time to participate in a Dam Busters formation down Salcombe field and onto the beach in time for the Boxing Day swim.

The outstanding club runner had to be Danny Painter who ran over from Exmouth, joined in the club run, swam in the Boxing Day swim, had a pint in the club and then ran back to Exmouth.

Recruitment for the Mighty Green army beginner’s course on January 4th continues to attract new members and we also welcome runners of all abilities to come and join us. See website for details.

Christmas Party

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The Christmas Social

The Christmas run followed by the clubs social was a great success with some 50 members and guests attending.

The various runs went off around the town and surrounding areas with many in fancy dress to view the lights up close or from afar as with the 6 mile group. The four mile group kept up the tradition of carol singing outside of Poddy’s house and this year we were in luck as he said he had only been home for 30 minutes, but it did take some banging on the window to get him to the front door. He asked me to pass on his best wishes to all at the club. A bit further down the road live friends of Terry’s wife Rita who are both in a choir together. We thought we should show them what a proper choir was and we were so successful that they gave us some money that was until I took my hat and beard off and they saw it was me and promptly took it back.

There was a fantastic array of food back at the club and the free raffle was adorned with prizes all donated by the members. Thank you all. The various group carol singing contest was judged by an independent panel of judges made up from one person from each group who all had one vote each to cast. It was no surprise that the result was a four-way tie with each member voting for their own group.

Thanks go to Naomi for organising and John Keast for running the bar

and to everyone who attended for making it a great success.

 

Sunday Run: Exmouth

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SIDMOUTH Running Club

With the last of pre-Christmas 10K races now over, our thoughts and training now focus on the post-Christmas and New Year races and runs. Most of these are long distance runs from 16 miles to marathons along with the odd half marathons and 10Ks thrown in for good measure.

We start on the 29th December with the Bridgwater to Taunton canal run of 16 miles before starting the New Year with the Blackdown Beast 16 miles, then the Four Trigs 16.5 miles, the Grizzly 20 miles, JP’s Exe to Axe 22 miles, the Taunton and London marathons, the Delicious Dart 16 miles and the Salcombe Coastal marathon taking us to the end of April.

The training programme for these events started last Sunday when 14 members boarded the coach and headed to Exmouth Rugby Club where 13 ran the coastal path back to Sidmouth, 14miles. It was cold and foggy when we left Sidmouth and even worse when we got to Exmouth.


Starting to run around the estuary, harbour and promenade the fog was so thick you could not see the sea. But by the time we got to the other end at Straight Point the fog had cleared, the sun had come out and coats, hats, gloves and one layer of t-shirts came off. The remainder of the run back was like a spring day, it was hard to believe this was December.

Our other member Rob Edwards who is recovering from a knee problem decided that the hills may be too much so he decided to run the other way up the river to Exeter and in the interest of safety he carried his railcard and bus pass. The weather was not so kind to him being cool and foggy all the way but the rewarding cappuccino at Exeter Quay soon warmed him up.

The New Year will also see the start of the 8 week beginner’s course, January 4th where our leaders will endeavour to have you running 2 miles by week 8. As we are a running club not athletic club, we run for fun and enjoyment. Age is not a barrier, our current members range from 9 year old to seniors in their seventies.

We would also like to extend an invitation to the various independent runners we meet during our runs to come and experience a couple of free runs with us and see the difference running with a club can make.

For the 10K runners we will be holding an eight week training programme aimed at Beginners, those doing their first 10K, Improvers, who have done one or two and want to improve their times and Experienced ones. Busy but exciting times lie ahead for the club.

See web site for details.

Reindeer Run

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Otterton Reindeer Run 2016

The Otterton Reindeer Run has now been going for over 10 years and is one of the most popular races on the local calendar, as could be seen by the numbers that turned out to run it last Saturday. Such is the popularity of this race that you have to turn up at least an hour before the start to find a parking space in the village otherwise you are left with a long walk to the start. It is a wonderful start to the festive season; the atmosphere is just amazing and it is really an event that can be enjoyed by the whole family. It is very much a village event with sponsorship from local businesses and it is the principal fundraiser for the local school. As well as the 10k race there is also a 3K race for the children which is hugely popular as could be seen by the endless queue through the Church signing on in the morning. Christmas theme fancy dress was very much the order of the day and competitors did not disappoint with an array of costumes.

The race starts at the Church and heads up to the top of Maunders Hill before a long downhill road section takes you into a field where the race divides with the 3k taking a more flattish route back and up along the river to finish on the village green whilst the 10K runners start the first of the three hill climbs before finding themselves on the White Bridge and a short road section before taking the muddy track back to the river. You follow the river back to Otterton where you go under the road bridge and onto the old railway line which you follow for half a mile and then around a field back to the river over the bridge and across two fields to the finish.

The Mighty Greens had 30 runners at the start line with the first club runner home being Theo Burgess who seemed to have forgotten his.

Photos by Kyle Baker Photography and Kit Woodcock

Jayne Drew had another excellent run and our very own Dynamic Duo Paula Farrand and Bert Dykema continued to impress. It was good to see Adrian Organ back running again after being missing for quite a while. Ruth Burrough and Fumiyo Kagawa who were part of the 2016 beginner’s course back in January along with Sarah Powell, (who unfortunately missed the race through injury) and newcomer Carol Hounsell rounded of the year in style by completing their first 10k off- road race.

 

Thanks go to Christine Nicholls, Jill Trivett and Jo Earlam for running with and encouraging them around the course.

 

Our club ambassador Jo Pavey signed on with husband Gavin and children Jacob and Emily looking resplendent in their club hoodies. Jacob ran the course with Jo while Emily enjoyed the run in the buggy pushed by Gavin. A genuine family event.

10K results: Theo Burgess 15th in 43:47, Tim Mitchell 43:53, Jayne Drew 48:07, Jon Hanson 51:27, Rob Edwards 51:55, Adrian Organ 52:37, Graham Sheppard 54:08, Paula Farrand 55:44, Bert Dykema 55:44, Karen Farnham 56:29, Jon Ball 58:09, David Millen 59:41, David Wright 1:05:10, Cathy Keast 1:06:41, Don Cawthera 1:07:02, Monica Read 1:09:07, Debbie Marriott 1:09:12, Sue Cunningham 1:09:38, Carol Hounsell 1:11:23, Caroline Ball 1:12:02, Jill Trivett 1:12:41, Jo Earlam 1:22:01, Ruth Burrough 1:22:10, Fumiyo Kagawa 1:22:12, Christine Nicholls 1:24:11, Terry Bewes 1:24:13, Arthur Vince 1:26:00. There were 208 finishers.

3K results: Jacob Pavey 21:07, Jo Pavey 21:22, Emily Pavey 26:01. There were over 200 finishers.

Sunday saw the Devon County cross country championships in Exeter which was a flat and fast course. Naomi Garrick came 19th in the women’s race in 21:32, Kate Marriott 8th in the girls under 15 in 15:25 and Toby Garrick 9th in the men’s under 17 in 17:26.

How would you like to join the Mighty Green family? you are never too old. In the Reindeer run we had runners from 6 years to 72 years. A beginners course starts on January 4th see the club website or phone 07734 581782 for more details.

 

Bicton Blister

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Bicton Blister

With such good weather on Sunday morning and an 11am start it was no wonder that a record number of thirty five Mighty Green clad SIDMOUTH Running Club members turned out to take part in the very popular Bicton Blister. This is a 10 mile multi-terrain race on Woodbury Common starting and finishing at Bicton College. The start and finish are short road sections, with the remainder of the race being on sandy, stony and normally muddy paths across the various Commons of East Devon, although this year it was extremely dry. Along with the main race is the Bicton Lite which is the little brother covering 4.5 miles with the same start and finish, just less distance on the Commons. Such is the popularity of this race that competitors come from far and wide to compete and this resulted in over 550 lining up at the start.

The good weather also brought out a couple of runners we have not seen in a while in Graham Hill, busy being a shepherd who was over 2 minutes faster than in 2014 and Andy Shearer back from Spain, busy being retired. One mystery runner to me Susie Perry who also turned in another excellent time as did Antony Hall. Naomi Garrick was really pleased with her time coming fourth in the V45 category being over a minute faster than last year. The look of exhilaration on the face of Milly Frankpitt on hearing her time, was a sight to behold and her stepdaughter Madeleine running in the Lite did extremely well and hopefully will soon be joining the Club. Three of our runners returning after injury or illness, Helen Palmer, Monica Read and Colin Flood used the event to test out their recovery in readiness for bigger things in the New Year.

Even better news, we ended up on the podium with our senior ladies team of: Jayne Drew, Kerry Boyle, and Naomi Garrick coming second. Justin Ashby coming second in the V45 category and Jon Hanson coming 3rd in the V60 category. Not to be out done, our two prolific medal winning juniors Toby Garrick coming second overall in the Lite and first in his age group and Kate Marriott coming second girl overall and first in her age group, also in the Lite.

It was inspiring to see at the finish, members from the various clubs including ours lined up along the finishing straight cheering on their members coming in behind them; great club spirit all round and superbly organised by Exmouth Harriers.

Blister Results: Justin Ashby 8th overall 1:04:22, Graham Hill 1:07:50, Antony Hall 1:11:05, Julian Bartlett 1:20:37, Naomi Garrick 1:24:25, Kerry Boyle 1:24:37, Jayne Drew 1:25:19, Alan Colwill 1:25:33, Jo Hanson 1:31:13, Andy Shearer 1:31:24, Susie Perry 1:32:56, Simon Hollyer 1:40:02, Karen Farnham 1:40:03, Jo Earlam 1:40:41, Graham Sheppard 1:41:10, Sarah Watkins 1:43:32, Sue Collman 1:43:46, Jon Ball 1:46:52, John Doherty 1:46:53, Deb Marriott 1:49:29, David Wright 1:50:50, Milly Frankpitt 1:52:02, Terry Bewes 1:52:03, Don Cawthera 1:53:33, Jennifer Bentley 1:57:04, Helen Palmer 1:58:22, Monica Read 1:58:23.

Lite results: Toby Garrick 30:49 2nd overall, Will Ashby 34:50, Kate Marriott 38:57, Madeleine Frankpitt 45:39, David Millen 46:30, Colin Flood 46:45, Suzi Rockey 51:25, Caroline Ball 53:10, Sue Cunningham 54:40.

Haarleberg 10k

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Haarleberg 10K

A bit further afield one of our newer members and Sidbury resident Dutchman Bert Dykema returned home to run in the 7th Haarleberg 10K event in the Netherlands. Feeling confident with the training he had been doing running all the lovely hills around here the flat terrain of Holland would prove little problem.

He was so confident in fact he decided to race his marathon running sister Frederiek and his two young nephews Jelle and Joost who spend most of their spare time playing football. So lining up at the start with the other 920 runners in the cold +2 degrees, (too cold for the Mighty Green he said,) they were off. These Dutchmen are a bit soft, the Club has another in Tony Velterop and he only runs if it’s not raining.

However back to the race, and the boys came home in 45 minutes, Bert in 50 and Frederiek in 56. A very good result for Bert, considering the opposition.

This result obviously spurred him on as a couple of days later despite the horrendous weather on Monday with his running buddy Paula Farrand they both headed off to Exeter Arena to take part in a 3K speed session. Racing in group E, the race which is seven and a half laps of the circuit Paula came in a medal winning third in 13:20 with Bert just missing out coming fourth in 13:45.

Championships

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East Devon Schools Championships

This week it was the turn of the juniors from SIDMOUTH Running Club to shine. Kate Marriott, Jo Ashby, Molly and Toby Garrick all donned their off road shoes and headed for the first round of the East Devon Schools Championships at Bicton College. This is always a fiercely contested event amongst the local schools and this year was no exception. The first 20 from each age group qualify to go to the East Devon verses Exeter event in Okehampton. Conditions were ideal, dry underfoot, sunny and warm.

Jo Ashby year 8 competing against year 8 and 9 did well in the school group but just missed out qualifying, coming in 22nd. With all the training he is putting in at the Club and the fact he will be a year older all looks positive for next year.

eastdevonchamps

Molly Garrick another year 8 also had a good run in the school group but also missed out on qualifying coming 27th.

Two of our most experienced and competitive runners did however qualify in style, Katie Marriott running in year 10-11 came in 2nd in the girls race and Toby Garrick year 10-11 came in 3rd in the boys, both now go forward to represent East Devon.

JP’s Exe to Axe 2017

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Run the beautiful South West Coast Path from Exmouth to Seaton. Race day is Sunday 2nd April 2017.

JP’s Exe to Axe 2017 will be on Sunday 2nd April 2017. Further details and entry forms for this challenging run along the scenic South West Coast Path can be found here.