Category Archives: SRC

Otter Rail and River run

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Otter Rail and River 10k 2019.

The Otter River and Rail 10k race was organised by Tipton St John Playing Field Association in conjunction with Sidmouth Running Club and was sponsored by Otter Brewery, Harrison-Lavers and Potbury’s and Michelmores Solicitors.

This year the Sidmouth Running Club as a whole supported the Charlie Gwillim fund raiser and ran as Charlie’s Angels. Charlie at 27 years of age was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour and she is being looked after by her fiancé Rob, who is her full time carer. The SRC was working closely with her business Devon Embroidery, prior to her illness on some new ideas for club kit and she had spent a lot of time on its development.

Fifteen minutes before the start, a very lively warm-up session taken by Honiton Running Club’s Paula Ferris was enjoyed by the competitors. With many traditional warm up techniques put into a dance-like routine and all to music. This added to the jovial atmosphere of the day.

With warm, but cloudy weather and bone-dry conditions underfoot, this scenic off-road multi terrain10km race got underway at 11:00hrs sharp. Forty one SRC members took off from the village playing field of Tipton St John. The competitors ran around the edge of the cricket field, through the carpark and on down-stream along the River Otter to the village of Harpford. A well earned water stop with energy giving Jelly Babies awaited them on arrival. They then enter into Harpford Woods proceeding along a footpath until the old railway line. Here, the route takes a turn to the left and up a flight of steep steps back to Tipton along the old rail route. At Tipton village centre they turn right into a narrow footpath and through fields with a shot spell on the road to Fluxton. At Fluxton they head up hill and back to Tipton along the road. When back at the village it was a short run along the river and into the village playing field to be cheered enthusiastically over the finish line by Terry Bewes.

Results: Toby Garrick 35m19s coming 3rd overall and 1st SRC runner to cross the line. David King 52nd and 1st M65 in 49m14s. Katherine Hilton came 58th in 49m14s and taking the prize for 1st local Woman and 1st F45. Stuart Coles 66th in 51m12s. Naomi Garrick 70th, 51m36s. Sarah Ginsberg 71st, 51m37s. Tim Swarbrick came in 85th position in 53m43s beating Hamish Spence, who almost finished his race face down in the first field of wheat! Hamish managed to stay on track and crossed the line 87th in 54m04s. Allen Kay 98th, 54m54s. Christine and Karen Farnham left it to the last few yards to decide as to which one would take 100th place, even then it was a photo finish and Christine got it by a whisker in 55m24s. Karen Farnham had to be content with the knowledge that she was the 1st of the 100’s (101st) in 55m26s. Graham Sheppard 109th, 65m26s. Sarah Clapham 115th, 57m12s. Richard King 122nd, 58m13. Michael Ginsberg123rd, 58m14s. David Millen told me that he would be taking it easy during the race, that would wouldn’t be breaking any records. This lasted all of about 100 yards, when David’s more competitive stride took ahold and carried him into126th place in 58m31s. Shaun Tipton 131st, 59m18 making him the last Mighty Green to beat the 1 hour point. Colin Flood 136th, 1h01m22s. Becky McDonald 141st, 1h01m44s. Paula Farrand 156th, 1h03m00. Jane Hemsworth 143rd, 1h01m50s. Jennifer Bentley heard as she rounded the last corner before the sprint to the finish line, a fellow SRC member calling out, “Come on Bert, you can catch Jenny”! Jenny crossed the line in160th place in 1h03m14s, just ahead of a puffed-out Bert Dykema who really tried to catch JB but took 163rd place in 1h03m18s. Carolyn Sinclair 171st, 1h04m06s. Bridget McEleney-Smith 176th, 1h04m40s. Kat Hall 179th, 1h05m21s. Dave Wright 182nd, 1h05m43s. Lesley Hook 184th, 1h06m11s. Jason Chipps, 209th, 1h10m34s. Bruce Odlin 214th, 1h11m23s. Emma Grainger 219th, 1h12m35s. Julia Hadrrell 228th, 1h13m58s. Sue Cunningham 229th, 1h14m06s giving her the 1st in the F70 category. Jon Ball 238th and Caroline Ball 239th, both crossed the line in1h17m34s. Not far behind Jon and Carolyn were Tania Puddicombe 239th and Sarah Burston 240th, both managed a last minute burst of energy and sprinted over the line, TP in 1h17m45s and SB in 1h17m46s. Ann Cole 252nd ran with Doreth Lawrence 253rd both arriving back together in 1h23m28s with Tristan Chipps 256th in 1h27m56s.

The Jackie Box Fun Run.

   Taking part or helping out in the Tipton Jackie Box Fun Run on Saturday were 8 juniors all of which were proudly wearing the Mighty Green writes Kerry Boyle.

Three had participated in the recent FUNdementals in athletics course who were Elsie Wiltshire, Seth Lancaster and Dominic Hall, the 5 others all have parents or siblings who are Sidmouth running club members. The more experienced of the group started off steadily, knowing that it was a mile and not to sprint off too fast across the playing fields at Tipton. The next part along the river was harder to negotiate through the cow field and rabbit holes, but despite a few trips and ankle twists they picked themselves up and all completed the run back along the old train track to the Tipton playing fields. All of the children received a medal and a large sugary snake for their fantastic efforts! Elsie Wiltshire a local from Tipton received a haul of medals winning first girl in her age group (under 10’s) and first local girl. Fraser Felton-Smith also wearing the mighty green was first Tipton boy and also finished first in his age group (under 12’s). Oscar Burston was 2nd in the under 10’s followed by Seth Lancaster who was 5th in the same age group. Also completing the race for Sidmouth was Georgia Felton-Smith, Jake Burston and William Hall. Congratulations to all, you did yourselves and Sidmouth running club proud!

Juniors medal presentation

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report to follow.
A very big thumbs up to all our juniors!

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The Giants Head Marathon

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On Saturday 22nd of June Danny Painter took on the very challenging hilly but scenic Giants Head Marathon in Dorset organised by White Star Running. The route took Danny through the beautiful Sydling and Cerne valleys, along foot paths and through fields, around and under the famous Cerne Giant. With over 3200ft of elevation gain and is a slightly longer than standard length marathon, but it gives stunning views worth stopping for. Danny came 44th with a time of 04h46m48s.

The Woodland Relays

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Woodland Relays 2019.

Sidmouth Running Club entered twelve teams into the Woodlands Relay which took place in the woodlands near Lea Croft Caravan Park, Colyton, on the evening of Wednesday the 19th of June. Organisers, Axe Valley Runners had to make a last minute decision, to have a shorter than planned route. Due to some fallen trees the planned circuit could not be used. This shortened the distance for each runner and instead turned it into an out-and-back race. The first 600m was almost flat with the next 600m(ish) section, being a downhill blast with a slippery u-turn at the bottom. This was the half-way point which meant that it was a very long climb back up to the top, and then a sprint to the finish. To avoid collisions, the runners had to run on the left hand side at all times. This worked very well with no reported incidents. The weather had been wet all week on and off, the ground was fairly good for most of the route, but slippery on the hill.
There was a great atmosphere on the start line and a huge cheer as the first runners headed off. It wasn’t long before they were back for the hand over with more high spirited cheering and clapping every time no matter who’s team was setting off.
Run Boy Three were the first Sidmouth team to finish with Steve Saunders setting off first and averaging a 10 minute mile followed by Rob Edwards and a very determined Tim Mitchell giving Team RBT a time of 29m10s. Chafing The Dream saw Chris Day Kerry gain a down hill 400m(ish) section personal best time of 1m39s and was followed by Charlotte Forrer and a flat out Sam Ingram. Team CTD officially finished with a 29m10s timing. First to get away for mixed gender team Grand Master Flash, was Simon Holyer who managed a fast 8:15min/mile pace followed by Richard King and Ronnie Masters to gain Team GMB a 13th place in a time of 29m43s. Catherine Hilton got The Runners Beans off to a flying start, with Claire `Ashby giving it all she could, especially up the long hill and then Kerry Boyle blitzed the last leg. Team TRB had fun but found it tough. However, they were the first all female MG team to be completely finished and achieved it in 29m53s coming 14th. The young at heart Young Sexagenarians were down to two men for this event, with Paul Mitchell and John Hanson who took on two of the laps. Tim Clay had to duck out with an injury. Team YS came 18th in 30m51s. Originally named by Paula Farrand, the Dream Team will have ‘er’ added to Dream for next years Woodlands Relay. First away for Team DT was Rocker Sheppard, who set the bar with an average 11min/mile pace for the team. Hamish Spence took off to chase down Team TTT’s Karen Farnham and very nearly succeeded on the downhill section, but Karen is an up-hill running demon and so it was over to Adrian Horne to take the baton. A time of 32m19s and a 22rd place (1 ahead of Team TTT) was achieved. Terry’s Talkative Trio comprised of Christine & Karen Farnham and Sarah Clapham and they all claim not to have uttered a single word during the race! Is that really possible? Of course it isn’t and the clock stopped when all three took a breath at 33m09s giving them 23rd place. All you need to know about the Sidmouth Green Goddesses is that they were absolutely fabulous…any questions…good 🙂 Introducing Team Ladies And Tramp and clearing things up for arguments sake, Sarah Watkins (Lady and first runner), Paul Williamson (Tramp and second runner) and Kerry Agar (Lady and fast runner). Team LAT came 27th in 36m21s. Going to quickly to be correctly named the Slow Motion Ninjas were, in order of disappearance and re-appearance, Julia Haddrell, Jenny Bentley and Suzi Rockey. They managed a combined time of 37m23s and came in 29th place. Named after three great women of a certain age, The Supremes, were Sarah Powell, Emma Grainger and Ann Cole. They all showed supreme grit and determination throughout the event to get to the finish. They came in 31st position, but by the smile on their faces, they certainly enjoyed themselves! Their time taken… not important, but they thank all the other Sidmouth runners for their fabulous support both on and off the trail.
An event thoroughly enjoyed by all with very high levels of SRC members supporting each other on the track and at the start/finish line.

The Exmoor Maverick Marathon

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Kirsteen Welch Takes On The Beast.
   The Maverick Inov-8 Exmoor X-Series is labeled as The Beast and is the toughest event in the Maverick Events calendar. It was given this name due to the massive 1800m (6000ft) elevation gain over the whole route. There were three distances on offer, a 15k, 21k and the full 42k in-which Kirsteen took part. All three races started at the same time with Kirsteen opting for her usual speedy get away, with the intention of up keeping the pace with Lucy MacAlister. However, Kirsteen didn’t realise that Lucy was doing the 21k route, so at the split in the course, Kirsteen carried on alone, along the coastal path. When she reached the next aid station, the marshal told her that she was the second runner and first lady at this point. Kirsteen remained in this position for the rest of the race, although she did have the Maverick Trail Division Elite Athlete, Julia Davis hot on her heals towards the end. Kirsteen kept ahead of Julia and managed to do a sprint to the finish line beating Julia by just 11 seconds. SRC Mighty Green Kirsteen Welch came in on 04h14m52s, taking the 2nd place over all and retained the position of first lady.    
   Back during the Women Can Marathon in May, Kirsteen found herself ‘hitting the wall’ at around mile 20. So, for the first time she decided to trial the use of energy gels during this event. She got around with no ‘wall hitting’ and has found the gels useful. Recently she also had a consultation with sports dietitian Renee McGregor and is hoping this will help to fuel her training and racing more efficiently. There is a very fine line between training, nutrition and recovery and  Kirsteen has learnt a lot over the course of this year, but wants to learn more so that she doesn’t end up injured or fatigued. 
This was the last race for Kirsteen before her next event in the Snowdon Marathon which takes place in mid July.

Exmouth Park run

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It was almost wall to wall personal bests for the SRC members doing the group Parkrun in a blustery Exmouth.  Sarah Clapham did her 15th and grabbed a PB in 25m27s.  A PB for Christine Farnham who sped her way around in 25m49s, whilst sister Karen Farnham was more leisurely in her approach with a 26m07s time. Juliet Powell also gained a PB in 29m52s along along with a PB for Christie Ward who raced around in 29m57s. John Sharples is the Man Of The Match and becomes a Centurion Park Runner having completed his 100th Parkrun in 29m58s. Julia Haddrell and her K9 did it in 30m44s and has now completed her 70th Parkrun. Lesley Miszewska finished in 33m41s and Sarah Powell in at 36m45s. First timer Donna Welsh ran with David Welsh in 37m22s who cheerfully swept up the MG group. Suzi Rocky took 27m.22 to complete Seaton’s pebble track.

The First Sidmouth Running Club Juniors Group Gets Underway.

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The first session for the Juniors got started on Sunday the 9th of June on the playing fields of the Sidmouth College.
Leaders of the Juniors, Kerry Boyle and Claire Ashby, will being showing the FUNdementals of athletics to the group of 23 youngster during the course. With mixed abilities and ages ranging from 8 to 12 years, the group has 11 girls and 12 boys.
During the warm up, the group looked into good running technique, included standing tall, arms driving and lifting the knees. The groups were then split into the 10-12 year olds with Claire and the 8-10 year olds with Kerry.
Kerry took her group to do some physical preparation which included learning how to do squats and balancing. With balancing the younger group played the Dice Game and Mirroring a partner. After the warm up they then moved into the main session which comprised of a running, throwing and jumping unit. With running they were learning how to run over obstacles, with the younger group establishing which leg they preferred to lead and also getting a feel of a good stride pattern between each hurdle whilst still retaining that tall posture. Next they moved on to the pull throw, which is the technique used in throwing the javelin, but we started with an overhead throw of a football, then bean bags and finally onto howlers. The last part (a group favourite), was jumping for distance in the sand pit. Initially they practiced doing a 2 legged standing jump, learning to use the arms to swing up, moving on to the one legged jump deciding on which was their stronger jumping leg and driving the other knee up, and finally jumping in the sand pit to see how far they could jump.
Claire’s group of 10 -12 year olds were a determined bunch and all worked very hard on the skills being focused on. They learned about finding which side of the body is more dominant and which foot is the easiest to balance on. This illustrated how balance and coordination are two of the essential skills for good running. They then practised hurdling, throwing and jumping.
Everyone had a great time and had a go at the activities and gave some great feed back. The children received an activity card, which they will hopefully all complete over the next 5 weeks.

Running In Memory Of A Life-Long Friend.

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John Sharples ran in his 99th Parkrun at Seaton on Saturday the 8th of June. Instead of wearing the SRC Mighty Green tee-shirt, he put on his Middleton vest and ran in memory of his life-long friend and running partner, Fred Doyle. John and Fred were best friends from the age of, 4 were born 1 day apart and ran together in many races until Fred became ill and passed away.