Mighty Greens festive and Extremely Jolly

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Sidmouth Running Club Is Feeling Festive and Extremely Jolly

The SRC Juniors and coaches kick started the festivities by wearing Christmassy things on their last session before the Christmas break. They even had a visit from Father Christmas and his Elf who congratulated the 8+ and 11+ groups, handed out their end of term certificates and gave them all a present.

Juniors Christmassy

Next up was the Extremely Jolly Race on Saturday and the Escot half and full marathon on Sunday. These races through the woods and grounds of Escot are organised by Jolly Running and encourage festive fancy dress. The events are always popular because as well as river crossings there is an optional water slide and amazing finishers snow globe medals, buffs and for the Sunday racers a Georgie’s Pudding.

Extremely Jolly Group

The 7.5 mile Extremely Jolly run was the most popular with 14 club runners entering; this was in part due to the Club’s Christmas do being held that night and the thought of running the next day was too much for some. Head coach Kyle Baker, though lacking in the fancy dress department, led the way and finished in 18th place in 1:11:14. Adrian Horne, Ollie Goodchild-Horne and Allan Kay were next over the line with soggy bottoms from the water slide with Helen Akay and Leeann Thomson not far behind with soggy, muddy bottoms and Judith Jeeves with a dry one!

By the time Beccy Johnson, Tracy Scannell, Alexa Baker, Jenny and Nikita Kay reached the slide there was a long queue and watching from the bottom saw fellow runners hurtle down past the end of the plastic sheet into stony mud, some going head over heels. This put them off and they decided they wanted to enjoy the Christmas party in one piece so continued running up the hill. It did not deter Ann Cole even though her run buddy Julia Haddrell had taken a fall in the woods earlier and she loved every second of it. There was a lot of festive banter between the runners and Jenny was serenaded more than once to ‘O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree’!

Extremely Jolly Half and Full Marathoners

Post party, Sarah Watkins and Paul Williamson lined up with Tom Knight to compete in the half marathon while Jo Earlam and Jane Hemsworth took on the marathon.

Tom Knight at the Extremely Jolly 1/2M

The ground was a lot muddier underfoot from the previous day but this did not stop Tom, wearing a very fetching tutu and Christmas leggings combo, storm round in 1:37:43 coming 3rd overall. Sarah Watkins (the Elf) crossed the line in 2:54:59 and Paul, who found it tough going with a foot injury, finished in 3:36:41. Meanwhile Jo and Jane were enjoying the scenery and friendly marshals as they kept on running completing the marathon, Jo’s 10th this year, in 6:38:12, finishing 39th and 40th out of a field of 46. They can eat a few guilt free mince pies now!

 

 

Cranbrook Junior Parkrun

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Road Trip For Sidmouth Running Club Juniors

On Sunday a group of Sidmouth Running Club Juniors wore their Mighty Green tops with pride as they took part in the Cranbrook Junior Parkrun.

Juniors at Cranbrook

The Parkrun is a free, fun friendly event which takes place every week at the Country Park for 4-14 year olds and the SRC Juniors thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the 2km out and back route.

Bicton Blister 2021

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Sidmouth Running Club Welcomes The Return Of The Bicton Blister

Following the wild winds on Saturday, the 37 Sidmouth Running Club members weren’t sure what to expect when they arrived at Bicton College on Sunday to compete in Exmouth Harrier’s Bicton Blister (10 miles) and Bicton Lite (4.5 miles).

Mighty Greens at Bicton

As well as plenty of climb, encouraging cadets/marshals and bagpipes, the multi terrain race had additional extras this year-a telegraph pole to duck under in the road section, a fallen tree to climb over and icy puddles to run through. The weather provided many a conversation before the start too, the sun was out but the temperature was low; how many layers were necessary?

Tim, Sam and Mark

In a field of over 480 the Mighty Greens set off along the road stretch where the runners spread out before the first climb of many on Woodbury Common.

Christine

The nine first timers now understand why members like Helen Palmer and Don Cawthera have been signing up to this event for ten + years what with the spectacular views, the well marshalled and sign posted route, the variety of terrain, (running along a single wooded track, scrambling up and down the loose pebblebed paths, charging through rivers plus the tarmac section) even the many walkers they met were very encouraging too.

Bex

Bicton Lite Results-92 finishers

43 David Welsh 51:54; 60 Sue-Ellen Lee 56:41; 76 Julia Haddrell 1:00:54; 82 Emma Grainger 1:04:34; 83 Doreth Lawrence 1:04:40.

Els and Rachel

Bicton Blister Results-387 finishers

63 Antony Hall 1:22:37; 88 Ollie Goodchild-Horne 1:26:34; 105 Mark Andow 1:28:11; 107 Ross Walton 1:28:15; 143 David King 1:32:09; 156 Jamie Locke 1:33:20; 194 Tim Swarbrick 1:37:40; 197 Sam Ingram 1:37:45; 199 Mark Norton 1:37:52; 210 Catherine Hilton 1:39:12; 216 Rob Edwards 1:40:03; 221 Simon Hollyer 1:40:38; 233 Becky McDonald 1:41:36; 242 Sarah Ginsberg 1:43:05; 249 Adrian Horne 1:44:21; 252 Naomi Garrick 1:44:43; 258 Christine Farnham 1:45:16; 261 Karen Farnham 1:45:43; 266 Adam Passmore 1:46:51; 269 Clive Gilbert 1:48:12; 273 Don Cawthera 1:48:36; 277 David Lee 1:49:09; 282 Deb Cawthera 1:49:58; 294 Christine Hellier 1:51:34; 306 David Wright 1:53:31; 324 Rachel Barnard 1:57:31; 325 Els Laureys 1:57:36; 327 Alexa Baker 1:57:40; 341 Cath Miller 2:00:38; 342 Cathy Keast 2:00:38; 343 Helen Palmer 2:00:39; 375 Leeann Thomson 2:11:36.

 

November Runs in the Sun

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November Runs In The Sun-especially for Suzi Rockey

SRC member Suzi Rockey packed her Mighty Green running kit when she went on holiday to Gran Canaria last week knowing there was a race scheduled that she could enter.

The keen MG went outside her 5k comfort zone and ran the 10k Maspalomas race in 20 degree heat.

Suzi at Gran Canaria

Suzi said, “The biggest mass start I have ever come across did me a favour as it meant I could not go off at my 5k pace. I tried to sustain this slower pace to achieve even splits, but after a hill I couldn’t resist testing my 5k fitness on the long flat stretch and was on for a 48 min 10k, but regretted this 4 miles in when my legs started to tire and my pace dropped rapidly.”

Despite this and having lost a great deal of fitness after the longest chest infection ever Suzi was very pleased with her result, a cracking 6.29miles in 53mins.

David

Mighty Green, David Skinner didn’t have to worry about the heat when he travelled to Padstow on Sunday to take part in Purple Gecko Events Lobster Lollop 5k running along the Camel trail. David enjoyed the very scenic, slightly chilly and windy route and explained the event is so called because a donation is made to the Lobster Hatchery in Padstow. He received a very cool medal.

Blister Training

The Sunday runners have been progressively increasing their mileage and took to Woodbury Common last week to familiarise themselves with the Bicton Blister route which takes place next weekend. The sun was surprisingly warm and conditions were dry underfoot, not guaranteed on the day but with this week’s cold spell a possibility?

 

Tommy 10k Challenge

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Ollie Goodchild-Horne Runs 100k in 10 Days for the Royal British Legion

Sidmouth Running Club member, Ollie Goodchild-Horne has completed the Tommy 10k challenge 2021 for the Royal British Legion Industries.

The Mighty Green had to run 10k a day for 10 days- an impressive 100k in total. Ollie ran mainly from his home in Budleigh gaining a PB on his first run. Day 3 was a hilly one which he ran with his dad and fellow MG, Adrian ‘Gripper’ Horne, who ran this challenge last year and inspired Ollie to sign up for this year. Ollie had the company of friend, Harry Savage on day 6 and day 10 saw him reach his target by running across Exmouth seafront on Remembrance Sunday.

Ollie

Ollie was delighted and grateful for all the support and donations. He raised £175 which was over his target and will go towards supporting the RBL’s most venerable veterans, those with disabilities or homeless.

The MG is giving his legs time to recover ready to run the Bicton Blister in a couple of weeks’ time!

JP’s Exe to Axe 2020 (held 2021)

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JP’s Exe to Axe Takes No Prisoners

‘Brutal’, ‘tough’, ‘harder than an ultra-marathon’ were some of the more printable descriptions of JP’s Exe to Axe race which Sidmouth Running Club organised and ran on Sunday.

The 22 mile race which starts on Exmouth seafront and follows the coast path to Axmouth has been previously voted the 9th best race in Runner’s World magazine and attracted 168 entrants from Falmouth to Aberdeen and everywhere in-between plus the Canary Islands.

Organisers Paul Mitchell, David Lee and Rob Edwards ensured covid safe regulations were implemented and this included a rolling start time with chip timing which proved very successful and much less stressful at the finish line.

Four of the nine relay teams were made up of SRC runners. Father and son team ‘The Clay Twins’ aka Tim and Dan Clay had a great run coming in second place, 4:07:17.

Bee Gees Medley

‘The Bee Gees Medley, comprised of Derek Blackburn running Exmouth to Sidmouth and Clive Gilbert running Sidmouth to Seaton. Clive was slightly worried when he saw Derek approaching looking slightly worse for wear and knowing the leg he was about to run was a lot hillier. On reaching the finish line in 4:40:31 (5th place) Clive received good news that his lost mobile phone had been found and he didn’t need to retrace his steps!

Rocker and Dazzer

Relay team ‘Dazzer and Rocker’ thoroughly enjoyed the run, with Dazzer running the first leg and Rocker the second. They finished in 4:41:19-7th place.

Easier said than run

The four female relay team ‘Easier Said Than Run’ had to adapt to 3 runners when a disappointed Ann Cole had to pull out due to illness. Julia Haddrell ran Exmouth to Budleigh, handing over to Lesley Dunford who ran to Sidmouth, Jane Stein increased her mileage on the toughest leg, and Lesley Dunford ran the final Beer to Seaton part. They were very pleased with their achievement of finishing in 4:57:23 especially as their average age is 64.75 years!

Sarah Ginsberg was pleased to reach Sidmouth from Exmouth as she was still recovering from illness and David Welsh ran half the route, Sidmouth to Seaton in 3:15:20.

Hannah

Ready to experience her first Exe to Axe, Mighty Green Hannah Maslen was the first runner over the start line. Hannah found the steps past Sidmouth challenging as they led to cramp but all was forgotten as her children joined her to run over the finish line in 5:44:10.

Hannah, Gripper and Ollie

First SRC runner over the finish line was Ollie Goodchild-Horne who took the challenge in his stride finishing in 61st position out of a field of 168 in 4:22:02. His dad Adrian ‘Gripper’ Horne took slightly longer to complete the route due to injury and limited training in 5:40:04 but had his grandson cheering him on along the way and over the finish line.

Jamie, Naomi and Simon

Jamie Locke found his first Exe to Axe tough, tiring and very hot at times especially between Sidmouth and Branscombe but this didn’t stop him from enjoying it. The MG crossed the finish line in 4:40:32 in 87th place and is already thinking of entering it again! Michael Garrish completed the race in 5:04:18 and Simon Hollyer, Sam Ingram and Bex McDonald finished in 120th, 121st and 122nd respectively in very similar times-5:16:08-5:16:48. Simon had nothing left in the tank having given it his all and needed a recovery banana on crossing the finish line-it must have done the job as he is also talking about signing up for next year! First timers Sam and Bex had a cunning plan; they had learnt that by climbing up the ‘stairway to heaven’ they had 14m less of climb and at that point it mattered! Naomi Garrick felt proud as she ran along the beautiful coastal path and felt honoured to live where she does. The MG finished in 139th place in 5:29:56.

SRC members who weren’t running did their club proud by marshalling the event under Chief Marshal Terry Bewes’ supervision. Many of the runners thanked them for their support and enthusiasm which spurred them on. Special mention must go to Jessica and Jasmine Thomson, the youngest marshals but biggest cheerleaders who raised many a smile on Cliff Road and to Danny Painter, who despite recovering from long covid insisted on being the back runner, encouraging all along the way.

 

 

Virtual GWC 10k – and the rest

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What a difference a ‘K’ makes

A coach to Beer, a 10k run back to St Johns School for a barbeque and swim might sound like the perfect way to wind up the Summer season for Sidmouth Running Club.

It was certainly a day to remember especially for the 17 runners who were using this run as their virtual 10k Grand Western Canal entry raising money for Clic Sargent.

Under the leadership of chairman Terry Bewes the Mighty Greens posed for a photo, set their watches and followed Terry who eventually realised we were on the wrong path-about turn! An omen of things to come!

GWC start

It wasn’t long before the group split enabling everyone to run at their own pace and enjoy the views. For the faster eight, this meant a coffee stop at Branscombe and slight concern that they hadn’t seen the other group approaching! They took the hilly route in their stride and arrived back in plenty of time to meet more club members for the barbeque.

Cath Miller, who had run a half marathon the day before which had been miss-measured at 14.8 miles long, started to doubt the length of the run when mile 6 saw everyone at Weston mouth. Relief that the required distance for the virtual 10k had been reached was overtaken by the realisation of how many miles were left to get back in time for the food.

There were a couple of ‘phone a friend’ calls and three runners were collected between the donkey Sanctuary and Salcombe Hill which left Ann Cole, Alexa Baker and Terry to run down Salcombe Hill and jeff up to St Johns School where they were greeted with a cheer having run an overall distance of 10 miles-the furthest Ann has run. The race medal and buff were certainly well earnt!

Terry is now a wooden spoon contender for miss-judging 10k for 10 miles but it made the virtual challenge one to remember and it was a great way to round off the Summer running season. Thanks were given to the school for use of their facilities, chef Matt and team for the food and Mighty Green Jenni Yeoman for not only running with a cold but being a life guard too.

Emma

Emma Grainger, meanwhile, (sensibly?) took part in the Teignbridge Trotters 10k race and completed the course in just under one hour 15 minutes, John Sharples ran his 100th parkrun at Seaton and Naomi Loosemore got a PB running 26 minutes in her first 5k race having started the year running 5k in 36 minutes. Great Mighty Green achievements.

John

The club is looking forward to start its’ Winter programme which includes torch lit off road runs, interval runs, technical runs, on road runs and strength and conditioning classes. To find out more please visit the web site www.sidmouthrunningclub.co.uk

 

 

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Bradleys 10k

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A sea of Mighty Greens at the Bradleys 10k Exmouth

As the sun burnt through the mist, 20 Sidmouth Running Club members gathered under the Mighty Green flag on Exmouth seafront on Sunday for a group photo ready to take on the Bradleys 10k race.

Before the start

The chip timed, 2 lap race organised by Lizzie of LME events was sponsored by Bradleys Estate Agents who also got involved helping with registration, running in the race and marshalling. Sidmouth estate agent Stephen French and his wife Sarah were very encouraging marshals and certainly gave us all a boost as we passed them several times!

Jack Wilson was first club runner home in 44:33 and was third in his age group; Jane Stein came 2nd in her age group in 58:07 as did Chris Heywood in his age group in 51:29.

A special mention must go to Tracy Scannell who got a PB as it was her first timed 10k race. Tracy showed strength and determination as she started lap 2 and with some timely encouragement from Suzi Rockey who joined her for the last mile, ran over the finish line with chairman Terry Bewes hot on her heels.

Tracy

The team spirit of the club had been commented on by several runners (not SRC), who noticed how the club runners cheered each other on. As Beccy Johnson said, “The supportive waves, “well dones” and thumbs up really helped.”

Run and Talk

Another example of the running club’s supportiveness was the success of the #runandtalk session last Wednesday. Mental Health champion, Charlotte Forrer, was delighted with the ‘fantastically sociable atmosphere’ and to everyone who stayed on after the run for a drink and a chat.

Derek

Derek Blackburn set out this year to run in events he hadn’t raced before so instead of lining up on Exmouth seafront he was on the Scilly Isles for a half marathon around St Marys. Derek enjoyed the scenic route and kept Terry’s advice to keep the sea on his left in mind completing the run in 2:42:00. Where will he pop up next?!

Sidmouth Running Club will be cheering on Mighty Greens Allan Kay, Yasmin Salter and Toby Garrick as they head off to London to take part in the Virgin London Marathon this Sunday. You’ve got this!

 

Marathon Madness

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Sidmouth Running Club Marathon Madness

Mighty Green Antony Hall found himself lining up with 30,000 + runners at the recent Manchester Marathon and finished in the top 1,000!

Ant with medal

Antony said, “ I started off really well, keeping a steady pace of 7 minute miles until mile 18 where the long stretches of road took its toll and my pace dropped off considerably; but I kept going and finished just over 2 minutes outside my PB time in 3:10:06, 975th overall.”

Jo

Jo Earlam headed to Cornwall to compete in the Atlantic Coast Challenge-3 marathons over 3 days along the Cornish coastline. Day 1 saw Jo run between Trevone Head to Perranporth in 7:25:00, even though day 2 included 3,500 feet of elevation between Perranporth and Hayle Jo knocked 2 minutes off the previous days run. Day 3 was a 28.86 mile stretch of the coastline from Lelant to Lands End with 4,800 feet of elevation. The Mighty Green completed the final section in 9:23:00, coming in 95th place out of 180 entrants and said the spectacular scenery and fabulous weather made it all worthwhile.

Cheryl

It was third time lucky for Cheryl Boulton when she travelled up to Weston Super Mare on Sunday to compete in her first half marathon since the start of Covid as the race had been rescheduled twice. The Mighty Green was determined to beat her 2019 time of 2:08:24 and knocked almost 2 minutes off it despite a quick dash to the portaloo at mile 8! It was the first time Cheryl ran in a new age category, senior women, having turned 50 earlier in the year and was delighted to find out she came 56th out of 137 and overall 576th out of a field of 1058 runners. Husband Bruce treated Cheryl to fish and chips on the pier afterwards with the added bonus of 20% discount for all runners-there’s an incentive to enter a race!

Junior swimathon

On Wednesday evening Chairman Terry Bewes presented the SRC Junior members who are representing the club at this month’s Rotary swimathon with a SRC swim bag as a thank you. The Junior team will be competing along two adult SRC teams, the Elite and the Survivors!

 

Capers Abound

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Sidmouth Running Club’s Antony Hall Secures 2nd Place With 7+ hours of Running!

The aptly named Celebration Caper organised by Jolly Running was cause for celebrations for three Mighty Greens on Saturday. The 8 hour timed event was set in the Riverside Valley Park, Exeter and it was up to the runner how many 3.3mile laps to run.

Rachel

Despite the heat Rachel Austen-Rigby completed 2 laps, running 6.6 miles in 1:31:05 and was very pleased to receive the unique medal in the shape of a champagne bottle. This was Rachel’s second 10k event since joining the club’s beginners group in lockdown this year and she said she appreciated the encouragement given from the fellow Mighty Greens.

Yasmin

Newly qualified Leader in Running Fitness, Yasmin Salter, gave her Hospice UK charity marathon vest a test run and used the Caper as part of her marathon training. With four weeks to go Yasmin ran 6 laps, a total of 19.8 miles in 3:26:01.

Antony with prize

Antony Hall’s pre-run preparations the night before certainly paid off. The Mighty Green said, “On Saturday I lined up for the start of the Celebration Caper. Having got off to my usual too fast start I settled down from the second lap into a steady pace taking 2 laps at a time to get through the heat of the day! Finally the fatigue and cramps got too much on the 13th lap and I finished at that, covering just over 43 miles in the time, and picking up 2nd place! It was a really great event with fantastic marshals and friendly runners; I will be back next year to see if I can reach the magic 50 miles!”Knowing Antony he will!

Jane and Jack

Representing Sidmouth Running Club on Sunday at the Bridgwater Half Marathon were Jack Wilson and Jane Stein neither of them having run this distance before! Jack, who has only been running for just under a year, chose the Bridgwater Half Marathon as it was relatively flat, chip timed and in support of Cancer Research UK. Jack was thrilled with his time 1:47:00 and showed his support to fellow MG Jane by running back to encourage her over the finish line of which she was very grateful. Jane was very happy with her time of 2:18:00. Will a marathon be their next goal?