London Marathon 26.2 Lockdown Challenge

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London Marathon 26.2 Lockdown Challenge.
A Mighty Green Idea
Sunday 27th April at 9.30am

Early last week ,Jo Earlam our secretary came up with the idea while running out in the countryside writes Terry Bewes
Jo is a great marathon runner having completed over 70 towards her target of 100. She is also an exceptionally good fund raiser for several charities. The light came on, combining the two. She ran her idea by the committee and Kerry Boyle our Junior leader added to it, Kyle Baker our videographer produced a short video and our IT crew of Els Laureys, Charlotte Forrer and Paula Farrand soon had it all over the internet.
The idea was based around 26.2 the marathon distance and leaves those taking part to decide what they want to do and chose the charity they want to raise fund for.

Jo Earlam herself, who’s drive just happens to be 26.2 metres long is running it 26 times. Husband John is doing 26 Sudoku squares while dog Freddie will chase a ball 26 times raising funds for dementia and dog charities. Sidmouth Running Club Ambassador, Jo Pavey and husband Gavin both supported the Club. Jo ran a virtual relay with 11 other British Marathon women who were due to run the race, it was organised by her friend Eleanor Whyman-Davis an elite marathoner who is also an NHS doctor working on a Covid 19 ward. Husband Gavin went further and ran a full off-road marathon taking time out to take loads of photos and still finished in 3:35 :41.

Beccy McDonald took a 26.2 mile run almost entirely off road, Tim Swarbrick ran 262 metres up Winslade Road 26 times, Rocker Shepard and Emma Grainger seeing how far they can run in 26.2 minutes, Alan Kay 26.2 laps of the football pitch complete with London Landmarks dotted around, Alexa Baker 26.2 minutes of Morris dancing, Laura Broughton cycling 26.2 miles with her children for part of the way, Hamish Spence and dog, The Spanner ran around a customer’s garden while the dog retrieves 26 balls, Ann Cole Yoga poses, Naomi Garrick dressing up in fancy dress 26.2 times, Toby Garrick 26.2 exercises in 26.2 minutes, Jane Hemsworth 26 times up and down Jacobs Ladder slip way complete with pictures of London Landmarks, Claire Ashby and family 26.2 minutes of squats, press ups and burpees in the garden, Kerry Boyle running 5km in 26 minutes around her 10 x 2 metre yard complete with London Land marks, while son Seth save 26 football shots. Emma Salter 26.2 minute jog, David Palmer 26.2 pints Old Peculiar…(in his dreams), Els Laureys and family 26 different activities in 26 minutes like star jumps, squats, press ups, then a 26 minute run, Brigid McSmith 26.2 tunes on 1 instrument while Steve plays 1 tune on 26 instruments. Terry Bewes 26.2 minutes of pyramid hill reps up Stowford Rise. Joe Kent and family joined in with various activities from Australia and 3 members of Sid Vale Folk joined in, Tess 26 scales in 2.6 minutes, Sue 26 sunshine songs in 26 minutes and Rita 26 of their songs.

 

Charities include Ottery Community Volunteers, Brain Tumour Research, Refuge, RAF Benevolent Fund, Samaritans, PETA, Cancer Research, St Rocco’s Hospice, Halo’s Children Foundation. Devon Wildlife trust, Force, MIND, Krabbes UK, RSPCA, Asthma UK, National Autistic Society, St Raphael’s Hospice, South West Children Hospice, Team Shelter, CRISIS, Prostate Cancer UK, Diana Brimacombe Animal Rescue Charity, Queens Nurse Institute, Fire Fighters Charity, Headway Stroke Charity, Hospice UK, Devon Partnership NHS Trust, Shelter, Sid Valley Food Bank, Women’s Aid, CRY, Devon Air Ambulance, RNLI, PHAB Children Charity, Alzheimer’s Society, BRACE, MS Society, Heart Failure Aware, Fareshare, Rethink Mental Illness, National Autistic Society, Trussell Trust.

A message from Chairman Terry Bewes. “As the very proud Chair of this great Club, the response from the members and their families, even with the short notice was nothing short of amazing. There were so many different challenges and a great deal of thought and energy was put into them, especially the children. Over 40 charities received donations from their efforts, a brilliant result, I thank then all”.

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The Grizzly – 2020 Hills Aplenty

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The Full Grizzly “Hills Aplenty”.
The 2020 Hills Aplenty, Full and Cub Grizzly got underway promptly on a bright, but blustery Sunday morning at 10am. With forty four Mighty Green Sidmouth Running Club members taking part, twenty eight doing the Full Grizzle and sixteen opting for the Cub. There were some super-fast MG runners, some not so super fast, but definitely all super. There was mud aplenty, sweat in abundance and a whiff of shear determination. All were offered a free-high-intensity-wash on the finish line, given with pleasure by our local Fire Brigade writes Hamish Spence.
   With so much rain having fallen over the whole winter, the competitors were in for a very wet and muddy event. But that has never been a problem for any Mighty Green runner, we laugh in the face of muddy events and just say “Bring it on”! However, before the mud is experienced there is a run along the beach of Seaton. This is a stoney beach and Marshalls have been known to extract any competitor not running this particular stretch! It’s then a flat run along the towns Promenade, with applause and cheering as the runners pass through the start line and head up the steep Castle Hill and onto Beer Road towards Beer. From Beer the runners go along the coastal paths to Branscombe and then it’s time for the mud, bogs, hills and then more mud…much more mud!. After finishing with this section there is another mile of stoney Branscome beach to run along and then the infamous Stairway To Heaven to climb. Before embarking on the last section of this endurance trail run there is a refreshments tent at Beer with cakes, sweats and beer on offer for the victims of Hills Aplenty. So, feeling refreshed, it was one last short push back to the finish line on Seaton seafront.
   Antony Hall was supposed to be taking this race more as a long run training session. However, his inner competitive voice spoke and told him to get a move on. In-spite of falling flat on his face in the very first river crossing, he still took three minutes off from his previous attempt. His average pace was 8:54min/miles and Antony was the first Sidmouth runner to cross the finishing line taking just 2h57m14s to complete the route. Richard Summerhayes came 131st in 3h11m14s with Tom Knight not far behind in 140th with a respectable time of 3h20m27s. Ross Walton 3h35m45s, Ronnie Masters 3h39m57, Dan Prettejohn 3h55m26, Nicola Dowsing 3h57m, Danny Painter 4h03m, Martin Trueman 4h07m, Naomi Garrick 4h19m. Running together were Charlotte 4h26m43s and Jim Forrer slightly later in 4h26m45s. Racing each other over the finish line were Simon Hollyer in 4h32m06s (765th) and Kaylee Hawkins in 4h33m52s (768th).
   Charlotte Forrer convinced Bex McDonald to ’upgrade’ from Cub to the Full Grizzly a couple of months ago. So leading up to the event, Bex began to worry about biting off more than she could chew! With the awful weather and various other commitments prior to Sunday, she had not done as many long runs recently as she’d hoped to do. However, on the day all that was forgotten, she just got going. She commented “The Grizzly was brilliant, but brutal! You have to see it to believe it in some places”. Continuing, “Trudging through thigh-high muddy gloop and up forceful streams, not to mention the rope climbing and beach sections. All very much worth the burning hamstrings during the last 10k, at which point it was time to put my head down and get back home before the rain drove in”. She was very pleased with her first attempt of 4h35m, and looks forward to coming back for more next year. She particularly gives thanks to the brilliant team for giving her the confidence to get around!
   Next to finish was Carine Silver in 4h56m. Carine found this event tough as she was behind in training. However, running with a friend who came down from Bath really helped and having her sister (from Surrey) who did a spectacular face-plant, required first aid and was possibly the muddiest person out there, lifted her spirits. They all aimed for a sub-5 hrs and succeeded. Then in came Graham Sheppard in 5h04m closely followed by Richard King 5h05m02s, Cathy Keast 5h05m04s and Monica Read in 5h05m06s. Adrian Horne arrived back in 5h10m with David Wright 5h13m27s, and Gemma Wiltshire 5h13m59s.
   Jane Hemsworth took part in The Grizzly for the first time. She thought it was about time to bite the bullet, but as someone not too keen on mud, it was probably one baptism of fire too far! She was joined by fellow Mighty Green ladies Helen Palmer, Els Laureys and Millie Frankpitt. By running together for the majority of the way, the group enjoyed a more leisurely and sociable time giving each other encouragement along the way. Speaking to many other runners from all over the UK whist negotiating the mud, they found out that for many, that it was the first Grizzly and they were in awe of our beautiful East Devon hills and coastline. There were cakes, biscuits, sweets and amazingly a beer tent at mile 18. Jane thought that she must be hallucinating, at the sight of the liquid beverages. She found that a few mouthfuls of stout at that point was like nectar! She, like others said “The conditions were naturally as tough as to be expected and the mud made the beach run seem easy”. She almost lost a trainer up in the hills when crossing the bog! She learnt her lesson and will make sure laces are tied tighter. She loved the motivational quotes on the signage boards all the way around. Jane crossed the finish line in 6h06m51s. Els and Helen were pleased with their times of 6h06m. Millie did her last full Grizzly 6 years ago and felt that this years should be renamed to 2020 Sweat, Pain & Tears A Plenty! She enjoyed the team camaraderie until mile 15 when she insisted they go on ahead without her. (they didn’t listen). After lots of internalised argument with herself she decided at Branscombe that she would pull out! But, just when she needed it, a lovely runner caught her up, realised how much she was struggling, gave her a gel and a kind pep talk about how she’d done the hard bit. The kind runner stayed with her all the way back to the finish line. Amelia crossed the line in 6h06m52s.
   Marshall support was superb and we thanked every Marshall as they stood out in rain, hail and sunshine being incredibly cheerful giving encouragement and directions. The route was exceptional (as to be expected), with the cakes, sweats and all beverages being gratefully received, definitely aiding the completion of one of the toughest races in the South West. A total of 1462 runners took part.
GRIZZLY CUB
   A very fast young Toby de Gruchy took the 1st place in the Grizzly Cub, completing the route in a very speedy 1h07m57s. This means that SRC retains this crown for the second year running. Then in 5th place was Ben Chesters with a fabulous time of 1h13m10s and not far behind Ben was Tim Dafforn. Tim felt he’d had a very good race, renaming himself as Mr Consistent for improving his three seconds faster than last year’s time. He tried very hard to keep up with Ben Chesters, but lost sight of him on the cliff path to Branscombe. Tim had a quick ‘comical’ fall near the beach and tried to save a bit back for his return trip to the finish line. He took 10th place in a time of 1h18m19s.
Greg Ward did very well coming 75th in 1h35m30s and Sue Coleman who was aiming for a sub 2 hour time, was thrilled that her impersonation of a penguin sliding down to Branscombe beach didn’t stop her quest. She arrived back in 1h45m11s. Kathrine Hall did herself proud by knocking around two and a half minutes from last years time. An extremely muddy Kat arrived back on the line in 1h47m and was immediately hosed down by the fire brigade. Really enjoying himself and showing it, was John Sharples who was 184th and took 1h51m41s. Next in were Derek Blackburn in 1h57m, Paula Farrand 2h01m36s, Sam and Nick Dicks who ran together and both arrived back in 2h01m43s. Bert Dykema did very well in his longest race for a few years arriving back in 2h11m.
   Suzi Rockey, Catherine Cruise, Sarah Burston and Terry Bewes ran as a group. Suzi who was recovering from an injury hit the pain barrier near the end, but came through with a 2h19m47 time with Catherine at 2h19m48 and Sarah Burston 2h19m54s. Terry who has done 10 full Grizzlies over the years and was glad to do the Cub managed a time of 2h19m55s. This was Julia Haddrell’s first Grizzly Cub and she found out what an energy sapping start on pebbles was like! However, not to be deterred she kept her spirits high and enjoyed the fabulous views when on the tops of the hills and grabbed a time of 2h33m46s. There were a total of 587 competitors.

Official photos can be found and purchased here:

https://events.photo-fit.com/v/photos/24903hxm/grizzly-2020

Beating the Covid Blues – 3

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Beating Those Exe to Axe Covid Blues (Part Three)
   Sunday the 5th of April 2020 and many Mighty Greens were to take part in the JP’s Exe to Axe race along the Jurassic Coastal Path from the RLNI station at Exmouth, to the Promenade of Seaton. However, the dreaded Covid Virus put an abrupt end to that writes Hamish Spence!
   Fortunately, as a population we are still allowed (at the time of writing this), to take a daily breath of fresh air and have some exercise in and around our own local areas, as long as we abide by the social distancing rules. ** (fullfact . org states… You can leave the house to exercise once a day. The government has said you should use open spaces near to your home where possible, and advised against unnecessary travel for exercise (such as driving to a national park or beauty spot). 
   This weekend (4th and 5th of April) was no different, with many Mighty Green Sidmouth Running Club members doing exactly that and they have clocked up some good mileage. So I thought I should put together a collage of an alternative version of the Exe to Axe event. None of the participants knew they would be taking part in any form of competition and therefore the rules of the “Race” were retrospectively as follows. 
  Firstly. All Social Distancing rules were observed at all times.
  2nd. Well behaved dogs were welcome. 
  3rd. No headphones were used.
  4th. There was no minimum or maximum distance to cover.
  5th. Participants could take part at any point of the weekend. 
  6th. This comes under the currant daily exercise allowance.
   Christie and Greg Ward have been ticking over on 2 or 3 runs week, so come the weekend it was inevitable that they would take off for a jaunt. They got off to a very tough start though, by heading up Milltown Lane and Salcombe Hill with the aim of re-creating the Woodland Relay. That didn’t go to plan as they both managed to miss a turning. Something else they really missed, was the fabulous cakes at the end. Both ran at a steady pace covering around 4.5 miles whereas their Whippet who joined them, went like a rocket for the duration doing approximately 22.2 miles.
   While no one was watching Danny Painter did some Strava graffiti art with a tribute to the NHS on his daily run, he also worryingly clocked 6.66 miles, how Devilish! He had an average pace of 9:02 min/miles and climbed 709ft of elevation grain.
   My running buddy for the real Exe to Axe race was Adrian Horne. He took a little outing yesterday on his own, but was really missing the club runs with all the camaraderie that goes with it. His Exe to Axe was a circuit around the very picturesque Sid Valley Ring. 14miles in 2h48m. I took myself (Hamish Spence) and my Dog (The Spanner) to complete a job in a customers garden. After which we both ran circuits around the garden. I have no idea how many times we ran around that garden as dizziness had set in halfway around, but I clocked up 2.8 miles and The Spanner I’m guessing about 4.5 miles. There were no jelly babies, the route was not Marshalled and we didn’t see any fellow runners. However, it was such a beautiful afternoon with wall to wall sunshine. The birds were singing for Queen and Country, bumble bees and butterflies were out in force and there was some rather sweet smelling blossom.
   Jo Earlam, like many, many people right now, is finding it hard to keep motivated to run. Missing the company or the goal of an event to look forward to. She, like others is finding mental energy is at full stretch! However, she has decided in the meantime to start using her walking poles and stride it out. Doing an average of 15 min/miles even off road and uphill.
Also walking was a chilled Nick Jennings, except for one spurt of speed up Filcombe Hill where he achieved a personal best time. Out for 2h09m completing 4.6 miles with a very relaxed over-all pace of 28:06min/miles.
John Chesters made the most of the sunny day with a 7+ mile round trip from Ottery to Tipton via Knightstone and Lancercombe and back along the river. His only company a Kingfisher and some ducks. Time keeping was good with 1h36 on the clock. 
 

Terry Bewes chilling out at the Fire Beacon Trig point

Terry Bewes chose Sunday to participate. He opted for running up onto two of the Sidmouth trigs on his route, Buckton Trig and Fire Beacon Trig. He set off from Stowford Rise and along the main road to Sidford, passing the Blue Ball Inn where he turned into Harcombe Lane to Snodbrook Cross. Then followed the lane passing Boswell Farm up to Knowle House and on into Harcombe. From there he followed the path up the field into Buckton Wood and up to Buckton Trig Point. Carrying on across the top of the hill he then followed the East Devon Way down into Sidbury to make the steady climb up through fields and lanes to White Cross. He continued on the East Devon Way along the top and through the woods were possible onto the Fire Beacon Hill Trig Point. He then dropped down through Harpford Common and Woods to Stowford Cross. It was then back home. With an elevation gain of 1375 feet, he completed his 9 mile run in 2h02m. He said “I really enjoyed running on my own as I had no rush on me. I could take time out to not only enjoy the fantastic views but to sit, close my eyes and listen to what was going on around me, something you cannot do running in a group. It was a great experience and I would recommend it the next time you run on your own or with a likeminded friend”. Terry almost bumped into Ben Chesters at the bottom of Greenway lane on his way home after a 10km run up and over Mutters Moor out to the Coastal Path. Ben had a bit of a surprise while going slightly off-piste and following animal tracks. He passed a naturist taking full advantage of the sun.

Emma Grainger and Luna having a break at Escot before heading back home

Emma Grainger took her faithful hound Luna for a cannie-cross session from Ottery to Escot and back. Amazing how fast Emma runs when attached to her dog, who was training who? Derek Blackburn did his usual round trip route, but in reverse just to shake things up a bit. He made great time covering the 6.9 miles in 1h06m. Back from injury was Cathy Miller, who sprinted at an average pace of 9:08min/miles on a 3.5 mile route down the Byes, along the seafront, zig-zagging her way back home all in 31m38s. Sue Coleman started and finishing at the Ottery River bridge. She followed the River Otter down to Tipton and then headed back along the road passing Fluxton and Salston. She took 56m16s to run the 5.8 mile route.

   Well done to all who managed to take their daily dose of exercise, the results are as follows. In 1st place was The Ward Whippet for outstanding pace. 2nd was Danny Painter for his Strava art and joint 3rd, Ben Chesters and Terry Bewes for their quick thinking collision prevention skills. The Spanner and Luna share the wooden spoon. Luna for being patient and running while still attached to Emma and The Spanner for getting distracted when losing her ball. 

Beating the Covid Blues -2

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Derek Blackburn taking a breather and enjoying the sunshine outside the Sidbury Church half way around on his once-a-day daily run.

Beating The Corvid Blues (part two).

   So, it’s been another week of keeping the Mighty Green fitness levels up, observing social distancing and keeping the Corvid Blues at bay writes Hamish Spence. 
   Before Corvid came along I had set myself a realistic target of running 1000 miles over the whole year and more if possible. I happened to mention this to fellow SRC member and Alphabet Parkrun addict David Skinner. Now he too is taking up this 1000+ mile challenge. David recently completed his 150th Parkrun and is now having Parkrun withdrawal syndrome! Parkrun is for obvious reasons canceled until further notice, but David is making use of his daily, one outside exercise period allowance, to run around the lanes of Newton Poppleford where he lives. Unlike myself he is using metric distances and so his target is actually 1609km over the year. Like me he started on January 1st and has so far have covered 397.7km. (He needs to average 31km a week). He admits to wanting to give it a miss on some days, however his wife sends him off out, reminding him that it is also good for his mental health and that he’d regret not keeping on schedule. David fully blames me for his decision to take on this challenge and I’m very chuffed to be blamed. Glad to be of service David. Are any other SRC members picking up this 1000+ mile gauntlet?
   The Baker household has set up their own fitness studio. Kyle Baker’s Photography Studio is now The Baker Keep-fit Space. Kyle has set up some weights and follows Joe Wicks on YouTube. The family all follow LC Fitness and JM Dance. Alexa does a bit of Zumba and Fitsteps. All are managing a daily run at some point during the day. 
   Karen Farnham took herself off for an early Sunday morning 9 mile run up Buckton Hill and along the East Devon Way. Then on through Sidbury to East Hill Strips and onto Fire Beacon. She made a quick visit to the trig point and admired the view, before descending back down into Sidmouth. She was accompanied by her running buddy. Having not seen her running buddy for quite sometime (about 6 months), it was good to have her Shadow back. Shadow runs at exactly the same pace and really doesn’t mind where Karen goes. Shadow doesn’t talk and never complains about the hills. However, Shadow does need to understand a bit more about the 2 meter social distancing rule! 
   Paul Mitchel tries hard to find reasons not to do too much DIY every day while we are on this lock-down and one of the best reasons was found online. A great workout via Face Book led by Honiton runner Paula Ferris. There is a link to her web page which has sample stretch exercises. It’s then off for a daily single run, rounded off with a session of hill reps…he has to do this really as he lives at the top of a hill.

Beating the Covid Blues – 1

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Kyle Baker and Nikita Kay following LC Fitness live and on-line

The Sidmouth Running Club successfully held its’ AGM on the 19th of March. It was held as an outdoors meeting and in the unusual but original venue of the Manor Road car park. Why did ChairmanTerry Bewes think that the long stay carpark would be necessary? We do not generally take very long do we? Anyway, a record breaking 3 minutes was all it took to get the AGM done and everyone in attendance managed a 2 meter social gap. Terry thanked everyone who attended the make-shift meeting announcing a record year for membership numbers. More Mighty Greens are entering races and the Junior section was now up and running with Kerry Boyle and Claire Ashby heading it up. He thanked the Committee for all their time and efforts over the year, along with the brilliant coaches and leaders. He also acknowledged the club membership as a whole who all make our club such a joy to lead. He finished off by stating,“We will be back after the current storm has passed, and back with a bang”.
   With the current circumstances under the shadow of Corvid19 it was decided over the last week, that formal club nights would have to cease. Then, over the course of this weekend, with ever changing situations, another tough decision was also made. It is with regret that it would be irresponsible to start the informal runs on a Monday and Wednesday evenings from Port Royal, so until further notice the club will not be organising any formal or informal meet-ups, this is within the guidelines of the ever changing situation.
   For myself and many others across the whole world, running has been the route to get back fitness levels, both physically and mentally. Running with a club has enabled me and helped with self confidence and self belief. I’ve made good friends, enjoyed long chats while not noticing how many miles are being covered, so the club nights will be sorely missed. However, seeing what’s occurring around the planet right now is very scary. I have to say this virus shocked me! So I’ve decided to hold off from running for now! But only for now. All things being equal, I will be back building up my distances again and in the not too far off future. In the mean time, I know there is plenty of exercise that can be done from inside your own home or in your back garden. There is so much out there, particularly now with the internet, YouTube is brimming with fitness training footage, ideas and encouragement. A great example of this was Kyle Baker and Nikita Kay who joined in online with LC Fitness to help keep their fitness levels up. This was a free, 20 minute session last Saturday morning, which coincidently started at the same time as Parkrun would have got going in normal circumstances.