Woodbury Common

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

 

Brecon to Cardiff

Brecon To Cardiff Ultra
  Jessica Raynor took part in the Brecon To Cardiff Ultra on Sunday the 10th of February. This 70k race started at 08:00 from the town of Brecon in the beautiful Brecon Beacons National Park. Following the River Taff down steam, the route journeys along The River Taff and makes use of the abandoned branch of The Taff Vale Railway and The Glamorganshire Canal. It utilises footpaths, forestry trails and cycle routes. Passing mountains, waterfalls, reservoirs and many reminders of the Welsh industrial heritage. 
  It was really well organised and marked out for a long distance 70k race, with better than forecasted weather for the competitors. Jess managed to find a steady 8.48 min/mile pace and ran with a chap from the 30k point until around the 60k mark, helping them both stay sane. She enjoyed the amazing views and felt it was a good course. Jessica was also happy with her place and time, claiming 2nd lady in a time of 6h.24m36s and a fantastic16th place overall out of 377.

Exmouth Express

The Exmouth Express 5.
The Exmouth Express 5 took place on Sunday 3rd February. The event was organised by Exmouth Harriers Amateur Athletic Club and sponsored by Climb South West. With a cold but sunny morning at 10am, 11 Mighty Greens got off to a fabulous start from The Strand with a loop around The Parade, then twice along the Esplanade and twice along Rolle Road.
Antony Hall did extremely well considering he has been out of action due to an ongoing injury. Dispute a twinge all the way around, he kept an average pace of 6.14 minute/miles, crossing the line in 36th place in a time of 31m40s. Antony was the first SRC runner over the finish line. David King was next, claiming the 100th slot in a time of 36m12s. Then, in 153rd was Tim Swarbrick who completed the route in 40m13s. Hot on Tim’s heals in 160th was Steve Saunders, with a time of 40m48s. John Sharples, who had his family cheering him on from various points around the course, made it back in 210th place in 44m31s. Cheryl Boulton was very pleased with her 9.15 minute/mile pace and finishing time of 47m13s which gave her 245th over all. However, John Doherty almost pipped Cheryl to the post, with just 4 seconds between them. John was in 247th with a time of 47m17s. Not far behind Cheryl and John was Carolyn Sinclair in 255th in 47m48s.
Jodie Hawkins anticipated the route would be easier than it turned out to be and felt that perhaps complacency had set in with training. However, in front of two very supportive families (her own and some MGs) she achieved a good time of 49m39s and took 265th. Emma Grainger found the route a challenge, but with the sun out the town looked cheerful and the slight hill down Rolle Road was a very welcomed section. This helped to keep her spirits up both times around, so much so, that she managed another 1st in the FV65, that’s 2 out of 2 this year. Emma came in 288th in 53m14s. Sweeping up and refusing to be beaten was Mighty Green, Sue Cunningham in 298th place in 55m40s.