Also supported by
Held under Association of Running Clubs rules, permit number ARC 10/06.
Even if you don't read all of this please at least scan it for the most important stuff in bold.
There are maps of both the town and the course below.
Also supported by
The Grizzly beckons | Beckon the Grizzly | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Race HQ will be at Seaton Town Hall in Fore Street which will be open Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 9-4. It will be home to the info desk and the Ironbridge Runner & Saucony shops. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| If you've bought, begged, borrowed or stolen someone else's number you must let us know, ideally in advance, and change the emergency info on the reverse as appropriate. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number changes before the weekend to John Burgess (01404 42341 / 33 Church Hill, Honiton EX14 2DB) or on the info desk. All other enquiries to Garry Perratt (LMRB) (01297 34604). (AVR email addresses are Firstname.Lastname at AxeValleyRunners dot org dot uk.) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sorry, there will be no Hole-Axe Challenge this year - it's not worth it for the very limited participation. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Collect Saucony spot prizes from Race HQ any time over the weekend. These will be vouchers worth up to £100 redeemable only at the running shops at Race HQ over the weekend. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Anyone still looking for somewhere to stay should check out our accommodation page. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Any lost property to the info desk, please. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seaton police cadets will be selling teas at Race HQ all weekend. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medical cover will be provided by St. John Ambulance and a GP, comms by Raynet, beach patrol by Supacat.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pre-race | Race prep | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parking is free on Sunday for Grizzly competitors in East Devon District Council's car parks - that's the big one on the east side of the Underfleet by the tramway and Orchard off Beer Road but not the Co-op or private ones on the west side of the Underfleet. We will also have free parking on the Esplanade (but only east of Beach Road - see map), in the Riverside Industrial Units and at St. Clare's College. Please follow parking marshals' instructions to help us get everyone parked up as quickly as possible and car share if you can. Overflow parking on the east side of Axmouth road alongside the river if necessary but take care there. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Baggage storage will once again be at The Grove nightclub - see map. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pin, staple, glue or nail your number to your front - vest, shirt, shorts or nipples. (Yes, the latter has been done.) Rambo can shave his chest hair into the appropriate shape. Ensure that the reverse has been completed appropriately for whoever is running with it and "X" the box on the front if you include medical info. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dress for the occasion. You could encounter surfaces from unyielding tarmac to very yielding mud and water. The weather can range from warm sun to driving sleet.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The race | It's showtime! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This is a tough event with rough terrain so you should run only if you are physically and medically fit to do so. Both of the races will be hilly and include rough ground, much of it steep, slippery or both, and some of it exposed to the elements. The terrain will include roads, tracks (some very stony), paths, shingle beach, fields, woodland, bog and other surfaces. Runners have been up to their waist in mud and water (we're not kidding). The Grizzly is likely to take nearly as long as a marathon. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Be nice to the marshals since they're giving up their own time so you can enjoy the Grizzly experience. Keep to the marked route, especially where it goes around field edges, since many of them are not public rights of way and we are dependent upon the goodwill of local landowners for access. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Please do not pee in front of members of the public! We have received a number of complaints about this and it doesn't reflect well upon the club, the race or runners in general. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Please do not drop litter - hang on to your gel sachets. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No dogs, on pain of disqualification. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| If you would like to remember someone, something or a special occasion at the memorial sculpture then please bring along a ribbon and tie it to the memorial as you pass. We may or may not be able to provide a small supply ourselves. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dirty photos will once again be provided by James Pyne Photography (01395 567709) so don't forget to smile for the cameras. If you don't want him and his merry (wo)men to photo you then put the "No photos" sticker from his flier over the "Photo me" box on your number. We are aware that other organisations have offered Grizzly photos for sale online but JPP has donated thousands of pounds over the years to the Grizzly charity pot and is our only authorised photography outfit.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The course | The curse | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Grizzly will start near the western end of the Esplanade with the Cub Run merging in from the beach. The Grizzly will be 20 miles and the Cub Run 9 miles. The course is on MapMyRun. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| There will be seven water stations on the Grizzly and three on the Cub Run. Later ones will have some jelly babies for those who are in need of a sugar boost but you will have to ask for them. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The route varies from year to year and sometimes more frequently following shipwrecks, landslips, mudslides, flooding and personal whim but if you follow the tape, arrows and marshals you should end up back in Seaton sooner or later. Do not use any part of the course at other times unless it is a public right of way. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| There will be some constrictions and you may be held briefly at road crossings to ease the flow of traffic. If there is a queue please be patient. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Cub split will be at Branscombe Mouth. Anyone who switches from the Grizzly to the Cub Run en route will have their numbers marked and should appear in the Cub results but no guarantees. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| There will be a number of Grizzly shortcut/cut-off points; any runners more than a certain time behind the one in front, or appearing to struggle with the course, may be pulled from the race. Shortcutting will be an option at the first few such points to give slower runners a chance to get back on track. The times will be proportional to the distance around the course, equivalent to 10-15 mins by the finish. Please respect the decision of backmarkers or marshals who pull or shortcut runners - it's not an easy call to make but there are limits to how long marshals can be expected to stand around. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No dogs are permitted on the course. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Post-raceRace to the postThere should be bins at the finish to receive rubbish for recycling - card, glass, cans, plastics.
| There will be no hosedown service since we've learnt that taking such large quantities of water from the standpipe affects local residents' supply but the sea's only a short stagger away.
| T-shirts and various edible goodies can be collected past the finish line as usual - flapjacks from Honeybuns, recovery milkshake from For Goodness Shakes and Fairtrade bananas from Tesco. Ironbridge Runner and Saucony will also be sponsoring a couple of barrels of local ale in the town hall for post-race celebration or commiseration as appropriate (and don't forget the teas, courtesy of the police cadets).
| Results will be posted in the town hall, possibly at the finish if dry and should be on our website by early evening. For a paper copy please ask at the info desk.
| Trophies, handcrafted by Big Dave Braunton of Quicks Engineering, will awarded in real time at the finish after each prizewinner crosses the line: Grizzly - first three male & female, Cub Run - first male & female 17
| Leg massage will be available upstairs at Race HQ in exchange for a small donation in aid of a charity to be decided.
| SpectatorsSpectaclesThe start and finish can be viewed from the Esplanade or on top of the Moridunum. The race does an initial loop via the beach and Esplanade before heading over to Beer via Castle Hill.
| At Beer you can view the outbound runners at Peco and return only from Beer Head car park or near the Anchor Inn on the sea front.
| The Sea Shanty at Branscombe Mouth is a good viewing place out and back (there are paying car parks there and in Branscombe village, about a mile's walk inland). Much of the middle part of the course is on private land, inaccessible to spectators.
| The bogs are on private ground.
| There will be the usual festivities at the Fountain Head pub in Branscombe but limited parking.
| Allow plenty of time to drive anywhere around the course since the roads are very narrow and become congested, particularly where the race route crosses them.
| What's Where?Where's What? Race HQ - Seaton Town Hall - info desk, shops, massage. Parking - Where I've P'ed on the map. (Those which are not free to Grizzly runners are not shown.) Please follow marshals' instructions so that our cunning plan can be implemented and everyone get safely parked. (It's so cunning that it's not even telling us what it is.) Start and finish - The Esplanade - just keep heading south until you get wet then swim left or right towards a large crowd of people, emerge and crawl up the beach. WC - Where you will want to P. Bags - The Grove nightclub. And finally ...Ad infinitumRemember that many thanks are due to the sponsors, landowners and support crew.
| There will be no major charitable beneficiary this year, our intention being to hold the money from the next few years' races for a proposed sporting and youth facility in Seaton.
| Sponsors: Saucony -
Everys solicitors -
Honeybuns -
For Goodness Shakes -
Ironbridge Runner -
James Pyne Photography -
East Devon District Council -
Seaton Tramway -
RBS Scaffolding -
Frydays chippy -
The Sweetshop, Axminster -
The Grove nightclub, Seaton -
The Sellicks, Branscombe Mouth.
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
