ColyTEN – a roaring success

The winners were definitely the organisers at the inaugural ColyTEN on Sunday, a 10-mile trail race put on by Axe Valley Runners in conjunction with Colyton Football Club and Colyton Youth Football.  It was a crisp sunny Autumn day, making perfect running conditions for the near 300 runners taking part.  The race had sold out a few days before which was testament to the hard work of the team from AVR preparing and promoting the event.

The race started and finished at Colyton Football Club taking in the beautiful River Coly valley and some steep inclines in and around MorganHayes woods.  Special mentions must go to Rob Collier, Karen Eyre and Sam Halls for all their organisation, route planning and corordination as well as all the volunteers that made the event possible.  AVR hope it will become an annual event.

In first place on the day was Samuel Kelly from Exmouth Harriers in 1:01.22.  Second was AVR’s Matt Clist in 1:05.48, also first M40.  First female was Kirsteen Welsh in 1:10.45 with Debbie Whiston second in 1:17.25, also first F40 followed by Emilie Brock, 1:20.16, second F40.

Prizes of hampers were donated by Ganesha Wholefoods of Axminster who also made a donation to Devon Air Ambulance.

Other category winners for AVR were: Sue Hayes, first F45 in 1:27.33; Eleanor Wood, first F65 in 1:31.55; Andy West, first M65 in 1:33.20 and Dawn Carrah, first F60 in 1:43.38.

Full results are here:

Sun shone in Southsea

Five AVRs headed over to Hampshire to take part in this year’s AJ Bell Great South Run, a ten-mile fast and flat course around the Portsmouth and Southsea peninsula taking in the historic docks including HMS Victory, Southsea Castle and glorious sea views.  Conditions were race perfect after a chilly start to the day.

First AVR home was Matt Frost in 215th in 1:00.49 with Simon Dimmock in 1:11.00, 977th.

Next was Carol Austin in 1:17.47 (2088th), fourth F60 with Laura Kerr just behind in 2465th in 1:19.21 and Angela Kerr in 5592nd in 1:30.29, 13th F65.

More than 20,000 took part in the race, which also saw Jake Smith’s return to racing after injury.  He came in eighth place in 48:30, delighted with his time after more than a year out of action.

Bath Half

It was perfect weather also in Bath for the half-marathon which attracted a very fast field among the 9000 runners.  First AVR home in an impressive 73rd place was Jack Broom in 1:14:59 followed not far behind by Duncan Staddon in 1:16:27 which was an excellent seventh MV45.

Ron Seward finished in 1891st  in 1:47:51, a brilliant sixth MV70.  He described the finish this year as having “excluded the north face of the Eiger, but instead had a more gentle but very tortuous climb for over one km. Just what’s needed at the end of a half marathon!”.  Julia Conway completed the AVR contingent finishing in 2:05.35.

Outstanding Ultras

On Saturday Louise Rawlins and Kathryn Thompson completed the 50k Race to the Sea which takes runners from Moors Valley Country Park to Bournemouth seafront following the Castleman Trailway through forest trails then the glorious coastal path into Bournemouth. With more than 400 taking part on the flat and scenic route, Louise finished in  294th in 6:24.55 while Kathryn was 402nd in 7:39.07.

Further afield Ragnhild Richards took part in the Cappadocia Ultra trail 63km for the second time.  It is an amazing race with 2000m+ ascent and very technical terrain. She was delighted to knock off 28 minutes on her time from two years ago to finish in 11 hrs 17, third in the 60+ age group.

Seaton parkrun

With so many AVRs racing on Sunday many took to supporting parkrun through volunteering this Saturday.  Second female finisher was Karen Eyre in 22:34 who took some time off from her mammoth ColyTEN organising duties.  Second male finisher was Luke Reed in 17:41 with Simon Dimmock third finisher in 20:51.

On the tourist trail, Cliff Marriott and Pam Goddard completed Clapham Common parkrun while Tony Smith and Sam Miller completed their Scandi tour with Lovisten parkrun in Bergen, a spectacular course high above the beautiful city.

Ten stars for AVR at the Templer 10

AVR scooped ten prizes at the Templer 10, the last event in AVR’s new annual challenge meaning a good turnout as runners tried to secure points from the multi-terrain race organised by Teignbridge Trotters.

The race started and finished at Stover School, Newton Abbott with competitors running through the picturesque Stover Country Park and the fields of Teigngrace enjoying the unseasonably warm weather.

First home to take the crown was AVR’s Joel Seward in 1.00.11 with Duncan Staddon taking second place in 1:01.43, also first M45.  With Rich Hardy in fourth in 1:03.37, first M40 and Tim Lenton in sixth, 1:04.53, first M50 it was not surprising that the AVR men also took first prize in the Male team category.  Other male prize winners for AVR were Rupert Pady, 20th in 1:12.06, second M50 and Ron Seward, 79th and first M70 in 1:26.52.

On the female side, Eleanor Wood was 11th female in 1:20.22 and first F65; Kerry Board, struggling with a bad cold, 13th female in 1:21.10; Karen Eyre, 16th female and second F50 in 1:23.39 and Adele Girdwood, 44th female and third F55 in 1:38.03.  These four taking the second prize for female team.

Other AVR finishers were Lee Moran, 1:10.51; Ian Kinnersley, 1:19.21; Haydn Boehm, 1:19.52; Darrell Farley, 1:32.00; and Katharine Moran, 1:44.31.  Almost 200 completed the race which is also part of the In-Step Devon.

 England take the win in Chester

Angela Kerr completed the Chester marathon running as part of the England Masters team in her fourth appearance in the England vest finishing seventh F65 in 4:42.05.  More than 3000 completed the marathon with the England Masters beating Wales Masters as part of the event.

 

Balmy Bournemouth

Jacqui Stokes ran the Bournemouth half marathon, part of the Run Bournemouth Running Festival. In very hot conditions she was thrilled to run a PB of 2:00:41 finishing 1037th

At the same festival Cliff Marriott took part in both the 5k on Saturday evening and the 10k on Sunday morning taking in both Boscombe and Bournemouth piers.  Cliff also squeezed in Bournemouth parkrun and somehow managed a visit to the pub in between!  In the 10k he was 424th, in 56.15 while in the 5k he was 162nd in 27.18.

A Right Royal PB

David Cull ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon which takes in four of the eight Royal parks in the capital; Hyde Park, Green Park, St James’s Park and Kensington Gardens.

It was a beautiful sunny day for the near 16000 runners but fortunately not too warm early on with great support on the streets and in the parks.  David was very pleased to finish in 1:24:11, 139th place taking a huge three and half minute off his PB.

Pacers day at Seaton parkrun

It was quiet day for AVR at Seaton parkrun although the sun shone and 250+ parkrunners including many visitors enjoyed the event.  AVR did provide most of the pacers helping a good few to PBs so big thanks to Keith Agland, Haydn Boehm, Lindsey Freathy, Simon Freathy, Tim Sibley and Vicki Wraight.  Well done to Dave Hutton who secured a PB in 23.46.

Tony Smith and Sam Miller continued their Scandi tour with a visit to Tokoinranta parkrun in Helsinki.

Kevin Feeney completed Flatts Lane parkrun on Teeside which, despite its name, is definitely not flat!  Jon Day visited Weymouth parkrun.

Due to the ColyTEN next weekend a reminder that there is no Stopline Way Junior parkrun on Sunday 15th October.

World Class in Riga

Tony Smith and Sam Miller travelled to Riga in Latvia for the first ever World Athletics Road Running Championships.  Due to injury, their son Jake Smith wasn’t competing so it was their turn to take centre stage participating in the mass half marathon race.  An impressive 13000 runners took part in the mass race from more than 100 countries, starting just behind the elite race.

The course featured most of Riga’s central landmarks; with the start and finish using the Gate to Old Riga adjacent to the main river Daugava. Criss-crossing the river on a predominantly flat course, the runners returned to Old Riga over Vanšu bridge offering a spectacular panorama of the city.

Tony finished an excellent 390th, 11th M55 in his best time for many years in 1:33.44 whilst Sam was also pleased with her 2:14.48 finish in 563rd, 15th F55.

Mud, mud glorious mud

The Honiton Hippo was once again full of mud, sweat and tears but with lots of fun and opportunities to wash up in the River Otter.  Thirteen AVRs joined the 150+runners in the 7 mile multi-terrain run.

Eleanor Wood was first AVR home in 1:09.07, in 28th, fifth female and first F55.  Andy West was next AVR in 1:11.51, third M60.  Sid Heaslip followed in 57th, 1:18.26 with Dawn Carrah in 1:20.40.  Full results are here.

Cardiff half

Vicki Wraight, Susan Wall and Laura Kerr popped over the border to take part in the Cardiff half-marathon in Wales, one of the country’s fastest half marathons; well-organised and with a great atmosphere at start and finish.  Despite an ongoing ankle injury Laura finished in an excellent 1:51.43, 697th female.  Susan and Vicki ran together finishing in 2:40.24; Susan was 135th F60.  More than 20,000 runners completed the 13.1 mile race.

Green success for Innes

Congratulations to Innes Fitzgerald who has won the BBC Young Athlete of the Year at the Green Sports Awards 2023.  Details here

50 not out!

SLW celebrates their birthday and other parkrun news

Stopline Way Junior parkrun celebrated its 50th run and first birthday in style at Axminster Town FC last Sunday.

Runners, their families, and volunteers enjoyed a fabulous postrun Stopline Way Junior parkrun celebration cake made by Kristina West (Knapp Cottage Cakes) and delicious vegan treats made by volunteer Wendy le Masurier.

Since the start a year ago the event has welcomed 197 junior parkrunners who have completed 857 Stopline Way Junior parkruns between them. The core team comprises about 20 volunteers, many of whom are AVR members, with 82 people having volunteered in total.

Here’s to the next 50!

At Seaton parkrun on Saturday Kerry Board was first female finisher in 22.23.  Both Matt Clist, second finisher and Ritchie Durrant, in third, nabbed PBs in 16.37 and 16.41, respectively with Matt also first on age-grade in 84%.

There were PBs too for Paul Johns in 21.21, Baz Chandra in 27.07 and Georgie Ryan in 30.14.

Congratulations to Viv Blumfield who celebrated her 50th volunteer milestone.

In Cardiff it was wonderful to see Jake Smith on the comeback trail with a 14.44 first finisher placing!  Also in Wales, Carolyn Nation secured her D at Dolgellau parkrun.  Meanwhile, taking advantage of the good conditions in Exmouth, Carol Austin secured her best ever age-grade of 83% for her 23.09 while Stuart Olliver finished in 29.19.

And finally… over on the darkside!

It was a fantastic performance for Emilie Brock at the Thruxton Duathlon on Sunday where she secured a GB Age Group Team Qualifier position with second place in the F40 and tenth overall in the Run-Bike-Run event.

Luke Reed is on tenter hooks to see if his fourth place is enough to qualify but a week after representing GB in this year’s European triathlon it is very impressive.

Not content with running Berlin marathon last week, Haydn Boehm also took part finishing 18th in his age category.  Like running the strength is in depth at tri and duathlon age groups events gets stronger every year.

Triple AVR success in Berlin

Three AVRs were successful in securing places at the prestigious BMW Berlin marathon this year and all put in tremendous performances.  The race, known for its fast and flat course, saw Ethiopia’s Tigsy Assefa smash the women’s marathon world record in a brilliant 2:11.53 and the double Olympic champion, Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge won the men’s race for a record fifth time in 2:02.42.  British Olympic hopeful, Charlotte Purdue leapt to second in the UK all-time rankings with her ninth place, 2:22.17

For the AVRs first home was Rob Collier in a very impressive 2:53.14, 1803rd male overall and 84th M50.  Haydn Boehm had his taper interrupted battling a virus but still finished with a shiny marathon PB in 3:43.05, male 11206th .  Meanwhile Angela Kerr was running an incredible 50th marathon finishing 8681st, female an excellent 46th F65 in 4:42.27.

More than 40,000 completed the race which also saw former AVR, Graham Newton run a very impressive 3:50.03 to take tenth M70 place.

Exmouth 10k

Bob Carter took the short trip to Exmouth for the Bradley’s 10k, a fast and flat two-lap race on the Esplanade.  He was pleased with his 58.25 finish 152nd place given the wild and windy conditions on Sunday. More than 250 took part this year.

Marazion 10k

Cliff Marriott, Derek Blumfield, John Hocking and Iain Westworth ran the Marazion 10k in Cornwall on Sunday afternoon.  It is a flattish course, described by the organisers wonderfully as a “one loop, left turn race with 131m of elevation, which is basically Cornish flat with a bit of hill near the finish.”

Clearly the route suited Iain who nabbed a PB finishing in 54.06, 125th.  First AVR home was John in 104th place in 52.40;  Cliff was 141st in 55.41; and Derek, back after a long injury lay-off, was 270th in 1:07.22. More than 300 took part on Sunday.  Sadly Viv Blumfield was a DNS due to a knee injury.

Seaton parkrun

It was another successful parkrun for AVR at Seaton with Matt Clist, enjoying his first ever parkrun, coming in first finisher in 16.50 pipping Joel Seward who was second in 17.05.  Debbie Whiston was first female in 19.51 and it was a clean sweep for AVR on the age-graded top three with Eleanor Wood with an amazing 90% for her 23.12 followed by Matt Clist, 83% and Debbie Whiston, 80%.

Conditions were excellent on Saturday and Mark Day, 24.14; Andy Broom, 25.11 and Jo Orsman, 26.44 all made the most of it with shiny new PBs.

Co-event director, Carol Austin reached her 250th volunteer milestone.

On the tourism front, Tony Smith and Sam Miller ran Poznan parkrun in Poland while Kristian Mears took part in Farfelle parkrun in Italy.  Tim Sibley completed Maesteg in Wales with  David and Paula Cooke taking the crown for furthest parkrun this week running Okanagan parkrun in Canada.  Other AVRs on the road can be found here:

 

 

Yeovilton – final summer hoorah

There was a good showing of AVRs at the final event of the Yeovilton Summer 5k Series held on Wednesday with the team sweeping the board in the M40 category.  First AVR home, in ninth overall, was Duncan Staddon in 16.37 and first M40.  Second M40, 13th overall, was Matt Orsman in 16.54 with third M40, Richard Hardy, 18th overall in 17.15.  Joel Seward, on the comeback trail after a cricket induced break, was 12th finisher in 16.49.  Rob Collier was an impressive 27th, second M50 in 17.48.  Matt Frost, recovering from the Great North Run, was 29th in 17.58 with David Cull taking fourth M40 in 18.04, 33rd overall.  Adrian Strawbridge was delighted with a PB of 19.54.  Rupert Pady was 78th in 21.07.

On the women’s side, Karen Eyre was 26th female in 22.08 with Suzi Blackett 30th for her impressive PB of 23.10.

Glastonbury: but not as you know it!

Five AVRs  ventured into Somerset for the Glastonbury Levels 10k and 10 mile races on a very wet Sunday.  Both races share the same, flat, fast course around, but not up, the famous Glastonbury Tor.

Joel Seward chose the longer option coming an excellent third place in 59:51.  Ian Kinnersley was 15th in the 10 mile event, scooping first M60.  There were 50 finishers in the 10 mile race with just over a 100 taking the shorter, 10k option.

In the 10k Adrian Strawbridge was 29th in 43.58, running on tired legs after the Yeovilton 5k. Louise Rawlins was delighted to improve on last year’s time finishing just shy of her PB  in 55.18, 72nd place, but with still enough energy to jump into one of the many puddles following the biblical rainstorm!  Ron Seward was 38th in a great time of 46.39, second M70.

Chippenham Half

Tom Parsons completed the Chippenham Half Marathon in 1:53.15, a time he was very happy with after a post-Jurassic Ultra injury and reduced training while travelling around Europe!
He describes it as a great flat course perfect for a PB in the future. And the biblical rain didn’t reach Wiltshire until the early afternoon, so running conditions were perfect!  One for the future, AVRs!

 

Seaton parkrun

It was a damp morning on Saturday but the very heavy rain held off as just over 200 parkrunners enjoyed the best possible start to the weekend.  First female finisher was Debbie Whiston in 20.47 with Luke Reed third overall in 18.21.  First on age grade was Eleanor Wood with a huge 88% for her 23.32 finish.  There were PBs for Andy Broom in 26.06 and Jason Hill in 34.24.  Susan Wall celebrated her 50 parkrun milestone.

On the roads, Simon and Bec Davey completed Ashton Court parkrun; Kevin Feeney and Sarah Shepley secured their ‘E’ and a great day out at the Eden Project parkrun; Tim and Amie Sibley ran Fell Foot parkrun while in the Lake District; Mark Spraggs did Penrose parkrun in Cornwall; and Tony Smith and Sam Miller visited South Norwood parkrun in London, one towards the ‘Compass club’!

Red Arrows, Mo and Matt!

After a few weeks without much racing the action came thick and fast this weekend.

Matt Frost travelled up to his homeland in the north-east on Sunday to join the 60,000+ runners of the Great North Run.  The half marathon, which starts in Newcastle and finishes in South Shields, is the biggest and most famous of the Great Run series and, on Sunday, Mo Farah chose it as his final (final) retirement event.  It also includes, weather permitting, a spectacular display from the famous Red Arrows.

The race was won by Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola in 59:50 with Mo Farah finishing fourth.  Just behind them 544thplace was Matt Frost in an impressive 1:27.16.  He said he found it tough but the highlight was a ‘high five’ from Newcastle manager, and race starter, Eddie Howe.

AVR women centre-stage in Somerset

Starting at Taunton racecourse, the Blackdown Half- Marathon was mainly trail with some quiet country roads and plenty of challenging climbs, including up to the highest point in the Blackdown Hills. On Sunday runners faced first thunderstorms then heat and humidity during the event, which was actually closer to 14 miles!

It was an all-female contingent for AVR on Sunday with first AVR home Kerry Board in a brilliant 2.03.07 to take second female and 25th overall. Dawn Currah finished in an impressive 2.23.13, first F60.  Ragnhild Richards finished in 2.35.13; Kelly Giles in 2.37.21; and Rachel Hiscock in 3.08.38.

 

New Forest Half

Mark Spraggs headed over to the New Forest for the Garmin organised half-marathon.  A stunning multi-terrain course running through the heart of the New Forest with a blend of forest enclosures, open roads, far reaching views and of course, the famous New Forest Ponies.  With more than 1100 finishers, Mark finished in an impressive 200th place in 1:47.54 on the fast, flat course.

Bosun and CapTEN

The capTEN and its partner the Bosun are run over the glorious Golden Cap in Dorset.  The capTEN is actually now 11 miles with the organisers generously adding an extra mile to take in both Golden Cap and Thorncombe Beacon, the crown jewels of the Jurassic Course, over the two-lap course.

Eleanor Wood was first F60 and an excellent 13th overall, from 43 finishers, in 2:17.25 run in the soaring September temperatures and over the tough course with more than 3200 feet of elevation, equivalent to climbing Scafell Pike!

The Bosun is the one-lap, 5.5 mile race, still challenging with 1500 feet of elevation.  Kevin Feeney was sixth MV60 and 33rd overall finishing in 1:17.11 with 61 completing the race.

Wye Valley Half

Last Saturday Julia Teague took part in the Wye Valley Half Trail Race. The race was 14 miles, so just over a half marathon, with plenty of challenging elevation.  Starting from Chepstow Racecourse with 200 runners, the route was stunning, crossing from England into Wales and back again, some technical parts, some woodland, some field, passing through picturesque villages, and even went through a cave!  In Julia’s view there was never a dull moment, it was a super friendly event with a really lovely medal and goodie-bag and one she recommends to AVRs in the future.  Julia was happy with her 3 hours finish in her first race for a while.

Yeovilton 5k

Adrian Strawbridge and David Cull were the only 2 AVRs at the Yeovilton Town Road Running Club 5k series, penultimate race last Wednesday evening.  Gutsy runs from both in unreasonably hot and sticky conditions, with another solid run from Adrian in at 20:25 and David shaving more time off with a shiny PB of 18:37, finishing 8th and 25th respectively (2nd and 7th  M40).

With the series finishing next week there is still the opportunity for AVRs to log their best summer 5k. Head over to the AVR facebook page for details on entry, car-sharing and a potential drink afterwards.

AVR dominate Seaton parkrun

AVRs placed two out of three in male, female and age-grade positions at Seaton parkrun on Saturday.  In perfect running conditions, Debbie Whiston was first female finisher in 20.17 with Karen Eyre, third in 22.55;  Ritchie Durrant was second male in 17.06 with Joel Seward third in 17.24; and Carol Austin placed second on age-grade in 80.3% for 24:09 and Ron Seward 79% for 22.52.  There was a PB for Ann-Louise Gridley in 29.40, paced superbly by Keith Agland.

Over at Stopline Way junior parkrun Vicki Wraight reached her 100th volunteer milestone; an excellent achievement.

AVRs continue to enjoy their parkrun tourism with Tim and Amie Sibley scooping an I for the alphabet challenge at Isabel Trail parkrun and Mandy Harris enjoying her first ever away day parkrun at Polkemmet Country parkrun, near Bathgate, Scotland.

 

 

 

 

 

Magnificent Mendips

What better way to end a late summer sunny Saturday than with a visit to the beach. Most of us wouldn’t run 30 miles first but Tim and Amie Sibley along with Jeremy Slade chose to run the Mendip Marauder 30 Miler.  The run starts in Wells in Somerset and follows the West Mendip Way up and over the Mendip hills (more than once) before finishing on the beach at Uphill Sands. They endured the brutal hills and enjoyed the wonderful views before finishing on the beach in around 8hrs 26 minutes.  A great day out and a rather impressive well-deserved medal.

Blistering Bridgewater

A handful of AVRs ventured to Bridgwater on a very hot Sunday with half-marathon and 10k races available.  Both the half marathon and 10k were really flat and fast, but the 11 am start meant the runners got the full blast of the late summer high temperatures.

In the half marathon, Ryan Snell finished 10th and third M40 in 1:19:36; Alan Hornibrook, celebrated the birth of his first grandchild, was 75th in 1:41:05, third M60; Jacqui Stokes was 196th in 2:06:48 and Adele Girdwood finished 200th in 2:07:25, fourth F50 with 346 completing the course.

Fiona and Ron Seward opted for the 10k. Ron was 39th in 47:06, whilst Fiona finished in 1:03:28, 134th with 209 taking part.

Boiling Big Half

In a race that saw Mo Farah make his final appearance racing in his home city of  London, Duncan Staddon and Rob Collier both impressed with their times of 1:16.55 and 1:22.23 respectively.  Despite the 8.30am start it was already hot as the 15000 competitors ran the 13.1 miles from Shadwell along the Thames to Canary Wharf then crossing the river at Tower Bridge, enjoying the spectacular views of the Cutty Sark just before the finish in Greenwich.

Duncan was 196th and 11th M40 with Rob 468th, 12th M50.  The race represented the British Championships for the half marathon distance so there were quality fields across the board.   Jack Rowe took the victory in 1:01.08 with Cali Thackery the female crown finishing in 1:09.15.

Woodbury Trail 10k

This new race, organised by Budleigh Salterton Lions Club, was supported by four AVRs as Cliff Marriott; Aaron and Louise Rawlins; and Darrell Farley enjoyed the tough off road terrain in the boiling hot sunshine on Woodbury Common.  First AVR home was Aaron in 55:43, 24th place, with Darrell 56th in 1:07.05; Cliff 73rd in 1:10.22 and Louise, struggling with injury but still taking ten minutes off last year’s time, was 99th in 1:15.41.

Inter-Services Success

Last Wednesday Debbie Whiston represented the Army at the Inter-Service 10km Champs at Eton Dorney on Wednesday coming fourth overall and second Female Masters in 39: 26.01.

News from parkrun

There was another bumper turnout at Seaton for parkrun on Saturday with 253 finishers.  Ritchie Durrant took second in 17:17 with Rich Hardy third finisher in 18:24.  Despite her race on Wednesday, Debbie Whiston was first female finisher in 19:39 after a great battle with visitor, Gemma Collier.  She also first on age-grade in 80.8%.

Dave Hutton in 24:02; Ann-Louise Gridley in 30:24; and Kathryn Thompson in 30:58 all celebrated PBs.  Big thanks as ever to the volunteers and pacers from AVR that support this event.

Tourism for parkrun continues with Rob Collier, Sam Summers and Rupert Pady in Horsham and Jo Orsman completing Ashton Court parkrun.  Others can be seen here  

Points make Prizes

There was a big turnout for the August Bank Holiday 10k time trial as it was the last opportunity to improve scores in this event for the new AVR Annual Challenge where runners tackle a series of events throughout the year.

The sun shone as 44 AVRs started the 10k at Colyford Post Office running through the Seaton Wetlands down onto the Esplanade, avoiding the temptation of the Bank Holiday market, to the Hideaway, the halfway mark.  Then it was back along the Esplanade and up the Axmouth Straight alongside the River Axe before turning before the church to retrace the route back to the Hideaway.  First home was Matt Clist in an impressive 34:22; first female was Debbie Whiston in 41:58; Lindsey Freathy knocked 90 seconds off her May time, Mark Day knocked off a huge five minutes to finish in 54:38 while Janet Cullum and Alison Gould improved by three minutes each  in 62:02 and 62:04 respectively.  Full results here.

Lustleigh 10k

Eleanor Wood and Julia Teague enjoyed a 10k as part of the Bank Holiday Lustleigh Village Show.  It was a tough hilly route with Eleanor, returning from injury, finishing in an excellent 54:52 and Julia in 64:17.

Seaton parkrun

 

There was another big turnout with 268 finishers.  Debbie Whiston was second female in 19:43, third on age-grade in 80%.  Zoe Trewick and Georgie Ryan celebrated PBs in 27:36 and 30:41, respectively.

Summer trips meant more parkrun tourism with Wayne and Sam Tooze running Prospect Park parkrun before letting their hair down at the Reading Festival while Emma Ellynn enjoyed beautiful Trelissick parkrun in Cornwall.  Seven AVRs popped over to Killerton for a hilly off-road parkrun.  All AVR parkrun results are here.

Ron races the train

Ron Seward travelled to Tywyn in West Wales to race the train.  The event started at 2:05 pm as the Fat Controller blew his whistle. The steam train made its way up the gently sloping straight track to Abergynolwyn before making its return.

Meanwhile the runners were tackling fields, hills, tracks, streams and bogs made particularly challenging after Storm Betty. The outward part of the run was definitely easier than the return and the train was often tantalisingly in view. However, for the final part of the run the train’s route was considerably shorter than that of the runners.  Nonetheless, 47 of the 500 starters outperformed the steam engine which completed its route in 1hr 48 minutes. Having taken a couple of tumbles and completely immersing himself in the bog, Ron completed the 23 km course in a (replacement bus service) time of 2:19:56 in 234th and third M70, being pipped to second by just two-hundredths of a second.

Seaton and parkrun tourism

 It was a bright, windy Saturday in Seaton with a very big turn-out for parkrun. Plenty of tourists joined the regulars with more than 300 finishers.  Second female was Debbie Whiston in 20:29, also second on age-grade in 77%.  Rich Hardy was fourth finisher in 19:20. Kathryn Thompson secured nice new PB in 32:10, respectively.

Tourism award for the furthest travelled this week goes to Chris Polley who did a hot and humid East Park parkrun in Singapore in an impressive 21:59. Tony Smith and Sam Miller did Glengariff parkrun in Ireland securing their G meaning they are just one-away from the full parkrun alphabet.  Meanwhile Carol Austin did Jersey Farm parkrun to nab her J leaving her also just one letter left.  Bec Davey also got her G at Great Yarmouth parkrun.

Yeovilton 5k

Four AVRs took part in the fourth of the Yeovilton 5k  summer series on Wednesday evening.  Matt Frost was first AVR in 22ndplace in an impressive 18:09 with David Cull securing a PB for his 18:54. Adrian Strawbridge was 53rdfinishing in 20:17, 12th M40, with James Ashforth, 72nd in 22:40.  There were 114 finishers on the night.  There are two more events in the series: Wed 6th and Wed 13th September with entry details here:

Triple celebration at Seaton parkrun

Aileen Heal celebrated her 150th parkrun, her 100th volunteer stint at Seaton, and four years cancer-free at Saturday’s parkrun.  She was joined by friends from the Tu-Tu tribe and was also tail-walker.  Run Director for the day, Susi Sadler presented Aileen with her 100 volunteer hat before the event got underway.

In the event itself Ritchie Durrant led for most of the course but was pipped on the pebbles by tourist, Kieran O’Hara who finished in17:32 with Ritchie just behind in 17:35.  Debbie Whiston was second female in 20:30 and Ron Seward was second on age-grade with 78% for his 22:59.