With an elevation of 3316 feet and more than 30 miles of multi-terrain running up hills, down dale, across fields and along the riverside this race is a challenge for anyone but it is becoming increasingly popular amongst AVRs with some 24 taking part last Saturday.  It starts up in Somerset in Ham Hill Country Park and winds its way through the stunning scenery of the Liberty Trail, Wayford Woods and Lamberts Castle to finish on the seafront in beautiful Lyme Regis.

AVR scooped second, third and fourth places with some tremendous times.  Rich Hardy came in second place in an incredible 4 hours 15 minutes with Rob Collier, third in 4 hours 25 minutes, pushing last year’s winner, Matt Clist into fourth.  Kerry Board, competing in her first ultra, finished in an excellent 5 hours 40 minutes as fifth female finisher.  Special mention to Louise Rawlins, who only began running during lockdown in 2020, joined AVR a year later and on Saturday completed an ultra and even managed her usual trademark cartwheel on the Cobb!

It was a hot day and mostly self-navigated so all finishers were well deserving of the beautiful ammonite medal.  Full results here Huge congratulations to everyone who completed it and to Albion Running for organising the race so well.

 

Charmouth Challenge

Despite the previous day’s rain, it was dry underfoot but very muggy for the Charmouth Challenge on Saturday. This 8-mile multi-terrain hilly race included an ascent of Golden Cap, the highest point on the South Coast of England at 191 metres.

There was a good turnout of AVRs amongst the 150 finishers with Andrew Snook coming in fifth place, second M40 in 56:06.  Ron Seward steamed in yet again achieving first in M70+ finishing in 1:22:30. Ann Coston, a new member of AVR, was second in the F50+ category at 1:27:41. Other AVRs to complete the Challenge were Patrick Rosello, Darrell Farley, Diana Burn and Adele Girdwood.

Full results can be found here 

 

Wednesday down at the Abbey

On a lovely sunny but cool Wednesday evening, 31 AVRs took part in this beautiful 10k off road race which starts and finishes at Forde Abbey and includes a couple of river crossings. Kerry Board was second female in an impressive 54:18 and first F40.  Adrian Strawbridge was fifth overall in 51:41 and took first M40 while Eleanor Wood was first F55 in 58:12, 42nd overall.  Unfortunately, a few front runners including Max Richardson took a slight wrong turning meaning completing almost 7 miles and missing a top ten finish.

Full results can be found here 

Down by the Riverside

Matt Frost took part in the Exeter Community Trust 10k river run on Friday starting and finishing at Exeter Quay. He finished in eighth in 38:28.

Seaton parkrun

Ryan Snell was third finisher in 18:06 while Debbie Whiston was 1st female in 19:44 and also second overall on age grade in 80.49%. PBs were gained by Gareth Walker 22:54, Zoe Trewick 27:45 and Ann-Louise Gridley 31:24.  More than 200 took part with many AVRs amongst the volunteers.  The team are always on the look-out for more volunteers especially during the busy holiday period when many tourists come to run and some of the regular helpers are away so if you would like to start Saturday morning with lots fun for a worthwhile cause please email seaton@parkrun.com for more information.

On their travels again, Carolyn Nation picked up a U and another country by completing Uppsala parkrun in Sweden while Carol Austin returned for a fourth visit to Haga parkrun in Stockholm.  Aileen and Peter Heal went to Bushy parkrun, where they were amongst the more than 1300 finishers including many octogenarians as the home of parkrun celebrated its huge age diversity.

This week’s Axe Valley Runners club night had a bit of a twist – to raise awareness of the location of all local defibrillators (AEDs).  Following a recent first aid course that many members took part in to learn the importance of and how to use AEDs, the next stage was to find out where they are all located.

On Tuesday, each group had a map with a different route to locate as many as they could. Dependent on the pace of each group this ranged from four to eight.  More than 70 members joined the fun but important evening, followed by a BBQ at Seaton Cricket Club where funds were also raised for MacMillan Cancer Support with a cake sale that raised more than £200.  Big thanks go to Heather Simmons for all her organisation and the top team of BBQ chefs on the night including Sarah and Ronnie Whelan and Claire Warner.

Here are a few pictures from the evening to enjoy:

David and Susi Sadler travelled to mid-Wales for the infamous Man v Horse race in Llanwrtyd Wells. It was blisteringly hot for the 21-mile race which challenges runners to outrun the horses across mountainous terrain with an incredibly steep 3800 feet ascent.

For only the fourth time since the race began in 1980 a runner did actually beat the horse with Daniel Connolly finishing in 2:24.38.  First horse home was DNS Ronaldo ridden by Kate Atkinson in 2:34.25.  The race was started by BBC newsreader Sophie Raworth along with Susie Chan, endurance runner and peloton instructor, with the two of them then running the race.

David and Susi are dedicated Man v Horse participants with David having taken part eight times and Susi nine, including once riding a horse!  They described this year’s event as the hardest yet due largely to the heat but loved it more than ever!

Sizzling Southend

On Sunday Ron Seward ran the Southend half-marathon in sizzlingly hot Southend where the mercury hit 26 degrees! A brilliantly marshalled course comprising of two loops along the seafront was interspersed with water sprays and numerous drinks stops.  Ron finished an excellent 291^st from more than 1500 finishers in 1:47:06.  Given the conditions he was pleased with the time.

Tutu Tribe celebrate milestones

Another sunny Saturday in Seaton saw 244 finishers at parkrun and milestones for AVR’s Louise Rawlins celebrating completing 25 events and Haydn Boehm reaching 50 volunteer stints.  They were joined by a big group of friends from AVR’s Runshiners to celebrate, all brightly adorned in tutus for the occasion.  At parkrun volunteering and completing the 5k is celebrated with milestone T-shirts, wristbands, buffs and vests available when you reach 25, 50, 100, 250 and, even, 500.

First finisher on Saturday was AVR’s Ritchie Durrant in 17.44 with AVR’s Debbie Whiston first female in 19.55, also second on age-grade with 79%.  Andy West, back from injury, was third on age-grade with 77% for his 22.43.  Ann-Louise Gridley got a PB, 32.44 and Simon Dimmock celebrated an impressive 200^th parkrun.

AVRs had a great evening in Exeter on Friday with 11 teams taking part in the Run Exe 4 x 4k relay event.  With a total of 94 teams competing on a glorious sunny evening there was a wonderful atmosphere alongside the river for the event, well organised by City Runs.

AVR’s men’s 40 (Ryan Snell, Matt Hewer, Terry Emmett, Duncan Staddon) and women’s 40 (Karen Eyre, Kerry Board, Sue Hayes, Debbie Whiston) both took first in category and the men’s 60 (Ian Kinnersley, Ron Seward, Andy Charrington, Alan Hornibrook) also came first, retaining their crown from last year.

The F60 (Janet Cullum, Carol Austin, Angela Kerr, Eleanor Wood) came in second in category.  On a night of very fast times, Jack Broom was fastest AVR, ninth overall in 12:21.  Ron Seward, Janet Cullum and Eleanor Wood were all first in age category.

Lost on Langston Fell

Rik Tumber and Tim Lenton travelled to Dartmoor for the Langston 10k Fell Race on Sunday. Starting from Peter Tavy village hall, it was straight into a big climb for nearly 3km with around 900ft elevation up to Cox Tor.

Rik and Tim both managed to take a wrong turn so finished the race having covered more like 12k!   Despite this Tim was sixth in 59:00 and Rik was eighth in 59:22.

 Taunton Trail

 Three AVRs popped up to Taunton where Prosper Events organised a half-marathon and a 10k along the canal and the river Tone.  On a very hot, sunny morning and in her first ever half-marathon, Georgie Ryan finished in 2:52.11 127^th.  Georgie is a new member joining AVR after following the Couch to 5k programme which the club offer for those new to running.

In the 10k Cliff Marriott finished in 56:48, 36^th from 132 who completed the race with Bob Carter coming in 58^thin 1:02.32.  Bob was raising money for Cats Protection Honiton branch where he is the coordinator.

Sunny Seaton parkrun

It was another glorious day for parkrun with 285 enjoying the perfect conditions.  AVR’s Luke Reed was first to finish in 17:31 with Debbie Whiston first female in 19:34, a great time the morning after running the relays. This also placed her second on age grade in an excellent 81%.  There were five AVR PBs:  Simon Freathy 21:03, Jeremy Norcombe 23:01, David Hutton 24:24, Craig Tiley 24:40 and Sue Chambers 28:39.

Prize for the furthest parkrun this week goes to Bec and Simon Davey who visited Lovstien parkrun in Bergen, Norway, where Bec ran the beautiful, hilly course and Simon volunteered.

 

Vicki Wraight and Jeremy Slade decided one marathon wasn’t enough and completed the West Country Flat 50 which is actually 52 miles and definitely not all flat! The race started in Taunton with runners heading out of town alongside the canal for the first 15 miles to Bridgwater.  The muddy banks of the River Perratt takes runners up to the Somerset coast to Hinckley Point Power Station where, after 30 miles, the hills kick in.  The final 20 miles follows the coast to East Quantoxhead, before turning inland through undulating terrain and re-joining the coast at Watchet.  A long, hilly stretch then takes runners into the final mile in Minehead.

The two AVRs ran together until around mile 29 when Vicki pushed on as Jeremy struggled with stomach cramps.  Vicki ran on to complete the final 23 miles in an incredible solo effort even managing a sprint finish in a hugely impressive time of 13 hours 11.25.  Jeremy used all his physical and mental strength to get going again and did so to finish not far behind Vicki in 13 hours 45.05. A mammoth and memorable run by both.

Down in Dorset, Tom Parsons also took on a huge distance completing the Jurassic Coast Challenge, a 100k race from Corfe Castle to Bridport.  Using the spectacular but tough South West Coast Path, Tom ran with friends and together they were raising money for two excellent causes: Alzheimer’s Society and Great Ormand Street Hospital. They completed the 100k with a mix of running, walking, shuffling and crawling, in a superb 17 hours, 11 minutes.

Brock victory at Blazer

There was a big turn-out of AVRs at the Beer Blazer with a 5-mile and 10-mile option available and AVRs also helping with back-marking and much of the marshalling and organisation.  The Blazer, which uses much of the infamous Grizzly route, is organised by and raises funds for Beer Primary School PTFA.

In the 10-mile event,  AVR’s Emilie Brock and Joshua Carr from Thames Hare & Hounds took the victories.  Emilie finished in a brilliant 1:30.16, 13^th overall and first F40.

Carr finished in 1:11.44 followed by a host of AVRs.  Andrew Snook was second in 1:16.34 and, also, first M40 with Matt Clist in 1:19.04 third and second M40.  Richard Hardy, fourth was third M40 (1:19.20) and Rik Tumber, fifth (1:19.52).  Tim Lenton was first M45 (1:24.27); Ian Kinnersley was first M60 (1:41.21) with Eleanor Wood, fifth female and first F65 (1:42.53); Ron Seward first M70 (1:53.23) and Margaret Pearce first F50 (2:07.32).

Simon Dimmock of AVR took first prize for the 5-mile event finishing in 42.50 with Tavistock’s Sarah Holland first female in 50.11.

Full results are available here

Lumpy Leeds

Mandy Harris travelled up to Leeds to take part in the Jane Tomlinson’s Run for All Half Marathon.  It was a hilly route and a very warm day so Mandy was pleased to finish in 2:20.20. This year was also the inaugural Rob Burrow Marathon so both events finished in Headingly Stadium, home of the Leeds Rhinos, and raised funds for MND.

Out in Ocean City

Kelly Nickels and Chris Polley both ran the Ocean City Plymouth Half-Marathon with Kelly finishing in 2:15.11.  Chris ran with his daughter who completed her first ever Half-marathon.

Runaway Train

Over in Somerset, Emma Richardson, Julia Conway and Sam Tooze took part in an 8.5 mile trail race, the Runaway Train, using some disused railway lines and through some spectacular countryside around Shepton Mallet.  Bec Davey and Helen Boehm enjoyed the shorter 3 mile version.

Although there were no official times, they were rewarded for their efforts with beautiful views, bluebells, a viaduct plus a wooden memento and a whole lot of fun!

Sunny Seaton parkrun

 It was a glorious day for parkrun on Saturday with more than 200 happy parkrunners enjoying the pebbles in Seaton including many visitors.  Matt Frost was third finisher in a PB of 18.20 with Kerry Board third female home in 22.28.

With the great conditions there were also PBs for Jason Potter in 20.51; Paul Johns 21.44 and Craig Tiley, who is on a roll of PBs, in 24.54.

Wayne Tooze celebrated reaching his 50 parkrun milestone sporting his recent London marathon finishers’ Tee.