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AVRs excel at Forde Abbey
On Wednesday evening a big group of AVRs took part in the Forde Abbey 10k, a beautifully scenic but challenging race starting and finishing at the stunning Forde Abbey estate. With woodland, open fields, rocky tracks, a river crossing and plenty of hills, it is a tough race but few races have better views.
AVR’s Debbie Whiston won the women’s race in an excellent 50:16. AVR also took the top three spots in the F45 category with Karen Eyre, first F45 and fifth female in 54:50; Kerry Board, second F45, sixth female in 55:34 and Sue Hayes in 1:00:04 completing the F45 podium.
Rich Hardy was third home in a superb 45:39. Hot on his heels was Andrew Snook in 46:28, fourth place and first M40. Matt Hewer in ninth overall was third M40 in 49:31.
Rupert Pady was first M50 in 51:02 with Simon McClennan, second M50 in 52:26. Ron Seward took M70 in 1:01:54 from Graham Newton in 1:03.10.
Jacqui Stokes took third spot in F35 for her 1:02:09 finish. Dawn Carrah was first F55 in 1:07.10 and Eleanor Wood, first F65 in 58:39.
Full results are available here
Hot for Ham to Lyme
It was incredibly hot for the annual Ham & Lyme 50k and 100k races. The 50k race started at Ham Hill Country Park and finished in Lyme Regis following the Liberty Trail through some beautiful Somerset and Dorset scenery. This is a run through history along the trail taken by a small group of folk in 1685 who went to join the Monmouth Rebellion.
There were many very impressive performances for AVR. In particular, Joel Seward who came in second in the 50k race, despite a fall and slight wrong turn, in 4:05:10 having challenged the eventual winner, Shaun Dixon who finished in 4:03:54. AVR’s Matt Clist finished in an excellent third place in 4:08:39. Louise Rawlins knocked an incredible 90 minutes off last year’s time to finish in just over seven hours. Full results here.
AVR also ran the Lambert’s Castle water and food station which was very ably organised by Vicki Wraight and Susan Wall. Many thanks to them and to the other club members who dished out copious amounts of water, bananas, melon, wine gums, custard creams etc to the runners.
Exe Estuary Half Marathon and 50k
Cath Brenton and Adele Girdwood ran the Exe Estuary half marathon. It was a lovely scenic route, organised by Winding Paths, of 13.65 miles with a 1714 ft elevation gain involving a start at Budleigh Salterton, loop along the river path to Otterton then back along the coastal path to Exmouth where the course looped back to finish at the start. The weather was kind, being overcast for the first few hours then the sun came out; it was dry underfoot despite being trail.
Adele came 36th in 2:27:53 with Cath 88th in 3:10:25. More than 100 completed the half marathon.
Results
Julia Mallon completed the 50k option, which starts with a 5 mile loop around the River Otter before following the same route as the half marathon along the coast path. She came 36th in an impressive 6:13:36.
Exeter River 10k
Cliff Marriott and Pam Goddard ran the 10k river road race together on Friday evening finishing in 1:03.33. The race, organised by the City Community Trust, followed the scenic River Exe.
Seaton parkrun and beyond
A beautiful morning for a run saw 274 walkers and runners on Seaton seafront. AVR’s Debbie Whiston was second female finisher in 20:20 and Karen Eyre third in 22:15. PBs were secured by Rupert Pady in 20:23; Mark Parsons in 26:36, and Helen Boehm in 33:11.
Further afield Rachel Hiscock completed her 50th parkrun on her 50th birthday in 30:24 at Jamaica Pond parkrun in Boston USA!
Wayne and Sam Tooze took part in Winchester parkrun; Sam Miller and Tony Smith ran Peel parkrun in Manchester before attending the UK Champs where the Seaton parkrun female record holder Innes Fitzgerald secured a PB of 15:26 for a track 5k, finishing ninth against very stiff opposition.
AVRs dominate Woodland Relays
On Wednesday evening teams from Honiton RC, Sidmouth RC, Exmouth Harriers and AVR took part in the Woodland Relays, this year held in Budleigh Salterton. Teams of three each ran a 2 mile lap from the cricket club along the River Otter to Otterton looping back on the new path through the stunning wetlands.
AVR dominated the evening winning five out of six of the senior categories. The winning teams were: Mixed Under 50 (Molly Adkin, Matt Frost and Lee Moran); Mixed over 50 (Rob Collier, Rupert Pady and Karen Eyre); Women under 50 (Lou Tucker, Debbie Whiston and Kerry Board); Women over 50 (Eleanor Wood, Dawn Currah and Karen Eyre) and Men under 50 (Matt Clist, Harry McMahon and Matt Hewer).
Saturday night’s alright for the Ug
It was a beautiful summer’s evening on Saturday for the Umborne Ug, organised by villagers to raise funds for Umborne Hall. The challenging 10k multi-terrain runs through beautiful scenic countryside giving stunning views across East Devon. The race started and finished next to the Hall with a barbecue, drinks and cakes on offer afterwards. AVRs provided great support with timing, marshals, back-markers and photography.
First AVR and in second place was Matt Clist in 41:24 with Tim Lenton in sixth and first M50 in 43:48. Second woman was AVR’s Jacqui Stokes in 57:11, also first F40. Lindsey Freathy was first F50 in 1:14.36 with Ian Kinnersley first M60 in 54:04. Ron Seward first M70 in 1:00.03 and Graham Newton, first M75 in 1:00.38 completed the AVR age-category winners.
Prizes were wonderful pottery mugs and these were presented by Gilly Humphreys who actually makes them. Rick Wood was given a jug for his 20 years as Race Director. Full results here.
Trust 10k
Rik Tumber and James Ashforth took part in the National Trust 10 run around the Golden Cap Estate on Sunday. The course starts and ends at the Old Radar Station at Stonebarrow. Runners then head over Golden Cap, around Langdon Woods before taking the coastal path to return to Stonebarrow. Trust10 running is about enjoying the landscapes and nature surrounding you rather than a competitive event.
The runs take place on the fourth Sunday of every month, with an 8.30 am registration and a 9 am start. If monitoring your running time is important then take your own device!
Man versus Moor
Carolyn Nation and Bec Davey took part in the challenging 7 mile multi-terrain race on Exmoor that included scrambling, bogs, a bit of swimming across Pinkery Pond and navigating an actual tunnel. Part of the Exmoor Walking Festival and organised by Channel Events, Man versus Moor is Exmoor’s toughest challenge taking place in some of the most remote parts of the National Park. There is a 10 mile, 10k and 5k option available.
Bec and Carolyn completed the 10k, which is more like seven miles, running together in 2:15.52 but the event is really about taking on the challenge and enjoying the fabulous scenery of the Moor.
Exeter 10000m
Corey Schultz took part in the City Runs Devon 10000m on Wednesday evening on the track at Exeter Arena. He was 12th in the B race achieving a PB of 49:44.
Jurassic Coast 100k
Richard Jackson took part in the Climb South West’s Jurassic 100 choosing the 100k option that started from Weymouth at 9pm on Saturday evening in the shadow of a full red moon over a shimmering sea. He finished some 18 hours, 28 minutes later in Exmouth having completed 100k, 63 miles of the South West Coast Path – an epic achievement.
Seaton parkrun and beyond
It was perfect conditions in Seaton for parkrun on Saturday with AVR’s Ritchie Durrant first finisher in 17:03 and Debbie Whiston first female in 20.01 as well as first on age-grade, 80.1%. Harry McMahon was second finisher in 18:20 and there were PBs for Simon McClellan in 20:53, Kelly Nickels in 24:45, Sue Hodge in 25:55, Shirley Salter in 30:56 and Shirley Goy in 35:54.
Further afield Tony Smith and Sam Miller took part in Medina parkrun as a break from the Isle of Wight Festival.
Matts marvel at Martock!
AVR’s Matt Hewer in eighth and Matt Frost in tenth were among five Matts in the top ten finishers at the Martock 10k on Sunday. The early start meant good conditions for the fast, flat race all on quiet Somerset country roads leading to some good times in this 18th edition of the event.
Matt Hewer came in eighth and second M40 – the winner was also M40 – in an excellent 37:37 despite a slight niggle in the week. In tenth place was Matt Frost in 37:50. Next in for AVR and third M40 was David Cull in 38:17. Ron Seward won the M70 category with an excellent 48:24, 135th overall. Alan Morbey finished in 52:32 in 181st . A total of 455 completed the race. Full results
Giants Head half – and a bit!
On Sunday a group of AVRs travelled to Sydling St Nicholas in Dorset to run the very challenging Giants Head half marathon. It was just over the half distance coming in at 13.6 miles and with more than 1,500 feet of climb it was a tough ask. But the route, ran on country lanes and woodland trails, provided some superb views over the beautiful Dorset countryside. Fourth woman overall, despite struggling with illness, was Kerry Board in 2:02:0 and first F45. Dawn Carrah finished in 2:20:50 to take first F60 with Mandy Harris coming in in 3:08:05, happy to be back running after injury.
Army success
Debbie Whiston ran for the Army at the Inter Services 10km at Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham on Wednesday in a time of 40.56, 95th overall and third F35.
Yeovilton 5k summer series
The third event in the Yeovilton 5k series took place on Wednesday starting and finishing at RNAS Yeovilton with 12 AVRs competing and looking for points for the Club Challenge.
The fast, flat course and midweek racing opportunity brings out the speedy runners but there were also age group prizes to be had!
First AVR home was Rich Hardy in 16:54, 15th place and first M40. Ryan Snell was in 21st in 17:23, third M40. Ian Kinnersley was first M60, 67th overall in 20:34; Ron Seward, first M70 in 22:48, 101st and Angela Kerr was first F65 in 27:27, 133rd.
Matt Frost was 25th in 17:41; David Cull 34th in 18:28; Adrian Strawbridge 66th in 20:28; James Ashforth 79th in 21:09; Andy West 83rd in 21:17; Nick Adams, 112th in 23:33, David Cooke, 127th in 26:08; and Fiona Seward was 143rd in 29:21.
The next event takes place on Wednesday 10 July.
Seaton parkrun and beyond
AVR’s Debbie Whiston was first female finisher in 20:33 and Eleanor Wood was first on age-grade with a brilliant 90.3% for 23:29. There were PBs for Rachel Hiscock in 29:20; Helen Boehm in 33:24 and Shirley Goy in 36:33.
But the day belonged to Matt Waters who walked the 5k including the pebbles sections, his longest walk since losing his legs to sepsis in November 2022. A fantastic achievement and true inspiration, Matt was supported on the day by friends and family and the parkrun community.
Further afield, Matt Frost took part in Severn Bridge parkrun, which crosses the Welsh border; Rebecca Eastburn completed beautiful Trelissick in Cornwall; Sarah Shepley and Kevin Feeney ran Reading parkrun; and Carolyn Nation enjoyed the coastal Minehead parkrun.