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A quartet of halves
Craig Tiley and Matt Frost travelled up to the north-east for the Great North Run, the biggest half-marathon in the world. Conditions were very wet on Sunday for the 43rd running of the event. Starting on the (closed) motorway in the city of Newcastle, heading over the famous Tyne bridge, the runners finish with a flat two mile stretch alongside the beach at South Shields. Matt, back in his homeland, had an excellent run finishing in a PB of 1:20.16, 311thwhile Craig finished in 19,844th in 2:07.40.
More than 60,000 started the race which was won by Kenyans, Abel Kipchumba in 59:52 and Mary Ngugi-Cooper in 1:07.40. Marc Scott was second male in 1:01.12 with Eilish McColgan fifth female in 1:07.45.
Richard Hardy took part in the Surrey half-marathon which starts and finishes in Woking using closed roads and hence attracting a strong field of 2700 finishers. He finished 63rd and seventh M40 in 1:18.40.
Mark Spraggs ran the New Forest half marathon, a scenic multi-terrain flat and fast race in the national park, famous for its ponies. The event gives the runners far reaching views across the Forest. He finished in 1:50.14, 314th of nearly 1400 finishers.
Sue Hayes ran the Blackdown Hills Trail half completing it in 2:16.01, 50th overall and an excellent sixth female, third F50. The event started at the Taunton Racecourse taking runners onto quiet country lanes, hills and trails with great scenery across the Somerset levels and Blackdown hills.
Volcano on Dartmoor
AVR’s Jess Board took part in the Dartmoor Volcano Race at Scorriton on Saturday organised by Outer Edge Events. The 10.5 mile race takes the competitors to the red volcano lake on the edge of Dartmoor. The route is undulating across the top with a huge marshland and bog and then a longer steadier incline to the highest point at around mile eight. A faster two-mile steep downhill follows to the finish down the same hill which makes runners appreciate how steep it was!
Jess describes it as the hardest thing she has ever done finishing 94th in 2:22.57. She was very pleased to have completed it after returning from injury and felt the cool medal made it worth the pain!
Seaton parkrun and beyond
Seaton Esplanade became a sea of colour on Saturday as AVR, Louise Rawlins celebrated her 50th birthday and completed her 50th parkrun. She is a key member of the core team at Seaton and Stopline Way Junior parkrun and also reached an incredible 150 volunteering stints on Saturday. Many AVRs celebrated with her in their tutus.
With conditions excellent for running, many AVRs achieved PBs, some helped by a team of excellent pacers. First finisher was Joel Seward in 17:20 followed by Harry McMahon in 18:17. Second female was Debbie Whiston in 20:10. Third female and second on age-grade in an excellent 83% was Karen Eyre in a shiny new PB of 20:57. Other PBs were Simon McClellan in 20:17, Mike Wadsworth in 21:20; James Hawker in 22:00, Rob Harp in 22:10, Mark Parsons in 24:27 and Sue Hodge in 25:53.
Out on the road Andy Goy ran his 333rd parkrun at his 222nd at Peter Pan in Hull, his previous home event. Carolyn Nation secured her G at Goe parkrun in Wales; Sam Miller took part in Seaford Beach parkrun in Newhaven; Fiona Seward ran Chester parkrun; Pam Goddard did Heartlands parkrun in Cornwall; Steve Speariett ran Pomphrey Hill parkrun and Jon Day and Paul Johns did Ashton Court parkrun both in Bristol with Rupert Pady completing Margate parkrun.
And finally …
Well done to Alan Morbey and Steve Lewis who swam more than 12000 m around the Isles of Scilly on Sunday.
Congratulations also to Tony Smith who completed the 100k South Downs Way walking from Eastbourne to Arundel over two days raising funds for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Not only did he walk 100k over two days he continued his “run streak” with a mile run each evening – that is dedication.
PBs, points and a debut half
A group of AVRs took part in the Bridgwater half marathon on Sunday, a flat, fast road 13.1 miles going inland from the town with a wicked 5k out and back to finish.
First AVR home was Ryan Snell in eighth place and an excellent second M40 in 1:18.57. Dawn Carrah was second F60, 195th overall, in 1:56.57 while Jacqui Stokes smashed her PB finishing in 1:43.07, 91st place. Lee Brooker completed his first ever half marathon coming in 302nd place in 2:13.23. A big field of 439 completed the race in good conditions.
As well as looking for PBs, AVRs were able to secure points for the club championship as a half marathon is one of the ‘open’ events.
Full results
Woodbury Common Trail 10k
Six AVRs travelled over to Woodbury Common for a trail 10k on Sunday. Eleanor Wood was second female and first F60 in 56:49. Graham Newton was a brilliant first M60. Zoe Harp was a huge 13 minutes faster than last year finishing in 1:07.59. Rob Harp (58.02), Pam Goddard (1:16.41) and Rachel Hiscock (1:21.27) completed the AVRs with Cliff Marriott injured so helping the organisers on the day.
Full results to follow.
City to Sea
James Hawker completed the very tough mostly trail marathon starting at Exeter Quayside and finishing at Babbacombe Down near Torquay. He finished in an excellent 37th in 5:22.36 with 140 completed the run organised by Winding Paths.
Ann Coston and Ragnhild Richards chose the half marathon option following Ann’s recent injury. They decided to enjoy the run and treat the event as a ’nice day out’. They finished in 47thand 48th in 3:15.43 after part running and part walking the route which goes from Dawlish Warren to Babbacombe Down.
Seaton parkrun and beyond
The sun was back out this week so there was, as expected, a big turnout at Seaton for parkrun event number 334.
AVR dominated the female first finishers and the age graded podium with Debbie Whiston first female home in 20:11 and Karen Eyre third female finisher in 21:15. On age grade Eleanor Wood was first with a massive 90% for her 23:30 followed by Karen Eyre, 82% and Debbie Whiston 79%. Mike Wadsworth was fourth on age grade with 77% for his 21:39 which was also a shiny new PB.
There were also PBs for Rob Harp in 22:27; Mark Parsons in 24:45; David Whelan in 27:38; Rebecca King in 32:14; and Shirley Goy in 32:36.
Furthest for parkrun tourism this week were Louise and Aaron Rawlins who completed Zegerplas parkrun near Amsterdam.
For all other AVR tourist parkruns from last Saturday the results are online here
Spanish (not) parkrun
Not a race but a bit of fun with AVR on tour! Anthony and Adrianne Mullins on holiday in Spain and with no parkrun there so on Saturday morning they joined a local running club, Los Bandidos (The Bandits) based in Mojacar, Costa Almería.
They all ran 5k out and back along the beautiful Paseo del Mediterraneo, starting at 8am as the sun was rising, followed by coffee and doughnuts in the local cafe.
And finally …
Congratulations to Innes Fitzgerald who was fourth in the stacked 3000m final at the World Athletics U20 Championships final in Lima, Peru on Saturday in a PB of 8:57.01.
Also, good to see Jake Smith back racing and on the podium in second place at yesterday’s Vitality Big Half in 64:07. He was using the race as preparation for the Berlin marathon at the end of the month.
Village people
Four AVRs took a bank holiday trip into Somerset for the annual Baltonsborough five-mile race which is part of the local Village Show. The road race, which starts and finishes in the village south of Glastonbury, takes place on undulating country lanes.
First AVR home in 34th was Simon McClellan in 34:31, just five seconds ahead of Karen Eyre who was 36th, a superb fifth female and first F45 finishing in 34:36. Ian Kinnersley finished in 36:33 (57th) with Eleanor Wood in 38:03 (75th) and first F65. More than 170 enjoyed the race and lovely conditions.
Bank Holiday Bonanza in Seaton
There was a huge turnout of more than 50 AVRs for the latest Bank Holiday 10k time trial which starts in Colyford running through the Wetlands to the Esplanade then up to Axmouth and back to finish just after the final turn at the Hideaway. Conditions were good although there was a head wind for the runners to face. This was the final chance to earn points from this event for the 2024 Club Challenge.
Matt Clist ensured another 100 points were coming his way with a big win finishing in 35:12, amazingly identical to his May time despite never wearing a watch! He should be a shoe-in to win the naked run!
Full results
Glorious Golden Cap
Tony Smith was the sole AVR at this beautiful off road run on Sunday starting at the Old Radar Station on Stonebarrow. It is a 10k run over Golden Cap purely to enjoy the views, self-timed and organised by the National Trust taking place on the third Sunday of each month during the summer with September and October the final two events in 2024. A 5k option avoiding Golden Cap is also available.
Seaton parkrun and beyond
Conditions have rarely been quite so wretched at Seaton as on Saturday and, yet, still nearly 250 completed the parkrun in torrential rain. Huge thanks to all the volunteers who stood and cheered despite the heavy rain. Congratulations and thanks to AVR’s chair, Haydn Boehm, who celebrated his 100th volunteer stint in his usual quiet unassuming way as Run Director. First finisher in an excellent PB was Ritchie Durrant in 16:37. Debbie Whiston was second female in 20:34 with Terry Emmett third finisher in 18:10. Shirley Goy nabbed another PB in 32:53.
Out on the road, Simon and Bec Davey, secured their J at Jubilee parkrun in Northumberland while Jon Day and Paul Johns continued their tour of south-west parkruns at Upton House in Poole. But prize for the furthest event this week goes to Andrew Snook who completed Downsview parkrun in Toronto, Canada!