Five Honiton runners went to Charmouth last Saturday to take part in the Charmouth Challenge organised by Charmouth Primary School. The weather was ideal for spectating but too hot to make for good running conditions. The race is the most southerly fell race in the country and includes two steep and long climbs. The first is within the first mile climbing the infamous Stone Barrow Lane and later on in the race runners climb up Golden Cap, the highest point on the South Coast at 191m. It’s all worthwhile though as racers are treated to the breathtaking views of the Jurassic Coast. The winner was Michael Robinson of Tamar Trotters in the amazing time of 52:09. Honiton’s Steve Davey and Alasdair Moffett thoroughly enjoyed racing each other spending much of the race vying to be in front of the other. The finish line saw Steve as the victor of this battle; he came45th in 1:09:32 with Alasdair one place and 21 seconds behind. Howard Bidmead had a much better race than last year coming 77th in 1:16:33 whilst Judy Davey put all her efforts into climbing the first hill and suffered as a result. She fought the urge to stop several times but did walk a lot more than she usually would. She finished 117th in 1:21:21 and couldn’t wait to sit down at the finish. There were 234 finishers. Iain Ross is too young to take part in the full Challenge so had to settle for the fun run of 1.8 miles. He showed them how it was done though and stormed home to win the race in 10:48 which is a huge achievement with 140 runners behind him!
There was a huge turnout for Honiton Running Club’s Woodland Relay last Wednesday at Core Copse on a perfect evening for running. Honiton itself had about 60 adult members running and another 20 Honiton juniors taking part. Honiton were joined by Axe Valley Runners, The Met Office, N1 Tri Club, Exmouth and Sidmouth Running Clubs. The 3 adults in each team ran a leg each of just under 2 ½ miles before tagging their next team mate. The first team back overall was Axe Valley Runners ‘Young Uns’ consisting of Chris Keefe, Matt Clist and Liam Roberts in a time of 42 minutes 7 seconds. Honiton had the winning mixed team which was made up of Suzanne Spiller, Ben Stone and Ian Stewart. They finished in 46:32. Honiton also took the vets prize made up of Steve Davey, Rod Inglis and Richard Harris. They finished in 50:30 and AVR had another success with their ladies’ team which finished in 50:57 and was made up of Amy Greenhalgh, Robin Carter and Eleanor Wood. The junior teams ran a shorter distance of approximately one mile each and this race was won by AVR’s Bobbie, Ollie and Iain in a time of 33:36. Honiton’s girls won their category finishing in 39:38 with the team made up of Flo Swan, Morgan and Sasha Davy. Thanks to everyone who helped in any way especially the chief organisers Bruce Strawbridge and Roger Saunders. Also thanks to the cake makers, marshals and landowner for providing the car park!
Five Honiton runners went to Charmouth last Saturday to take part in the Charmouth Challenge organised by Charmouth Primary School. The weather was ideal for spectating but too hot to make for good running conditions. The race is the most southerly fell race in the country and includes two steep and long climbs. The first is within the first mile climbing the infamous Stone Barrow Lane and later on in the race runners climb up Golden Cap, the highest point on the South Coast at 191m. It’s all worthwhile though as racers are treated to the breathtaking views of the Jurassic Coast. The winner was Michael Robinson of Tamar Trotters in the amazing time of 52:09. Honiton’s Steve Davey and Alasdair Moffett thoroughly enjoyed racing each other spending much of the race vying to be in front of the other. The finish line saw Steve as the victor of this battle; he came45th in 1:09:32 with Alasdair one place and 21 seconds behind. Howard Bidmead had a much better race than last year coming 77th in 1:16:33 whilst Judy Davey put all her efforts into climbing the first hill and suffered as a result. She fought the urge to stop several times but did walk a lot more than she usually would. She finished 117th in 1:21:21 and couldn’t wait to sit down at the finish. There were 234 finishers. Iain Ross is too young to take part in the full Challenge so had to settle for the fun run of 1.8 miles. He showed them how it was done though and stormed home to win the race in 10:48 which is a huge achievement with 140 runners behind him!
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Honiton Running Club’s Alasdair and Esme Moffett took part in the Purbeck 10k on Friday, 20th June. This is a race based on the picturesque Isle of Purbeck in Dorset and money raised goes to the Swanage Life Boats. The race is hilly but Alasdair had a great run especially considering he had fractured his ankle just 6 weeks ago. He finished 115th in 45 minutes 3 seconds. Esme also had a good run and did well to come 174th in 47:40. The race was won by Dan Mulryan in the fantastic time of 34:09. Alasdair and Esme said it was a bit of a trek getting to the race but it was well worth it. There were 433 finishers.
Steve Davey and Howard Bidmead took part in Sidmouth Running Club’s Beat the Bus race last Wednesday. The race starts at Otterton and takes runners cross country towards Sidmouth and back whilst attempting to ‘Beat the Bus’. The bus obviously takes the road route and returns the same way! Steve and Howard both managed to beat it back to Otterton with Steve coming 22nd overall in 48:41, Howard coming 29th in 51:40 and The Bus coming 47th in 56:30. The race was won by Jason Drew in 39:01 and there were 67 finishers, including the bus! On what was a blisteringly hot day last Sunday, several Honiton Running Club members took the short trip to Farway to take part in Farway Primary School’s Over the Hill and Farway 10k race. This is a predominately road run incorporating a short track before the monumental climb of Warren Hill featuring over 400 ft of climb.
There is an award for the first King and Queen to the top of the Hill and the king prize this year went to Tim Lenton of Axe Valley Runners. Eleanor Wood also of AVR was the first queen to the top. The race was won by another AVR runner in the form of Matt Clist who finished with a new course record of 37minutes 10 seconds. Graham Reeves was first back for Honiton followed quickly by Ben Stone who came 6th in 42:01 after suffering with a cold all week. Ross Penwill continued his amazing form to come 14th in 46:42 and was followed by Steve Davey who finished a minute later. Vernon Gillard is back on form and had a great run to come 16th in 48:08. Ceri Oak was the first Honiton lady to finish doing well to come 2nd lady overall in 17th place in 48:22. Richard Harris was next back finishing 20th in 49:05. He was followed by Alasdair Moffett who enjoyed the run but struggled. He came 22nd in 49:30. Mark Dallyn found it hard but ran consistently to come 24th in 50:28. He was followed by Judy Davey just one place and one minute later. Tim Wigram completed an ultra marathon just 2 weeks ago so with tired legs he did well to come 29th in 52:52. Pippa Westall had a good run and was justly awarded with first local lady runner. She was 33rd in 54:21. Greg Axsel didn’t enjoy it too much but came 36th in 55:53 completing the Honiton line-up for the main race. Honiton youngsters took part in the fun runs with considerable success. The oldest junior race of approximately 3k saw Rowan Westall coming 2nd in 16:46, Oliver Grimshaw 4th in 17:05 and Thomas Lilley 6th in 17:13. Jasmine Stone was first under 10 girl back in her race of approximately 2k finishing 9th overall in 9:05 with her brother Harrison not too far behind finishing 14th in 10:14. Lara Oak was next back coming 25th in 12:02. Max and Ella Spiller took part in the race for the youngest children coming 5th and 12th respectively. Olivia Higginson of Honiton Running Club took part in her first event since October when, together with friend Megan, they ran the Rainbow Colour Run at Exeter Racecourse on Sunday, 8th June. Money raised went to Children's Hospice South West and Olivia and Megan had great fun having paint thrown at them during the event.
Honiton Running Club was well represented at the Talaton Trotter 7 mile multi-terrain run last Sunday. On almost the hottest day of the year so far, right in the middle of the day, 71 runners set off taking in the lovely East Devon countryside running through Escot Park, along the River Otter, through woods and on roads and tracks. The race was won by Jake Waldron who stormed home in 41 minutes 42 seconds beating the second runner home by nearly 4 minutes. First back for Honiton was Ben Stone who settled for 4th place in the great time of 48:09. Chris Entwistle followed coming 8th in 50:08. Ross Penwill had yet another great run beating Rod Inglis by just one second to come 12th in 54:05. Rod wasn’t too upset though as he collected a prize for being first in his category. Steve Davey followed 2 places later in 54:35 having kept Rod and Ross in his sights throughout the race. Suzanne Spiller has been forced out of the racing scene for a while due to injury but nevertheless she did well to be first lady back for Honiton coming 17th in 55:17. Vernon Gillard is regaining his form and was pleased to come 18th in 55:45. Ceri Oak followed in 22nd place in 56:20. Howard Bidmead has recently moved to Talaton and took advantage of taking a short stroll to the start. He came 23rd in 57:10 but did miss out on being first local runner! Despite Mark Dallyn saying he didn’t feel great, he had a solid run coming 25th in 57:59. Judy Davey was next in 27th place pleased to finish under the hour in 59:20. Roger Saunders really struggled with this race eventually coming 38th in 1:02:40 looking like he was going to pass out as he crossed the line. Sharon Wells and Kathy Layzell both looked strong as they finished; Sharon 51st in 1:08:06 and Kathy 59th in 1:11:10. Also on offer was the much shorter ‘Weener’ which was won by William Watson in 18:43. Katelyn Wells was the first Honiton runner back in 5th place in 20:48 followed by Jasmine Stone in 20:53. Abigail Davies and Dad, Hadleigh ran together finishing in 25:16 with Hadleigh winning a prize for first adult home! Ellen Layzell completed the line-up coming 10th in 31:20. Thanks to Robin Carter for great organisation and to other helpers and landowners for a fantastic races. The Forces March 5 Marathons in 5 Days took place recently and it was the fifth time the Veterans’ Charity had organised the event. It starts in Ilfracombe and passes through glorious countryside in Exmoor, the Quantock Hills, rural Somerset and much of Salisbury Plain finishing in Bulford, Wiltshire. The three stooges; Honiton Running Club’s Stephen Boyes together with Steve Retro Reynolds and Geoff Woodward completed the 137miles over the 5 days . They were awarded a cut glass trophy to recognise the effort.
Last Saturday, several Honiton runners took part in the 10k multi-terrain Umborne Ug. The Ug is a challenging race and there was plenty of mud this year although the weather was pretty much perfect on the evening. Axe Valley Runner’s Tim Lenton won the race in a time of 41 minutes 37 seconds and the first Honiton runner home was Kevin Hawker who came 4th in 44:21 winning his age category. Ben Stone followed closely coming 7th in 46:12. Hadleigh Davies was next back coming 18th in 51:48. Just one place and 46 seconds later was Steve Davey who also won a category prize. Young Iain Ross had a much better run than last year coming 22nd in 53:29. Ross Penwill is running really well at the moment and stormed home to finish 24th in 53:44 ahead of Rod Inglis by just 4 seconds. Ceri Oak was the first lady back for Honiton coming 27th in 55:07 and she was followed by the next lady, Judy Davey who finished 39th in 58:05. Simon Spiller had followed Judy for most of the race but couldn’t quite catch her coming 40th in 59:06. This was the first race Greg Axsel has taken part in for about 2 ½ years so he did remarkably well to come 46th in 1:02:29. Once again John Burgess was accompanied by his camera taking photos along the way. John came 52nd in 1:02:54. Tony Peek was next back having enjoyed the race to come 57th in 1:04:33. Brent Dicks stopped twice for cider mid route which slowed him down a little to come 61st in 1:07:37 just two places and 15 seconds ahead of Sharon Wells. Kathy Layzell put in another gutsy run to finish Honiton’s line-up coming 69th in 1:11:32. There were 84 finishers. On their return racers were welcomed back to wonderful refreshments in the form of a barbecue, cakes and the bar! Thank you to Eleanor and Rick Wood as usual for organising such a superb race and to all the other helpers, marshals and landowners. There was also a junior fun run on offer and this was won by AVR’s Alfie Devine-Wright. Jasmine Stone was first back for Honiton coming 3rd female and 13th overall. She was directly followed by Josh Foundling-Hawker and James Oak. Lara Oak, accompanied by her Dad Warren, came 31st and completing the line-up for Honiton was Ellen Layzell in 39th place. There were 45 finishers. Three members of Honiton Running Club travelled to Taunton last Sunday to take part in the Taunton Triathlon based at Taunton School. The event comprised of 400 metres in the pool, followed by what was supposed to be a 20k bike ride, that at the last minute was changed to 30k! This was followed by a 5k run. Richard Harvey has plenty of experience of triathlons, whilst for Sandra and Nick Thorpe it was their second and first attempts respectively. Not surprisingly Richard led the Honiton contingency home in a combined time of 1.28.54 in 40th place (10th in his age category) Richard was a little disappointed with his swim and like many found the extreme shallowness of the pool difficult to deal with. More of a surprise was that Sandra in only her second triathlon won her age category in a time of 1.49.39 and 136th overall. The fact that she is actually 4 months shy of her next big birthday, seems to have eluded the judges! Sandra was naturally delighted to leave husband Nick in her wake as he finished just over a minute adrift in 1.50.59 in 142nd position and 5th in his age category. Nick has vowed to have revenge next time, even if it means letting her tyres down! The race was won by Aled Jones (no, not that one) in a time of 1.08.50. 173 completed the race.
On the same day two Honiton runners went to Crewkerne to take part in the 10k. This race has an undulating out and back route which includes a loop through Merriott. Racers run on country lanes through attractive villages and hamlets. Vernon Gillard came in first for Honiton in 37th place in 45 minutes 51 seconds with Esme Moffett coming a respectable 79th place in 51:17. The race was won by Kieran Young in the fantastic time of 35:37 and there were 181 finishers. On Sunday 18th May Honiton runners travelled to Cotley to take part in the inaugural running of Chard Running Club’s Wambrook Waddle. This was a challenging multi-terrain 10 run around the fields and woods with a hill or two for added interest as well as plenty of stinging nettles. It was a perfect summer’s day at a great venue with a well marked and marshalled course. Ben Stone was first back for Honiton coming 3rd overall in 46 minutes 11 seconds and winning his age category. He was followed by Rod Inglis who once again had an amazing run on the back of last week’s efforts at Beer. For the second race running, he was followed by Steve Davey who didn’t feel he had a great run. Rod was 11th in 52:30 and Steve 14th in 54:36. Next back was Bruce Strawbridge who on his comeback race following injury was flabbergasted to find out he had won a trophy for his age category. He came 16th in 56:15. Hot on his heels as he had been for most of the race was Vernon Gillard who finished 18th in 56:27 and only one place behind Vernon was Judy Davey who finished in 57:25 after following both Bruce and Vernon for the entire race. Judy was the sole Honiton lady and was pleased to be 3rd lady overall and also winning a prize for her age category. Next back was Tony Peek who enjoyed the run but had not quite got over a cold. He came 25th in 1:02:24. The Honiton line-up was completed by John Burgess who taking a photograph as he crossed the finish line came 28th in 1:05:25.
There was also the option of a 1k or 2k fun run. Jasmine Stone took part in the 2k run and was first over the finish line. She won a trophy to match her dad’s. All runners concluded that it was a great event and vowed to return next year. Elsewhere on the same day, Honiton runner Howard Bidmead took advantage of a honeymoon in Guernsey to compete in the RG Falla Guernsey Quarter Marathon being a 6.5 mile road race which takes place on the West coast of the Island at Vazon Bay. With a 10.30 start the temperature had already reached 20c. The course is an out and back along the seafront which was reasonably flat and making for a fast race. With over 150 runners Howard was pleased to finish in the top 20 with a time of 47m 46s. The bank holiday sunshine on Monday, 5th May brought out several Honiton Runners to brave the Killerton 10K and Half Marathon races organised by Relish Running Races which specialise in Hills! So it wasn’t a surprise that the routes seem to find as many different ways as possible to climb the wooded hill behind Killerton House. The Half Marathon course was twice around the 10K route. Howard Bidmead and Tony Peek had both pre-entered for the Half Marathon course and they managed to persuade Louise Crisp to join them. It was a wise move as Louise did a great time overtaking Howard at the start of the second loop and finishing in 24th place in 2 hours 3 minutes. Howard finished just behind in 2:07 and surprisingly he found the hills on the second loop much easier. Tony Peek came steaming in at 2:12 to finish 38th but regretting the drinks at the Honiton Sausage and Cider fest the day before. There were 72 finishers. The Half Marathon was won by Milan Goc from Sidmouth an ex Honiton Runner. The 10K runners followed the Half Marathon folks around but thankfully only had to do one loop of the hills. Rod Inglis came in at 50:06 in good form enjoying the route complete with bluebells. He was followed by Roger Saunders who hasn’t been racing for several months due to injury so this was his come-back run. His time was 55:59 which managed to win a prize as first in category. Joe Daly has done a few races recently and came in at 61:01. Finally Roger’s daughter Helen made this her first race after graduating from the beginners group at the club and finished looking very fresh in 64:17. She wants to do a flat race next though so she can keep running. 195 runners completed the race.
Last Sunday saw a few more Honiton members out taking part in Beer Primary School’s Beer Blazer 10k and 5k starting and finishing at Pecorama. The 10k course covers some of The Grizzly’s toughest terrain including The Stairway to Heaven and a fair chunk of Branscombe Beach. The run was varied including fields, tracks, the Undercliff, cliff tops and open common. Having struggled to the top of the cliffs runners were treated to some breathtaking views of the Jurassic Coast. The race was won by local Axe Valley Runner Tim Lenton in the impressive time of 43:35. First Honiton runner home was Ben Stone in 50:04 and 7th place. Chris Entwistle was next back coming 10th in 53:18 with Richard Harvey closely following coming 13th in 53:52. Richard was a little concerned that Rod Inglis may overtake him as he had an incredible run to finish one place later in 54:20. Rod had overtaken Steve Davey for the first time ever in a race and Steve had to be content to come 18th in 54:55. Richard Harris was next back coming 22nd in 56:04. Howard Bidmead had only been married 2 days but marriage obviously suits him as he had a great run to finish 31st in 56:57 just holding off Honiton’s first lady, Ceri Oak who finished 32nd in 57:18. Simon Spiller struggles with race demons and this race was no exception and he said no-one had told him about the hills! He finished 42nd in 1 hour 17 seconds. Judy Davey had followed him for about 3 miles at a distance and she eventually finished 3 places and 10 seconds later. John Burgess was next coming 89th in 1:11:24 and completing the 10k line up for Honiton was Kathy Layzell who came 101st in 1:14:31. There were 131 finishers. Pippa Westall had also begun the race and having completed the hardest parts (the beach and The Stairway to Heaven), she was running so fast she fell over and ended up being given a lift back and receiving emergency first aid to a nasty gash in her arm. The 5k distance enticed 3 Honiton juniors out and Iain Ross had a great run to finish 3rd overall in 25:12. Jack Elsom was just 2 places later in 27:02 and Florence Swan came 2nd girl finishing 11th overall in 29:06. Iain and Flo both picking up a medal for their efforts. Also on offer was the mile long fun run which saw junior Jasmine Stone and her younger brother Harrison taking part Honiton runners took part in Kilmington Primary School’s Kilmington Kanter 7 mile multi-terrain race on Good Friday with some good results. There are two substantial climbs making this a fairly challenging route. Ben Stone was first back for Honiton coming 4th in 46 minutes 38 seconds picking up a prize for his efforts. Just back from holiday looking like he had been tangoed, Tim Legg also picked up an age category prize finishing 11th overall in 52:20. Tom Bornet had a good run to finish 19th in 52:20 with Steve Davey hot on his heels just one place later and 22 seconds. Richard Harris had a great race finishing 23rd in 53:18 and Mark Dallyn, still with London Marathon in his legs, did well to come 32nd in 55:23. Judy Davey was the first Honiton lady home finishing 39th overall in 57:23 picking up a prize for 3rd lady. Pippa Westall wasn’t far behind coming 43rd in 59:15. Tony Peek found he had set off too fast yet again and suffered with stitch as a result. He sprinted to beat Louise Crisp to the finish line in 48th place in 1:01:28 with Louise crossing the line just 4 seconds later. She struggled a bit but was running with tired legs after a heavy training week. Howard Bidmead ran with his step daughter to complete the line-up coming 81st in 1:24:05. Tom Merson won the race in 38:36 and there were 85 finishers. Upon their return, runners were treated to a welcome cup of tea and hot cross bun. Juniors Rowan Westall and Megan Burton took part in the Fun Run.
Louise Crisp and Tony Peek were out again last Sunday taking part in Plymouth’s Half Marathon. This time it was Louise’s turn to beat Tony. She was delighted to achieve another personal best time finishing in 1 hour 48 mins. Tony was only 1 minute behind having found the last half a mile really hard going mainly being it was up hill! It was a good route, with varied scenery although there was a long slope of a hill at about 4 miles before a nice downhill stretch. Then it was through the National Trust’s Saltram Park before going out along the Embankment and turning around heading back into the city via The Barbican. The weather was kind for most of the run with drizzle at about 11 miles but even that soon cleared. A very well organised event. Honiton Running Club members have been travelling the country to compete in various spring marathons. Clare Melbourne took part in the Manchester Marathon on 6th April. She has been training hard and completed it tired and exhausted in 4 hour 46 minutes. The race was won by Andi Jones in 2:16.
Kevin Hawker and Stephen Boyes’ marathon was a bit closer to home in Taunton. Kevin had an aim to finish before 3:15 which would give him an automatic entry into next year’s London Marathon. He had an incredible run smashing that target to come an amazing 5th overall, 2nd in age category in 2:56. Definitely a ticket to London! Step Boyes managed to get around without walking although he hit the wall at 17miles reducing him to a much slower pace. He finished in 3:43, 86th place overall. The race was won by Alan Ryder in 2:47. Six runners travelled to London to take part in the London Marathon on 13th April. It was a lovely day for spectators but maybe a bit too hot for the runners. First back for Honiton was Hadleigh Davies who achieved a great personal best time of over 5 minutes. He finished in 3:22 having raised about £1800 for his charity CLIC Sargent. Steve Davey was next back pleased to have finished but disappointed not to have been closer to 3:30. He finished in 3:41 having raised money for the club’s charity of the year Devon Air Ambulance after gaining a place through the club ballot. Julie Payne was the first Honiton lady back finishing 3 minutes after Steve. She had got her place for running a previous marathon in a ‘good for age’ time. She has completed the race before and found this one a long hard painful struggle compared to previous runs. Mark Dallyn had won the other club ballot place so was also raising money for Devon Air Ambulance as well as Help for Heroes. He was quite happy to finish in 4:03 after suffering painful muscle tightening. It was JoJo Davey’s second marathon and she was beat her previous record by 6 minutes finishing next in 5:05 having raised about £1800 for Prostrate Cancer.She thoroughly enjoyed the day echoing all the runners’ opinions of great atmosphere and support along the way. It was also Gary Enticott’s first marathon and he bravely tackled it despite suffering from injury during training. In the end he was just pleased to compete and finish! His recorded time was 5:17. Well done to all the marathon runners and for the amazing amount of money raised for all the very worthwhile charities. |
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