AVRs take on heat, distance and pebbles!

It was fantastic to be back – that was the overwhelming message after parkrun returned across England on Saturday after 16 months without the weekly 5k event due to the pandemic. Seaton parkrun came back with a slightly amended route to allow for better social distancing before and after the event but still has its infamous pebble finish. A total of 218 people ran, jogged and walked the course including some 22 AVRs. The heatwave had come to an abrupt end with a thunderstorm during the night but by morning the conditions were actually very good for those taking part. First AVR home was Jon Day in 21:01 with Emilie Padmore first female just behind in 21:14 and, also, highest AVR on age-grade at 71%. Well done to Louise Rawlins on her PB of 25:23.
The 175th Seaton parkrun was made possible by 39 volunteers including many AVRs as well as a lot of hard work over recent weeks to prepare for the return. Event directors, Carol Austin and Tony Smith were delighted to have parkrun back and especially pleased to welcome 62 first timers to Saturday’s event.

Four members of Axe Valley Runners braved the extreme heat last Tuesday with the temperature still at 27ºC when the race commenced at 7.30pm. First AVR home was Terry Emmett in an incredible time of 16:56, 7th overall and 1st M40. Next back was Duncan Staddon 11th in 17:24 (both runners recently came joint 1st in the Ham to Lyme 50km). Next was Joel Seward 14th in 17:48. The final AVR back was Ron Seward 68th and 1st M70 with an impressive time of 23:21. The third edition of the Summer Series takes place on Tuesday 17th August from 7.30pm.

Julia Conway and Ron Seward ran the 2nd nights Exeter City run 10K with Julia completing in 48:58 and Ron 48:20 1st MV70.

Gill and Jon Day finally raced the Torbay Summer Sprint Triathlon after covid postponement. It was a 400m Swim (16x Lengths), 10 laps around the Torbay Velo Park, 9.3 miles and finish with a 5k Run, which appeared short at 2.9 miles. Gill had a great race with a Swim time of 12.37mins, Bike 31 mins and Run 30.40 mins. Including transition her final finish time was 1:18:05. Jon had a Good Swim with a new PB of 8.58 mins, on the bike Jon did a “Big Dave” with one extra lap so 10.2miles in 28.07 mins, Run 20.33mins. Overall time of 1:02:14. This was another fantastic traffic free, well organised event by Sportiva Events.
If anyone is interested in taking part in a Multi-Sport Event, then check out their website: https://sportivaevents.co.uk/