Lapping up the Lakeland Fells

Patrick Devine-Wright and Pat Kinsella both completed ultras in the Lake District this weekend. The Montane Lakeland 50 and 100 are described as the UK’s premier trail races.  The two events certainly take place over some of most challenging but most spectacular scenery in the country. The circular 100-mile route encompasses the whole of the Lakeland fells, and includes in the region of 6300m of ascent using public bridleways and footpaths. The route starts in Coniston and heads south before completing a clockwise loop which takes in the Dunnerdale fells, Eskdale, Wasdale and Buttermere before arriving in Keswick. From here the route heads to Matterdale and continues over to Haweswater before returning via Kentmere, Ambleside and Elterwater to the finish at Coniston.

The Lakeland 50 is run over the second half of the Lakeland 100 Ultra Tour of the Lake District, completing the final 50 miles of the 100-mile course so is still an incredibly tough ask.

Patrick Devine-Wright went large and tackled the 100-mile option. The distance is actually 105 miles and he finished in 26 hours, 6 minutes which placed him 32nd and second M50 of some 750 who started out on the Friday evening.

Pat Kinsella went for the 50-mile option, which starts on the Saturday morning near Penrith.  It may be ‘half of the course’ but it’s still almost double the distance of a marathon and on rough terrain with approximately 3100m of ascent and Pat finished in just over 14 hours.

Four run five at the Flyer

On Saturday evening four AVRs ran the Haldon Forest Flyer. A five-mile run on the trails through Haldon Forest offering spectacular views across to Dartmoor and back to the city of Exeter, it is organised by Haldon Trail Runners.  There is a sting in the tail with just under a mile of steep climb to the finish line.

First AVR home was Kerry Board, 26th in 37:35, followed by Cory Schultz in 63rd in 44:02; Sarah Coates, 67th in 44:15 and Jess Board, 80th in 46:45.  A total of 140 completed the race.

Seaton parkrun and beyond

There was a huge turnout on a warm and sunny morning in Seaton with 341 finishers.  First to finish was Matt Clist in 17:01with Debbie Whiston second female in 20:54. Eleanor Wood was first on age-grade with a tremendous 89.7% for her 23:38.

Rupert Pady continues his fine streak of results with a PB of 20:16 and there were also PBs for David Long, 20:45 and Shirley Goy in 34:34.  Simon Freathy celebrated his 100th milestone event while Liz Slade volunteered for the 150th time.

Out on the road, Haydn Boehm and Louise Rawlins tackled the hill at Ashton Court parkrun; Susi and David Sadler enjoyed Nant y Pandy parkrun on Anglesey while Helen Boehm completed Poole parkrun and Jon Day and Paul Johns continued their tour of Devon parkrun events with Tamar Lakes.

We raced the tram… ..and the tram won!

The sun shone for the annual AVR race the tram event on Tuesday evening.  There was a huge turnout with some opting to race the tram in teams of three or nine while others enjoyed a social run back from Colyton after the scenic ride through Seaton Wetlands.

The tram and the teams all left Colyton station at the same time with the tram back at base in Seaton in a very speedy 13.31 so this was the time to beat.  The men’s team, The Trambusters,  arrived home in an impressive 14.40 and the women’s team, The Thunderbirds also excelled arriving back in 18:24.

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Another 12 teams of three took part with each runner completing around 1.1 miles of the route.  The Traminators was chosen as the best team name by the tram drivers to win a free drink at the bar.  All the runners including some 40 who ran back as a social run enjoyed a drink and barbecue at Seaton Cricket Club prepared by a wonderful team of injured or non-runners.  Huge thanks go to Seaton Tramway who provided the trams, drivers and sunshine for a cracking evening.  A donation has also been made from AVR to Devon Air Ambulance on behalf of the tram.

Dalwood Delight for AVR

AVR’s Matt Clist and Karen Eyre were the winners at the Dalwood Fayre 10k on Sunday finishing in 40.45 and 53.36 respectively.  A hilly, muddy and challenging course, especially after Saturday’s rain, the race starts and finishes at the Tuckers Arms in Dalwood. Runners enjoyed stunning views from the Blackdown Hills as well as around 3000 feet of elevation!

Joel Seward was second home in 42:58 and Eleanor second female in 55:03. Eleven AVRs took part amongst the 60 finishers. Organised by Ruby Red Running the results are on their Facebook page.

Down by the Riverside

It was a warm evening on Wednesday for the Exeter 10k River Run organised by City Runs. The fast, flat race attracts many speedy club runners with pacers provided.  It runs alongside the River Exe and Exeter Canal with picturesque views across to the city.

Three AVRs took part:  Matt Hewer was 38th in 38:43; Cory Schultze was 149th in 49:27 and Angela Kerr 226th in 57:17, third F65.  More than 300 took part.

Seaton parkrun and beyond

There were 248 finishers at Seaton on Saturday with Ritchie Durrant first finisher in 16:50 and Debbie Whiston first female in 20:37 and third on age grade with 77%. Luke Reed was second home in 18:37.

Steve Maclure in 25:52 and Helen Boeham in 32:23 secured PBs. Congratulations to Sam Miller, the current volunteer coordinator, who reached her 100 volunteer milestone on Saturday.

Further afield there were double celebrations in Stockholm where Diane Newton celebrated her 75th birthday at Haga parkrun with her 75th parkrun – that is meticulous planning!

Cliff Marriott and Pam Goddard braved the atrocious Scottish weather completing Lews Castle parkrun; Paul Johns was in Llanelli and did Sandy Water parkrun; Georgie Ryan took part in Eastville parkrun while Ian Smith ran Nonsuch parkrun and John Whitaker completed Bolton parkrun.

Down by the Riverside

The very popular Otter River and Rail 10k race meanders along the River Otter and old railway line providing beautiful views across the Otter Valley.  Starting and finishing in Tipton St John it is relatively flat using public footpaths and rights of way which can be muddy especially this year!  Thankfully the rain held off during most of the run with runners enjoying the sunshine on Saturday morning.

There was a huge turnout of AVRs amongst the 230 competitors.  The winners were Colin Densham of South West Road Runners in 38:41 and Ellie Dominey in 42:37. First AVR home was Simon Dimmock in 44.40, especially impressive as he had already run Seaton parkrun earlier in the morning!

AVR’s Eleanor Wood won the F65 category prize finishing in 39th in 49:19.

A special mention must go to Nicky Lincoln and Becky Wills who finished their first ever 10k following their recent graduation from the club’s “Couch to 5K” programme.

Full results are here

 

Yeovilton 5k

On Wednesday evening, nine AVRs made the journey to the fourth in the series of six 5k races in Yeovilton looking for points for the club challenge as well as a good opportunity for a fast 5k on this flat course.

Eleanor Wood was first F65 in a brilliant 22:54 with Angela Kerr second F65 in 27:09.  Dawn Carrah took third spot in F55 in 24:48.  Karen Eyre and Kerry Board were fourth and fifth F45 in 21:21 and 21:30 respectively.

On the men’s side, Rich Hardy was third M40, 16th overall in 16:49.  Rupert Pady finished fifth M50 in 20:06 just pipping Simon McClellan who was sixth M50 in a PB of 20:24.  Other AVRs were Adrian Strawbridge in 19:47 just a second off his PB and James Ashforth finishing in 21:02.

The next event is on Wednesday 14th August.

Seaton parkrun and beyond

Conditions were perfect at Seaton on Saturday morning with 233 finishers at parkrun.  Harry McMahon was second finisher in 18:38 celebrating his 100th milestone.  Simon McClellan in 20:32; James Hawker in 22:32; Mark Parsons in 25:25; and Shirley Goy in 35:50 all achieved shiny new PBs.  Alison Hayward, a stalwart member of the parkrun core team, also celebrated her 100th parkrun.

Further afield, Pam Goddard and Cliff Marriott completed Chippenham Playing Fields parkrun in Monmouth; Gill and Jon Day ran Sharpham Fields parkrun near Cheddar; David and Paula Cooke enjoyed the “curly wurly” course at Somerdale parkrun; and Dave Hutton and Sue Chambers did Bolberry Down parkrun near Salcombe.

Sadlers Saunders Surprise!

Susi and David Sadler took on the Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon over the weekend.  It’s not a marathon but a two-day self navigation event with overnight camping. Runners have to carry all their camping, wet weather and emergency gear as well as food for the full weekend.

The route is a secret until the morning of each day and then participants navigate with map and compass (no gps on watches or phones allowed!) between set points (but no set route) with an electronic control at each checkpoint.

The scenic route around Wansfell Pike, east of Ambleside, included trails and paths and everything in between them with mountainsides, rivers, ghylls and bogs to cross. Lots of bogs it turns out! But after a warning of winter conditions from the organisers the weather turned out to be dry and sunny providing incredible views across the Eastern fells of the Lake District.

David and Susi completed all 11.8 miles with 3600 feet of ascent on Saturday and more than 10 miles with around 2000 feet of elevation on Sunday to finish 69th overall and 34th mixed couple in their first attempt at this challenge.

Quantock Beast

Karen Eyre had a very successful, if tough, visit to Somerset for the Quantock Beast on Sunday.  Starting in the beautiful setting of The National Trust’s Fyne Court estate the race is just under 10k with more than 250m elevation gain.  Runners enjoyed the stunning Quantock Hills scenery from the route which included woodland trails, fields, track and country lanes.   Karen was an excellent fifth female, 20th overall and taking the first F50 prize finishing in 53:21.  There were 76 finishers.

Run Exe 5k

Four AVRs travelled over to Exmouth on Wednesday for the latest in the Run Exe 5k summer series run on fast, flat roads.

In a race that saw the first 18 finishers in sub-17, Matt Frost was first AVR home in 37th position in 17:52.  Ian Kinnersley was fourth M60 in 21:57, 107th overall with Eleanor Wood third F65 in 23:17.  Unfortunately Ron Seward turned his ankle so was unable to finish.  The race forms part of the InStep Devon series with the next event taking place on Tuesday 6th August.

 

Seaton parkrun and beyond

At Seaton parkrun on Saturday Debbie Whiston celebrated her 300th parkrun by finishing first female in 20.22.  Second to finish was Ritchie Durrant in 16:53 with Eleanor Wood top on age grade with an impressive 90.4% for her 23:27.  David Cooke reached 200 parkrun events and Helen Boehm and Shirley Goy achieved PBs of 32:44 and 35:52 respectively.

Out on the road, Sam Halls and Rob Collier took part in Mura di Lucca parkrun in Italy picking up their first country flag and an M for Sam’s name challenge.  Tim and Amie Sibley completed Fell Foot parkrun in Cumbria; Jon Day did Plym Valley parkrun; Iain Westworth ran Penryn Campus in Cornwall while Pam Goddard and Cliff Marriott took part in Westmill parkrun in Ware.  Rik Tumber and James Ashforth completed the tough but beautiful Parke and Alan Sealey ran Itchen Valley parkrun.

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.

Crewkerne a cracker for AVR!

AVRs had a very successful Sunday in Crewkerne with individual and team prizes secured.  With a 10k and 5k option on offer there was a good turn-out of AVRs for the event with both races starting and finishing in the market town.  Mostly on road and definitely undulating the route takes runners out to Clinton St George and back through the pretty village of Merriott to Crewkerne.

The 10k was won by Alex Coombs after a great battle with Wayne Loveridge of Chard Road Runners.  First AVR home and third overall was Matt Clist in an impressive 35:19 followed by Matt Hewer in fifth in 39:26 and first M40.  With Lee Moran eighth and second M40 in 41:01 and Rupert Pady, 18th and third M50 in 44:00, the AVR men also scooped first team prize.

AVR women were just as successful with Karen Eyre first F45 in 47:10; Eleanor Wood first F55 in 48:38 and Jacqui Stokes, third F35 in 48:54  also taking the first female team award.

The prizes were presented by the Mayor of Crewkerne and representative from the sponsor, Everys.  In the 5k, Simon Dimmock was third in 20:09.  Full results for both races here 

The race is included in this year’s AVR club challenge which is now hotting up as we reach the halfway point of the year.

 

Seaton parkrun and beyond

Another super sunny Saturday for parkrun saw Simon Dimmock celebrate his 250th event and Sam Tooze achieve her 100 milestone.  First female was Debbie Whiston in 20:01 and third on age grade with 80%.  Third finisher was Harry McMahon in 17:47.  There were PBs for Andy Peters in 28:12, Rachel Hiscock in 29:48, Shirley Goy in 37:26 and Fran Cohen in 46:33.

Further afield Carol Austin chalked up her ninth parkrun country by completing Tampere parkrun in Finland; Lee Brooker ran Dolgellau parkrun in Wales; Sam Miller and Bec Davey did the beautiful Woolacombe Downs parkrun; James Ashforth took part in Richmond parkrun while Jon and Gill Day enjoyed Five Arches in Somerset.

 

Masterful from AVR’s M45s

At Mallory Park Racing Circuit on Saturday, AVR’s M45 team came a very impressive fifth place in the British Masters Open Road Relay Championships with Matt Clist, Matt Hewer, Ryan Snell and Duncan Staddon running a 3 mile leg each.  A total of 26 teams took part with just Mansfield Harriers, Leeds City AC, Salford Harriers AC and Peterborough & Nene AC ahead of AVR.

Matt Clist ran the fourth fastest leg overall in just 16.00. This is a great effort from the team and for our club as there were some big names individuals and clubs taking part.

 

Run Exe Relays

On Friday evening AVR fielded seven relay teams in this year’s Run Exe Relays, organized by City Runs, taking place along the River Exe starting from Exwick playing fields. Some 83 teams participated from across the south west. 

AVR’s men’s M40 team of Aaron Rawlins, Lee Moran, Haydn Boehm and Rich Hardy took first place in 1:01:06 with Rich Hardy pipping Matt Frost, the final runner of the M18-39 team right on the line. Both the M60 and F60 teams were second in category.

 There were also some notable individual performances for AVR from Rich Hardy fastest M40 13:25;  Andy West fastest M65 16:42; Jeremy Norcombe 2nd M65 17:53; Ron Seward fastest M70 17:27;  Kevin Feeney 3rd M70 20:35;  Carol Austin 3rd F60 19:31; Ann Coston 2nd F55 19:42 and Melanie Bolden 3rd F55 20:12.

Full results here. 

 

Wet in Manchester – for a change!

Angela Kerr and Adele Girdwood travelled to Manchester at the weekend to run in A J Bell Great Manchester Run Half Marathon.  This fast, flattish race starts and finishes in Manchester city centre and goes past both football stadiums on a weekend which also saw both United and City celebrating in one way or another. The weather was stereotypical Manchester with rain although the heaviest came after half marathon.  

 Angela was running for England Masters after qualifying last year and finished in 2:01:51 and was ninth F65. Carol Austin, who had also qualified for the Masters, had to withdraw due to injury.  

Adele finished in 1:56:13 and was 11th F60. Around 30,000 took part including the shorter 10k option. 

 

Great West Run Half marathon

This undulating race took place on Sunday and followed closed roads through Exeter city centre and adjacent countryside. Six AVRs took part. Matt Hewer finished 29th and 3rd M45 in a very impressive 1:21:20 and now awaits to see if this will be sufficient for an England call-up! Patrick Rosello  finished in1:37:03; James Hawker in 1:45:30; Ian Apps in 2:03:06; Dan Clist in 2:08:48; and Kathryn Thompson 2:46:42.

 

Egdon Easy 10k

Darrell Farley and Ron Seward went over to Weymouth for the Egdon Easy 10k on Saturday evening.  The flat course was made up of a short loop, followed by two longer loops around Lodmore reservoir on a mixture of tarmac and gravel paths. Darrell finished in 47:30 and 98th place, a brilliant time given he had completed Seaton parkrun earlier in the day. Ron rocked up in 48:03 and 105th position, snaffling the M70 trophy, despite wondering whether Friday night’s relays were really the best preparation!

328 completed the run, with Robert Wood of Basingstoke finishing first in 33:20.

 

Victorious at the Taunton Trail Half 

On Sunday in warm and muggy weather, four AVRs ran the Taunton trail half marathon which is a very scenic route along the canal and River Tone. The route was mainly gravel footpath with an off road section at mile nine. Kerry Board was first female, 16th overall in 1:41:12, Dawn Carrah first vet 60 in 1:58:54, Cory Schultze 1:59:08, and Rachel Hiscock 2:21:14. Alison Hayward completed the 10k in 1:08:36.

 

Bank Holiday Time Trial

Finally a sunny bank holiday for this club-organised event with 47 AVRs completing the time trial 10k and three completing  5k.   AVR also welcomed a visitor from Sweden who  ran the 10k. The run took place in good conditions and finished on a very sunny seafront. Matt Clist was first finisher in 35:12, 2nd Rich Hardy and 3rd David Cull. First female was Debbie Whiston in 41:00, 2nd Jacqui Stokes and 3rd Eleanor Wood.  These results will go into the big data mix towards the Club’s annual champs. 

Full results here. 

 

Seaton parkrun and elsewhere

Another sunny Saturday saw more than 300 take part in Seaton parkrun including many tourists.  First finisher this week was Joel Seward in 17:10 and Harry McMahon was third in 17:57. First female home was Debbie Whiston in 20:28 and she was third on age grade 78.34%.  First on age grade was Eleanor Wood in 23:35, 89.96%. Shirley Goy enjoyed yet another PB in 37:57.

 Bec Davey completed Bushy Park parkrun to complete the “Where it all started” challenge. Tony Smith & Sam Miller ran Krakow parkrun plus their daughter, Molly, who finished first and smashed the female course record in 17:10!

All ablaze in Beer

It was hot and sunny for Sunday’s Beer Blazer organised locally by Beer Primary School with a huge turnout of AVRs running and, also, supporting the event providing timers, marshals and back-markers.

The multi-terrain event starts and finishes near the school in the village then heads out over Beer Head to Branscombe and beyond.  Coming back along the coast path it is a challenging race, with 5 and 10 mile options available.

In the 10-mile event it was a win for Wayne Loveridge of Chard Road Runners – who on Saturday had celebrated his 200th parkrun by finishing first at Seaton parkrun.  Clearly even the post parkrun beach drink hadn’t affected him as he romped home in 1:15.33 just ahead of AVR’s Matt Clist in second, and first M45, in 1:16.33.

Third female, and first F65, was Eleanor Wood in a brilliant 1:46.16.

Tim Lenton was fifth, and first M50, in 1:23.05.  Simon Mcclellan had a good run to finish 21st, and first M55 in 1:43.49. Ian Kinnesley took first M60 in 1:51.28 with Andy West first M65 in 1:57.22 and Ron Seward first M70 in 2:03.06. A total of 114 completed the 10-mile race.

Ninety runners chose the 5-mile version including a number of AVRs.

Full results of both events are here.

Great Runs moves to Bristol

Following the Birmingham events the Great Run was in Bristol on Sunday for the half marathon and 10k.  The conditions were perfect, if a little hot for those taking the longer race option.

The races start in Bristol city centre before following the River Avon out through Clifton to Sneyd Park and Stoke Bishop returning the same way for a loop around the city to the finish.  The course is flat and fast although with a good few turns especially near the end.  In the half marathon, Ritchie Durrant was 81st finishing in 1:24.29.

Jacqui Stokes was delighted to finally crack the two hour barrier and did so in style finishing in 1:49.20, 1870th.  Sue Hayes, running with her son, finished in 1:47.21, 9th F50 and 1637th and Mark Day, who took part with his son, was 5889th in 2:16.58.

Angela Kerr took part in the 10k race finishing in an excellent sixth F65 in 55:00 and 1893rd.

More than 15000 took part in both events with the Great Run machine rolling on up to Manchester for next Sunday’s Great Manchester half and 10k.

Jurassic Coast 100k

Once again, Julia Mallon took on an incredible challenge and nailed it!  On Saturday she took part in the Jurassic Coast Ultra Challenge completing the continuous 100k in an incredible 17 hours: 52 secs. The event started in Castle Corfe and finished in Bridport. The first half took in Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove, so a lot of hills but stunning views to compensate for the effort.  Then as the route went through Weymouth and onwards towards Bridport, it became flatter but unfortunately Julia was suffering by then from cramps and sickness but she battled on to complete the race.

Seaton parkrun

It was another sunny morning for parkrun in Seaton with 224 finishers.  First female and first on age grade was Debbie Whiston in 20.24, 79%.  Luke Reed was second finisher in 18.21 and there were PBs for Shirley Goy in 38.59 and Fran Cohen in 47.19.

There was a good turnout from AVR’s latest Couch to 5k group who are on week eight of the course and already taking part in parkrun thanks in no small part to the support and encouragement of Cliff Marriott and his team of helpers.  Five of them secured PBs too!

Louise Rawlins celebrated her 100th volunteer stint at Seaton – an amazing achievement as she only started volunteering two years ago.

Out on the road, Adrianne and Anthony Marsden took part in Bolberry Down parkrun while Mark Spraggs enjoyed Penryn Campus in Cornwall.  John Whittaker attended Bushy Park parkrun achieving the “where it all started” challenge; Emma Ellynn ran Ally Pally parkrun which has tremendous views of the capital; Carolyn Nation did Minehead parkrun.  Bec and Simon Davey took part in Quakers Walk in Devizes securing their Q while James Ashforth did Hereford before a wedding in the city.   Sam Miller enjoyed Malahide parkrun in the grounds of Malahide Castle and Gardens in Dublin.