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.

Scorchio at Ottery

Summer finally arrived in Devon this weekend for the Ottery 10k, organised brilliantly by Honiton Running Club.  The road race, run on country lanes surrounding Ottery, starting and finishing at Ottery St Mary Cricket Club attracted a big turn-out of Axe Valley Runners with the race featuring in the Club Championship this year.  This year’s race was started by Olympian and former European Champion, Jo Pavey, who then took part herself in the event before awarding the prizes later.

Taking third spot was AVR’s Matt Clist in an impressive 35:38, also top M40.  Matt Hewer was next AVR in 38:55, fourth M40.

Rupert Pady was first M50 in 43:21 and there was a PB for Adrian Strawbridge in 43.16.

On the female side, Eleanor Wood was first F55 in 48:11.

Almost 300 completed the race, which also features in the InStep Devon series.  Full results will be posted here.

Yeovilton summer series

Eleven AVRs took part in the second of this series of six 5k events held from April to September on the second Wednesday of the month.  Fast, flat and definitely a PB course, the races start and finish at RNAS Yeovilton attracting a high quality field.

First AVR home was Joel Seward in 16:56, tenth place in a competitive field.  Third M40 was Ryan Snell in 17:18 while Angela Kerr was first F65 in 26:41.

Full results

The next event is Wednesday 12 June.

Exeter Marathon

The blistering hot conditions were not conducive to marathon running but David Cull and Lee Moran both took part and, in fact, ended up running 26.7 miles due to a mix-up at the start.  The route took runners around the Exeter riverside, canals and country park.  Finishing fifth overall and first M40 David Cull completed it in 3:06.44, just two months after running Barcelona marathon.  After a solid first 16 miles the heat took its toll and slowed him a little but he was happy to overtake a couple of runners in the last mile.  Lee Moran finished 13th in a very solid 3:20.30, third M45, achieving his target of not needing a ‘loo stop’!

Seaton parkrun

It was a gorgeous sunny day in Seaton for the 240 parkrunners, volunteers and spectators at parkrun.  First finishers were both AVR with Harry McMahon, first male, in 18:08 and Debbie Whiston, first female, in 20:34. These two were also first and second on age-grade with Debbie first on 78% then Harry on 74%.

Shaun Vinnicombe celebrated his 100 milestone and Shirley Goy her 50th parkrun.  There was a shiny PB for Helen Boehm in 35:26.

Away from home, Matt Frost completed Minehead parkrun and Andy West took part in Aylesbury parkrun.

Rob’s Remarkable (East Devon) Round

The East Devon Round, which starts at Blackberry Camp and finishes at Offwell village hall, covers an incredible 100k of glorious East Devon and Dorset including three Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a tough 10,000 feet of elevation.  On Saturday AVR’s Rob Collier took second place in the race finishing in 13 hours and nine minutes, about half an hour behind the winner, Justin Montague but more than an hour ahead of third place.  Rob had stayed with Justin until the penultimate aid station but Justin then pushed on over the last 17k for the crown.

AVR’s Stephen Grigg also took part, coming in tenth place, completing it in just over 16 hours, having got slightly lost so did an extra two miles.  An AVR team, led by Karen Eyre, staffed a vital aid station in Musbury.  Just 20 of the 30 starters completed the full Round; there were half and quarter rounds also available.

Great Birmingham Run

Carol Austin and Julia Conway travelled to Birmingham to take part in the Great Birmingham 10k, part of the Great Run series.  The undulating route started in Centenary Square, went into the Jewellery Quarter then out towards Edgbaston before circling back to finish in Smithfields, Digbeth.

The event was chosen as an England Masters vs Wales Masters event and Carol had qualified to compete for the England F60 team following her 10k in Brighton last year.  Despite struggling with a knee injury she managed to get round, earn her England vest and enjoy the sights of the city she called home for 33 years, finishing in 52:17, 768th and 14thF60.

Julia Conway finished in 57:02, 1237th, 26th F50.  The race was very well organised with 14,000 taking part in this and the half marathon.

Crediton Crunch 10k

There was a good turnout of AVRs at the Crediton Crunch on Sunday, a multi-terrain run across parkland, footpaths and country lanes with the first half of the race ran on the Devonshire Heartland Way. The race, part of the InStep Devon series, is organised by South West Road Runners.  AVR’s Tim Lenton was fourth in 42:24 and first M50.  Eleanor Wood was first F60 finishing in 53:52 with Dawn Carrah, third F60 in 59:20.  These two along with Fiona Seward meant AVR scooped the F60 team prize as well. Ron Seward was first M70 in 56:05.  A total of 180 completed the race.

Full results here

Seaton parkrun

Conditions were good at Seaton on Saturday and AVR provided a big team of pacers for the parkrun with 331 finishers.  The first three finishers were AVR along with first female with Joel Seward in 17:00; Ritchie Durrant in 17:36; Andrew Snook in 18:03 and Debbie Whiston in 20:03, also first on age grade.

There were a host of AVR PBs including Jase Potter 20:09;  Adrian Strawbridge 20:3: Dan Cohen 21:58; Ann-Louise Childe 29:13; Alison Hayward 29:22; Lucy Hanley 29:23; Helen Boehm 35:40; Shirley Goy 39:12; and Fran Cohen 49:44.

Out on the road, Carol Austin and Lesley Adams were at Cannon Hill parkrun in Birmingham where Carol completed her 80th run at that event; Pam Goddard visited the Eden Project parkrun; Angela Kerr took part in Fulham Palace parkrun and Simon Dimmock ran Portsmouth Lakeside parkrun.

All AVR parkrun results are available here

Marathoners Reunite at parkrun

After the excitement of the London marathon last week it was a quiet weekend on the racing front for AVR.

At Saturday’s Seaton parkrun it was an opportunity for those who had completed the London marathon last Sunday, on the streets of the capital or ‘virtually’ locally, to gather, debrief, celebrate and be congratulated by the parkrun community.

In the parkrun itself there was a great battle for first finisher with Joel Seward, even on tired London legs, just pipping Harry McMahon by three hundredths of a second, 17:16 and 17:19 respectively with Harry also nabbing a PB.

First female finisher, also fresh from the marathon, was Debbie Whiston in 20:25.  First on age-grade in an incredible 91% was Eleanor Wood in 23:17.

Rob Harp in 22:40, Pam Goddard in 28:40, Ann-Louise Childe in 29:18, and Shirley Goy in 39:23 all secured new PBs.

Out on the tourist trail, Jon Day took part in Eastleigh parkrun, Claire Warner did Wilmslow parkrun, Lee Brooker completed Bideford parkrun and David Cull ran Alice Holt parkrun in Waverley, Hampshire.  Kevin Feeney and Sarah Shepley completed Longrun Meadow for their ‘L”, Aileen and Peter Heal took part in Five Arches near Bath while Simon McClennan secured a new PB at Worden in Lancashire.

Golden Cap 10k

The free to enter National Trust 10k is held on the fourth Sunday of each month at Golden Cap.  On Sunday the weather held out with six AVRs taking part in the challenging multi-terrain run.  Tony Smith, Sam Miller, David and Susi Sadler, Sarah Herfet and Jools Elsom all enjoyed the fabulous views from Golden Cap as well as the bluebells around Langdon Woods and the coast path to Stonebarrow.  The Trust10 is all about enjoying the nature and surroundings rather than times and positions. More information is here

They did it ‘MyWay’

Four AVRs took part in this year’s Virtual London Marathon, MyWay, running the 26.2 miles locally using a downloaded app to measure their time and distance.  Louise and Aaron Rawlins, and Mark Day all ran around the country lanes of Offwell, Southleigh, Colyton, Colyford and Axmouth before finishing on the Esplanade in Seaton welcomed by many other AVRs at the Hideaway.  All three smashed their marathon PBs: Louise Rawlins, even finishing with her trademark cartwheel, in 4:19:05, Aaron Rawlins in 4:22.47 and Mark Day in 4:51.07.

Kathryn Thompson had been suffering from injuries so decided to walk it along the picturesque Exe Estuary finishing in 7:48.39.

 

Lording it in London

AVR had an incredible 18 runners complete the TCS London Marathon on the streets of the capital on Sunday.  First AVR home and in his first London marathon was Joel Seward in 2:39.17, a PB and very impressive sub-2:40. First female AVR was Debbie Whiston, competing for the army in the services match, coming home in a brilliant 3:07.24, 44th F45.

Joining Joel in the sub-3 club were Terry Emmett in 2:39.46; Ryan Snell in 2:40.15; Matt Hewer in a new PB of 2:47.00; Duncan Staddon in 2:53.50 and Rich Hardy in 2:54.17.

Second female AVR was Kerry Board in a brilliant shiny new marathon PB of 3:30.08 followed by Karen Eyre in 3:36.17.

Rupert Pady, finished in 3:13.46.  Laura Kerr carrying several injuries came in in 4:03.34 followed by Alan Hornibrook in 4:14.08, Haydn Boehm in 4:16.52, Jacqui Stokes in 4:21.36, Wayne Tooze in 4:27.58 and Emma Sampson in 5:15.12.

Angela Kerr finished in 4:33.55, 65th F65 with Diana Burn in 5:31.40, 54th F70.

Many congratulations to former AVR, Molly Smith who finished third British woman in the event in an amazing 2:36.22 running in her first marathon.

Steaming to the Coast

Five AVRs travelled to north Somerset to take part in the first edition of this event organised by Channel Events.  Emma Richardson, Suzy Blackett and Helen Holmes chose the full marathon and started the day with a glorious steam train ride on the Heritage Line from Minehead to Bishops Lydeard in the West Somerset Countryside.  From there they had a 26.2 mile run back again! All three ran together in the perfect sunny conditions enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Quantock Hills, the Steam Coast Trail and the South West Coast Path.  The three   finishing equal 100th in 6:19.51 with 128 completing the course.

Bec Davey and Carolyn Nation completed the 11-mile option which began in Williton.  Running together they finished in 79th in 2:40;14 with 98 completing the race.

 

Wrexham 10k

Choosing to ignore the London marathon Ron and Fiona Seward decided to instead participate in the Wrexham 10k. The course was slightly undulating, with a surprising short but steep climb at kilometre eight.

Ron finished 150th in 48:05 and first M70 with Fiona 473rd and fourth F65 in a PB of 1:00:06 .

It was a very well organised event, sponsored by JCB, and attracting  782 finishers.

Seaton parkrun

On a day when many regulars were preparing elsewhere for the marathon there were still 248 finishers at Seaton parkrun.  Third finisher was AVR’s David Cull in 19.44 and first on age-grade was Eleanor Wood in a tremendous 90.8% for her 23.22.

Jools Elsom celebrated her 100 milestone, many of which have been supporting other parkrunners so many congratulations.  Peter Heal achieved his 100 volunteer stints at Seaton to earn the special Seaton hat, presented by Lesley Adams, volunteer coordinator for the day.

The good conditions on Saturday contributed to six AVR PBs with Richard Jackson in 21:44; Lee Brooker in 25:53; Pam Goddard in 28:48; Lucy Hanley in 29:31; Derek Blumfield 30:36 and Helen Boehm in 35:56.