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.

Magnificent Manchester for AVRs

Four AVRs travelled north to take part in the increasingly popular Manchester marathon.  The UK’s flattest marathon, the 26.1 mile route starts near the famous Old Trafford, home of Manchester United, with the runners heading into the city centre then out to the superb of Altrincham before weaving their way back to the finish line opposite the stadium.

First AVR home was Matt Frost in an excellent 2:52.55, just outside his PB, in 445th place.  Ian Kinnersley finished in a very impressive 3:38.58 taking more than three minutes off his PB, 30th M60 and 4053rd.  Jason Potter was next to finish in 6494th in 3:48.08, a huge PB.  Vicki Wraight was 12314th in 4:17.06, just outside her PB although delighted nonetheless.  More than 32000 took part in the event, now the UK’s second biggest marathon.

Sid Valley Ring Half

Conditions were good on Saturday for the Sid Valley Ring half marathon organised by Climb South West. It’s a tough but scenic course around the marked walking route with just over 2000 feet of elevation. Surprisingly, Adele Girdwood was the only AVR, coming in at 2:50:54, 56th from the 96 finishers.

Seaton parkrun

There was another big turnout in Seaton with 260 finishers. AVR’s Joel Seward was first finisher in 17:41 with Luke Reed third finisher in 17:56.

Out on the tourist trail, Debbie Whiston was first female finisher at Lloyd parkrun in Croydon in  21:28  while Tony Smith ended up pacing at Barnsley parkrun expertly finishing in 22:50.  Bec and Simon Davey secured the U for the alphabet challenge at Upton House parkrun near Poole.  It was Alexandra parkrun, Moss Side, pre marathon for Vicki Wraight while Matt Frost completed Longrun Meadow on route to Manchester along with Diane Newton. Craig Tiley took part in Penrose parkrun and Kevin Feeney and Sarah Shepley enjoyed the promenade of Burnham and Highbridge.

AVR triumphs at Exe to the Axe

There was a good turnout of AVRs for the latest running of JP’s Exe to the Axe organised by Sidmouth Running Club.

AVR’s Matt Clist retained his title finishing in a brilliant 2:59.53, two minutes clear of the second place and five minutes quicker than last year. Rik Tumber was fourth in 3:17.56 with James Green in tenth, and third M40, in 3:34.34.

Eleanor Wood was first F60 in an excellent 4:26.41, 65th overall.

The race which starts on the beach in Exmouth follows the South West Coast Path to the River Axe at Seaton with 22 miles of very undulating, difficult terrain.  It was a particularly challenging route this year after numerous cliff falls and Storm Kathleen bringing high winds and more damage overnight.  There were 188 finishers in the full race.

A relay option was also available with AVR’s Sam Miller and Tony Smith finishing second in a combined 4:55.31 and Team Feeney (aka The Smoggies) which included Kevin Feeney and Sarah Shepley took third just behind in 4:57.30.

The full results are here.

Powering it at Powderham

A small contingent of AVRs made their way to Powderham Castle on Saturday morning to take part in the Power Run.  The event started and finished inside the castle walls, the remainder of the course consisted of a tour of the castle grounds. One lap for the ‘Classic’ 5 miles and two for the ‘Legend’ 10 miles.  The off road sections of the course were as muddy as one would expect after recent deluges, in addition participants were buffeted by Storm Kathleen. On the plus side it was a beautiful setting with some stunning views, a fitting reward for climbing a long hill soon after the start.

Ron Seward was first home for AVR in the longer race finishing 40th, first M70 in 1:34:16. Next back was Dawn Carrah in 57th place and 2nd F60 in 1:39:39.  Shirley Salter, in her first 10 mile run clocked 2:11:43 and Susan Wall and Liz Slade, who ran together came home in 2:21:55 and 2:21:56 respectively.

Fiona Seward took the one lap option finishing 73rd out of 159 finishers in 55:37.

Half marathon successes

Mark Spraggs took on the rather undulating Southampton half marathon on Sunday finishing in 1:47.46, 438th from more than 2000 finishers.  He describes it as a picturesque course along the river and bridge in the city and was thankful for a sunny day at last!

Meanwhile up in the capital, Kelly Nickels completed the very popular London Landmarks half marathon in 2:05.20 coming in 6717th from more than 11000 finishers.  The route covers much of the London marathon route taking in, as the name implies, many of the capital’s significant landmarks including the London Eye, Big Ben and St Paul’s Cathedral.

Mashing it up!

In its first running since 2019, the Minster Milers Mash 10k attracted 227 runners raising money for local charity, Ferne Animal Sanctuary.  Simon Dimmock finished 12th in 44:24 in the undulating race which started and finished in Ilminster and took in some scenic Somerset villages.  The route was especially challenging after months of heavy rain.  Cliff Marriott and Pam Goddard also took part and would recommend it as a well-organised local event.  Results to follow.

Seaton parkrun

Back after a week off due to the effects of Storm Nelson the nearly 300 finishes on Saturday had the windy Storm Kathleen to contend with.  First finisher was AVR’s Luke Reed in 18.30, a full minute ahead of the second finisher and also first on age-grade.  With many local races over the weekend, many AVRs stuck to pacing duties or volunteering this Saturday.

AVR men eggs-el at Yeovil 10K!

On Easter Monday, six AVRs hopped over to Yeovil for the Easter Bunny 10k which starts and finishes at RNAS Yeovilton.  Fast and flat with eggselent racing conditions there were some quick times amongst the 200+ finishers.  The winners were Bath’s Michael Towler in 32:48 and Wells City’s Daisy Davies in 36:01.

AVR men, Joel Seward, Matt Hewer and Luke Reed, impressively came away with the first male team prize.   Matt Hewer also scooped first M40 for his 14th overall finish in 36:32, a shiny new PB too, just pipping Luke Reed by one hundredth of a second, 15th in 36:33 who took second M40.  Joel Seward, 12th overall in 36:05 was the first AVR to finish.

Simon McClellan took fourth M50 in 43:34, 45th overall with Aaron Rawlins 60th in 45:58 and Louise Rawlins 119th in a PB of 54:27.  All finishers received a lovey Easter bunny shaped medal.

 

Fast Friday 10k

In Exeter on Good Friday it was very much the morning after the night before with a swift course rejig to account for the effects of Storm Nelson. It was therefore a four-lap race with plenty of corners as well as the wind for runners to contend with.

First AVR home in 13th place and third M40 was Terry Emmett in 35:14 just one-hundredth of a second ahead of Ritchie Durrant in 14th in 35:15.  Rich Hardy was 35th in 37:03, eighth M40;  Matt Frost, 47th in 37:59; and Angela Kerr, 217th, third F65 in 55:38.  There were 284 finishers in the race organised superbly well in challenging circumstances by City Runs.

Nelson prevents time trial and Seaton parkrun

Sadly the damage done to the seafront in Seaton from Storm Nelson on Thursday evening affected both AVR’s Good Friday time trial and Saturday’s parkrun with the debris from the storm and dancing beach huts causing the routes to be unsafe.

However a large group of AVRs ran a re-routed social 10k followed by coffee at The Hideaway on Friday.  Thanks to Eleanor Wood, Haydn Boehm, Cliff Marriott and Lesley Adams who stood in to lead groups.

On Saturday many AVRs joined with parkrun volunteers to support a general clean-up of the Esplanade during the parkrun usual time slot.  It is hoped that the event will be back to normal this Saturday.

Out on the tourist trail, Paul Johns and Jon Day tackled the beautiful but tough Woolacombe Dunes parkrun; Adrianne and Anthony Mullins enjoyed Lands End parkrun; Adele Girdwood ran Worsley Woods parkrun; Simon Dimmock took part in Portsmouth Lakeside and Kevin Feeney and Sarah Shepley ran Parke parkrun near Bovey Tracey.  Meanwhile Carolyn Nation nabbed her O for the parkrun alphabet challenge at Oaklands in Birmingham.

Remembering Mike

Four AVRs took part in the Feighan Fury, a challenging 10-mile multi-terrain race around private land in the rolling hills of mid Devon starting in Templeton. It includes hills, woods, trails, rivers with 70 per cent of the course off road with 166 finishers on Sunday.

Mike Feighan was a much-loved member of the local running community who worked in mental health and championed exercise for mental health benefits. An extremely talented runner, Mike won the Grizzly race five times along with countless other races. Tragically Mike abruptly passed away in 2021 and the Feighan Fury is organised by South West Road Runners to remember him.

First AVR home was Eleanor Wood in 1:37.00, 53rd place and first F60.  Cory Schultze was 90th in 1:51.08 with Shane Morgan 147th in 2:18.52.  Sadly Julia Teague twisted her ankle in a huge puddle in mile 3 so was a DNF.

 

Fleeting Half

Debbie Whiston ran the Fleet Half Marathon in Hampshire as part of her preparation for the London marathon.  The flat half attracted more than 2000 runners.

Despite it being a week after running the tough 20-mile Grizzly, Debbie finished well in 1:29.22, 352nd and sixth F45 in nice, sunny conditions.

Twin Lakes

Also in London marathon training, Diana Burn ran the Twin Lakes 20 mile race in Milton Keynes taking 4:08.  It was a very cold, windy start but sunny later and very flat compared to Dorset/Devon runs.  Diana finished an excellent third F65, especially given there was no 70+ category.

Trust 10k

On Sunday in glorious sunshine, several AVRs took part in the Trust 10k around Stonebarrow and Golden Cap taking in the beautiful Jurassic coast path and the stunning views from Golden Cap.  It is one of a number of free 10k runs held on various National Trust owned land on the fourth Sunday of each month during the summer.

More information on upcoming events here.

Seaton parkrun

It was a bitterly cold morning in Seaton with hail, a strong wind and rain replacing the early morning sunshine.  First finisher was AVR’s Joel Seward in 18:30 with third female, Lucy Watkinson in 23:04.

There were PBs for Adrian Strawbridge in 21:00, Rob Harp in 23:30 and Emma Sampson in 27:51.

Alan Morbey celebrated his 100th parkrun and Simon Freathy reached his 50 volunteer milestone.

On the tourist trail, Angela and Martin Kerr took part in the Eden Project parkrun; Barry Follett was “where it all began” joining the 1500+ at Bushy parkrun; Tim Sibley ran Porthcawl parkrun: Rob Collier and Sam Summers completed Bognor Regis parkrun while Sam Miller enjoyed Five Arches in Radstock near Bath.

Mud, mud, glorious Grizzly

The 36th edition of the Grizzly was certainly one of, if not, the muddiest yet.  After months of heavy rain the conditions underfoot were treacherous although thankfully the runners, volunteers and spectators enjoyed sunshine and blue skies on the day.

AVRs had yet another hugely successful day both as the lead organisers and in the race itself.  The biggest shout-out must go to Race Directors, Andy West and Steve Haines along with the Grizzly Committee for their superb organisation during many months of grafting behind the scenes and on the day itself which ran like clockwork.  In addition big thanks to all the AVRs who supported the event with marshalling throughout the course, the huge start and finish area operation, and across the weekend at Race HQ and the Grizfest event.

The weekend began with a very large parkrun, clearly attracting many visitors with more than 400 participants.  In the afternoon, 260 children took part in the Grizfest races not deterred by the pouring rain and chilly wind; clearly some hard-core Grizzly runners in the making! Congratulations to all those who ran and to Karen Eyre and her team for the superb organisation.

Sunday surprised everyone with the sun shining by the race start at 10.30am.  The course was the hardest most runners had ever seen, even those with many Grizzlies in the bank.  Despite the tough conditions, more than 1300 completed the gruelling 20-mile Grizzly route including a huge number of AVRs.

AVR’s Emily Cowper-Coles was the female winner on her Grizzly debut using all her fell running experience to absolutely fly in and finish in an incredible 2:37.25, 12th place overall.  First home was last year’s winner, Exmouth Harriers’ Sam Kelly in 2:20.36 with Matt Clist the first AVR in an excellent 2:32.49, seventh overall and second M45.

Joel Seward was second male AVR, 19th overall, in 2:41.43 with Tim Lenton just behind in 20th in 2:45.01, second M50.

Second AVR female was Debbie Whiston, also making her Grizzly debut, seventh female and second F45 finishing in 3:04.57.  Kerry Board was third female AVR in 3:43.39.

Other age-graded AVRs in the top three were Eleanor Wood, first F60 in 3:53.08; Graham Newton first M70 in 3:52.05; Patrick Devine-Wright, third M50 in 2:49.49; and Karen Eyre, third F50 in 3:51.03.

But, of course, the Grizzly isn’t just about times, it’s often mind over matter or a celebration just to get round.  And very often it is the support of other runners that can make all the difference.  Lindsey Freathy only decided on Saturday to run the full Grizzly inspired by the video of a previous race at the HQ. She was supported all the way round by Alan Morbey and Steve Lewis.  She sums it up perfectly, “They could have gone a lot faster but were so kind to help me, natter and enjoy the scenery.  I am so thankful to them, it is what makes AVR such a special club.”

Of course there also aren’t many races where you’re offered a beer on the return journey or where you run through a pub during the course!

In the Cub race, Harry McMahon, new AVR member and just 17 romped home in 1:06.54. Second AVR and third overall was Ritchie Durrant in 1:12.39.

AVR’s Emilie Brock was second female, first F40 and first female AVR to finish in 1:20.13. Second AVR and second F45 was Sue Hayes in 1:29.47 with Lou Tucker third AVR female in 1:30.22 and second F40. The female Cub Race had been won by Caroline McAleese in 1:15.27.  More than 630 completed the race.  Other top three age-graded AVRs were Ron Seward, first M70 in 1:42.44; Jase Potter, second M35 in 1:32.44; Kevin Feeney second M70 in 1:54.51; Janet Cullum, second F70; Simon McClellan third M55 in an excellent 1:27.24; and Barry Follett third M60 in 1:38.11.

Running together were Aileen Heal and Jools Elsom with Liz Curley and Angela Morgan, both graduates of a recent ‘Couch to 5K’, showing once more the offer and depth of support the club provides throughout the year.

The full Grizzly and Cub results are here

Weymouth Half

Diana Burn completed the Weymouth half marathon on Sunday in 2:27 and using it as a training run for the London Marathon.

Under the Lights at the Exmouth 5

Last Wednesday evening the final of the City Runs organised “Under the Lights” series was a 5m race in Exmouth.  Matt Frost was 13th in 29:50; Ian Kinnersley 23rd in 33:50 and second M60; Eleanor Wood 32nd and second F65 in 37:45; and Ron Seward, first M70, 33rd in 38:57.  All contributed to a third place team finish for AVR.

Balmy Barcelona

David Cull took part in the Barcelona marathon on Sunday where the conditions were lovely, if a touch warm, but with some cloud cover half of the time. Despite a little cramp early on and recovering from a recent hip niggle, he kept up excellent pacing throughout, slowing only a little at the end to finish in a fantastic 3:00.51, an eight second PB and 197th M40.  Nearly 16,000 runners completed the race.

David was happy with the PB and, in particular, going to the top (if only very temporarily) of the M40 club champs!

Granite Way

This City Community Trust organised event offers an excellent 10 or 20 mile flat, fast route along the Granite Way cycle path providing perfect pacing conditions as preparation for a spring marathon or half-marathon.

New AVR member, Harry McMahon stormed home third in the 10-mile option in a brilliant 1:0016.  Ron Seward also ran well finishing 57th overall and first M70 in 1:20.50.

In the 20-mile race, Matt Frost was seventh in 2:08.02 with Laura Kerr, 45th in 2:49.14 and Angela Kerr, 97th and first F65 in 3:23.05 all looking very strong ahead of their marathons next month.  The 10-mile race had 232 finishers with 136 completing the 20-mile option.

 

Bideford Half

On Sunday three AVRs, Diane Newton, Kathryn Thompson and Martyn Walker, joined nearly a thousand other keen runners, lining up for the start of the Bideford Half Marathon. The course started with a loop around the town of Bideford before an undulating six miles out to Torrington by road, returning back via the beautiful Tarka Trail.

Martyn Walker finished in 687th in 2:09.52; Kathryn Thompson, 898th in 2:32.20; and Diane Newton was very pleased to come in at 3:0:08, 945th, securing second F70 and a rather lovely trophy.

Seaton parkrun

Once again the cliff falls on West Walk meant a three-lap route with the addition of a tractor on the beach to navigate!

Appropriately for the day after International Women’s Day, the first three female finishers were all AVRs with Debbie Whiston first finisher in 20.46 and also first on age grade with 77%.  Second female was Lucy Watkinson in 22.26 with Kerry Board third in 22.53.

Big thanks to Honiton Running Club who provided the majority of the volunteers on Saturday.

Out on the road, Sam Miller and Tony Smith completed Chippenham parkrun; Dave Hutton and Sue Chambers took part in the challenging but spectacular Woolacombe Dunes parkrun; Mark Spraggs ran Lymington Woodside and Cliff Marriott and Pam Goddard visited Clevedon Salthouse Fields parkrun near Bristol.