Muggy Martock

A handful of AVRs headed up into Somerset for the Martock 10k, on a scenic and flat course promising fast times.  But the sunshine, heat and closeness of the air was very challenging.

First AVR home in fifth place, and second M40, was Duncan Staddon in 36:13.   Ron Seward was first M70, 94th in an impressive 47:06.  Second M70 was another AVR, Eric Emerson in 54:27, 181st overall.  Ann Coston finished in 52:12, second F50 and 149th  with Angela Kerr in 55:28, 197th, second F60.

Other AVRs were Katharine Moran, 58:05, 232nd, Fiona Seward, 62:56, 273rd and Shirley Salter, 68:48, 320th.   A total of 384 finished the race to be rewarded with a lovely wooden medal.

 Giant Half

Mandy Harris ran White Star Running’s Giants Head half marathon in Dorset on Sunday in 3:11.18. With just over 1500 ft of climb it was another tough half in very hot conditions that took in the Cerne Abbas Giant.

PBs galore at sunny Seaton parkrun


Ryan Snell was second finisher in a PB of 17:41 with Debbie Whiston second female finisher in 19:39, also second on age-grade in 80.8%.  Emilie Brock was third female in a PB of 19:57. On a sunny morning in perfect conditions there were also PBs for David Cull, 20:13; Jeremy Norcombe, 22:58; Zoe Trewick, 29:05; and Ann-Louise Gridley, 31:39.

Up in Teddington Kevin Feeney celebrated his 100th run at Bushy Park parkrun, the location of the first ever parkrun nearly 20 years ago.  Keen to secure the “where it all started” parkrun challenge, Carol Austin, Martin Kerr and Angela Kerr made the pilgrimage there to run their first Bushy while Sarah Shepley completed her 39th at Bushy.

Aileen and Peter Heal completed Somerville Pavilion parkrun, known for its famous “curly-wurly” finish.  All AVR parkrun results can be found here

Man v Horse

David and Susi Sadler travelled to mid-Wales for the infamous Man v Horse race in Llanwrtyd Wells. It was blisteringly hot for the 21-mile race which challenges runners to outrun the horses across mountainous terrain with an incredibly steep 3800 feet ascent.

For only the fourth time since the race began in 1980 a runner did actually beat the horse with Daniel Connolly finishing in 2:24.38.  First horse home was DNS Ronaldo ridden by Kate Atkinson in 2:34.25.  The race was started by BBC newsreader Sophie Raworth along with Susie Chan, endurance runner and peloton instructor, with the two of them then running the race.

David and Susi are dedicated Man v Horse participants with David having taken part eight times and Susi nine, including once riding a horse!  They described this year’s event as the hardest yet due largely to the heat but loved it more than ever!

Sizzling Southend

On Sunday Ron Seward ran the Southend half-marathon in sizzlingly hot Southend where the mercury hit 26 degrees! A brilliantly marshalled course comprising of two loops along the seafront was interspersed with water sprays and numerous drinks stops.  Ron finished an excellent 291st from more than 1500 finishers in 1:47:06.  Given the conditions he was pleased with the time.

Tutu Tribe celebrate milestones

Another sunny Saturday in Seaton saw 244 finishers at parkrun and milestones for AVR’s Louise Rawlins celebrating completing 25 events and Haydn Boehm reaching 50 volunteer stints.  They were joined by a big group of friends from AVR’s Runshiners to celebrate, all brightly adorned in tutus for the occasion.  At parkrun volunteering and completing the 5k is celebrated with milestone T-shirts, wristbands, buffs and vests available when you reach 25, 50, 100, 250 and, even, 500.

First finisher on Saturday was AVR’s Ritchie Durrant in 17.44 with AVR’s Debbie Whiston first female in 19.55, also second on age-grade with 79%.  Andy West, back from injury, was third on age-grade with 77% for his 22.43.  Ann-Louise Gridley got a PB, 32.44 and Simon Dimmock celebrated an impressive 200th parkrun.

Hot and hilly for Crewkerne 10k

There was a good turnout of AVRs who hopped over the border to Somerset to support the Crewkerne 10k.  Hot conditions and a hilly course made it a challenging run but the beautiful route and great atmosphere made up for it.

The winner, from Chard Road Runners was regular Seaton parkrun first finisher, Wayne Loveridge in a very impressive 34:53, over a minute ahead of the second placed, Shaun Dixon.  First AVR home in fifth and first M40 was Duncan Staddon in an excellent 37:17. Rob Collier took first M50, 14th place, in 41:17.  Eleanor Wood was fifth female and, second F55 in 49:25.  Interestingly all three F55 placings were faster than the F35 and F45 categories! Ian Kinnersley had another good afternoon taking second M60 in 46:33, 35th overall.

More than 180 finished the race, organised by Crewkerne RC and full results can be found here:

No rest on a Bank Holiday!

 Mandy Harris ran the White Star Running’s Ox Half Marathon on Bank Holiday Monday as part of a whole weekend of races organised by the Wiltshire club.   The half marathon was held in the stunning Rushmore Estate with the route going across the rolling Wiltshire Downs and Cranborn Chase as well as the old Ox Drove, an area of outstanding natural beauty.

With nearly 1,700ft of climb and a sneaky evil hill towards the finish, Mandy was pleased to finish in 2:57:13, fourth F50.

Rik Tumber was also competing on the Bank Holiday at the Chagford 2Hills, tough fell race on Dartmoor.

After a lap around the cricket ground runners were straight into a steep technical climb of 225m in less than 1km up Meldon Hill.  A rapid technical descent followed into deep bogs and then another steep technical climb of only about 150m onto  Battadon Common.   Finally another rapid technical descent down to the cricket club to finish.  Rik was an impressive sixth finisher from more than 200 who completed the short but gruelling challenge.

Couch to 5k graduation!

 On Wednesday the latest group of newbies to AVR “graduated” at the end of their Couch to 5k programme.  Nine completed their final week with a 30-minute non-stop run.  Big thanks to Cliff Marriott, Pam Goddard and the other helpers who have supported the group over the last nine weeks. On Wednesday they were rewarded with a shiny star, made by Louise Rawlins, and choc-ices!

Sunny parkrun again

Another sunny Saturday brought the crowds to Seaton again for parkrun with 252 finishers including a large contingent from Southampton celebrating an upcoming wedding.  Second female home was Debbie Whiston in 19.56  who was also third on age-grade with 79%.  First on age grade was Ron Seward in an impressive 81% with a shiny PB too of 22.16.  There were also PBs for Gareth Walker, 23.42; Jo Orsman, 26.57; and Liz Curley, 33:09.

With the holiday season upon us, AVRs also took the opportunity for a parkrun while on their travels with visits to Sharpham Road Playing Fields, Cheddar; Heartlands in Cornwall; Bideford; Conwy and Lymington.  All the details of these and the local parkrun results are here

 

 

Resounding success for AVR at Exe Relays

AVRs had a great evening in Exeter on Friday with 11 teams taking part in the Run Exe 4 x 4k relay event.  With a total of 94 teams competing on a glorious sunny evening there was a wonderful atmosphere alongside the river for the event, well organised by City Runs.

AVR’s men’s 40 (Ryan Snell, Matt Hewer, Terry Emmett, Duncan Staddon) and women’s 40 (Karen Eyre, Kerry Board, Sue Hayes, Debbie Whiston) both took first in category and the men’s 60 (Ian Kinnersley, Ron Seward, Andy Charrington, Alan Hornibrook) also came first, retaining their crown from last year.

The F60 (Janet Cullum, Carol Austin, Angela Kerr, Eleanor Wood) came in second in category.  On a night of very fast times, Jack Broom was fastest AVR, ninth overall in 12:21.  Ron Seward, Janet Cullum and Eleanor Wood were all first in age category.

Lost on Langston Fell

Rik Tumber and Tim Lenton travelled to Dartmoor for the Langston 10k Fell Race on Sunday. Starting from Peter Tavy village hall, it was straight into a big climb for nearly 3km with around 900ft elevation up to Cox Tor.

Rik and Tim both managed to take a wrong turn so finished the race having covered more like 12k!   Despite this Tim was sixth in 59:00 and Rik was eighth in 59:22.

 Taunton Trail

 Three AVRs popped up to Taunton where Prosper Events organised a half-marathon and a 10k along the canal and the river Tone.  On a very hot, sunny morning and in her first ever half-marathon, Georgie Ryan finished in 2:52.11 127th.  Georgie is a new member joining AVR after following the Couch to 5k programme which the club offer for those new to running.

In the 10k Cliff Marriott finished in 56:48, 36th from 132 who completed the race with Bob Carter coming in 58thin 1:02.32.  Bob was raising money for Cats Protection Honiton branch where he is the coordinator.

Sunny Seaton parkrun

It was another glorious day for parkrun with 285 enjoying the perfect conditions.  AVR’s Luke Reed was first to finish in 17:31 with Debbie Whiston first female in 19:34, a great time the morning after running the relays. This also placed her second on age grade in an excellent 81%.  There were five AVR PBs:  Simon Freathy 21:03, Jeremy Norcombe 23:01, David Hutton 24:24, Craig Tiley 24:40 and Sue Chambers 28:39.

Prize for the furthest parkrun this week goes to Bec and Simon Davey who visited Lovstien parkrun in Bergen, Norway, where Bec ran the beautiful, hilly course and Simon volunteered.

 

AVRs contribute to an England victory

Carol Austin and Angela Kerr travelled to Chester for the half-marathon where they represented England Masters F60 and F65 respectively.  Representation follows a selection process involving achieving a qualification standard and position on a nominated race during the previous 12 months.

The course started at Chester racecourse before a short tour around the beautiful city centre then out into the Cheshire countryside before returning to finish with a steep hill up to the cathedral.   In her first England appearance and in perfect conditions, Carol finished in 1:49.08, 11th F60 out of 42, 994th so within the first quartile of the 4000+ finishers.

Angela, making her third England Masters appearance, finished in 2:03.13, 16th F65 from 24.  Overall England took the victory over Wales Masters.

AVRs excel in Exeter

On a hot and sunny morning conditions were excellent for the big contingent of AVRs at the Great West Half-Marathon held in our closest city.  Laura Kerr was first female AVR home in a huge PB 1.44.34 knocking a massive seven minutes off last year’s time.   Matt Frost was first male AVR in 1:23.41, 31st out of more than 1700 finishers improving on last year’s time.  Katharine Moran was delighted with her PB of 2:01.33.  Haydn Boehm finished in 1:35.27, 18th M45 with Jason Potter in 1:39.21.  Wayne Tooze in 1:46.13 and Kathryn Thompson in 2:32.37 both secured PBs for the Great West.  Mark Spraggs continued his current fine form finishing in 1:46.31; Cory Schultze came in in 1:53.11;  Lindsey and Simon Freathy ran together coming in 1:57.26 with Jules Conway finishing in 2:04.31.   Lucyann Ashdown ran for Hospicecare completing the race in 2:06.31 and raising money for a great cause.

Full results are here:

Binfield 10k

Cliff Marriott headed to old haunts and despite a night of curry and karaoke he completed the Binfield 10k in Berkshire in 54.05. It was surprisingly undulating, very warm and a well-supported race.

Loughborough International for Innes

Innes Fitzgerald made her British U20 track debut on Sunday at the Loughborough International where she took third place in the 3000m with a time of 9:09.45 competing against seniors from England, Scotland and the rest of the world.

 

parkrun PBs

At Saturday’s Seaton parkrun third place was secured by Ritchie Durrant in 17:01 and first woman finisher was Deborah Whiston in 20:32. Axe Valley Runners managed an impressive four PBs – Luke Reed 17:31, Max Richardson 19:24, Jeremey Norcombe 23:17, and Zoe Trewick 29:14. The third-place age grade of 79.49% was achieved by Ron Seward in 22:45. There were 222 finishers.  Massive congratulations to core team member, David Sadler who reached 200 appearances at Seaton (including volunteering and running).

Tony Smith and Sam Miller travelled to Jersey Farm parkrun in St Alban’s to nab their “J” for the parkrun challenge while Bec and Simon Davey took part in just the third Thames Path parkrun in Woolwich, a lovely riverside run with an interesting ‘curly-wurly’ finish.  Carolyn Nation was in Wales and took part in the challenging Hafan Pwllheli parkrun which takes place on sand and on Saturday involved an incoming tide!  There is never a dull moment at parkrun!  You can see all the events attended by AVR members this week: here

 

 ColyTEN Recce

 Rob Collier and Karen Eyre organised a recce for a new local race to be known as the ColyTEN, a 10-mile multi-terrain race on Sunday 15 October. Starting and finishing in Colyton it is a challenging trail race with some 1400 feet of elevation but with spectacular views across the Coly valley.  Look out for this new race that takes place on Sunday 16 October, 2023.

Ultimate ultras

Vicki Wraight and Jeremy Slade decided one marathon wasn’t enough and completed the West Country Flat 50 which is actually 52 miles and definitely not all flat! The race started in Taunton with runners heading out of town alongside the canal for the first 15 miles to Bridgwater.  The muddy banks of the River Perratt takes runners up to the Somerset coast to Hinckley Point Power Station where, after 30 miles, the hills kick in.  The final 20 miles follows the coast to East Quantoxhead, before turning inland through undulating terrain and re-joining the coast at Watchet.  A long, hilly stretch then takes runners into the final mile in Minehead.

The two AVRs ran together until around mile 29 when Vicki pushed on as Jeremy struggled with stomach cramps.  Vicki ran on to complete the final 23 miles in an incredible solo effort even managing a sprint finish in a hugely impressive time of 13 hours 11.25.  Jeremy used all his physical and mental strength to get going again and did so to finish not far behind Vicki in 13 hours 45.05. A mammoth and memorable run by both.

Down in Dorset, Tom Parsons also took on a huge distance completing the Jurassic Coast Challenge, a 100k race from Corfe Castle to Bridport.  Using the spectacular but tough South West Coast Path, Tom ran with friends and together they were raising money for two excellent causes: Alzheimer’s Society and Great Ormand Street Hospital. They completed the 100k with a mix of running, walking, shuffling and crawling, in a superb 17 hours, 11 minutes.

Brock victory at Blazer

There was a big turn-out of AVRs at the Beer Blazer with a 5-mile and 10-mile option available and AVRs also helping with back-marking and much of the marshalling and organisation.  The Blazer, which uses much of the infamous Grizzly route, is organised by and raises funds for Beer Primary School PTFA.

In the 10-mile event,  AVR’s Emilie Brock and Joshua Carr from Thames Hare & Hounds took the victories.  Emilie finished in a brilliant 1:30.16, 13th overall and first F40.

Carr finished in 1:11.44 followed by a host of AVRs.  Andrew Snook was second in 1:16.34 and, also, first M40 with Matt Clist in 1:19.04 third and second M40.  Richard Hardy, fourth was third M40 (1:19.20) and Rik Tumber, fifth (1:19.52).  Tim Lenton was first M45 (1:24.27); Ian Kinnersley was first M60 (1:41.21) with Eleanor Wood, fifth female and first F65 (1:42.53); Ron Seward first M70 (1:53.23) and Margaret Pearce first F50 (2:07.32).

Simon Dimmock of AVR took first prize for the 5-mile event finishing in 42.50 with Tavistock’s Sarah Holland first female in 50.11.

Full results are available here

Lumpy Leeds

Mandy Harris travelled up to Leeds to take part in the Jane Tomlinson’s Run for All Half Marathon.  It was a hilly route and a very warm day so Mandy was pleased to finish in 2:20.20. This year was also the inaugural Rob Burrow Marathon so both events finished in Headingly Stadium, home of the Leeds Rhinos, and raised funds for MND.

Out in Ocean City

Kelly Nickels and Chris Polley both ran the Ocean City Plymouth Half-Marathon with Kelly finishing in 2:15.11.  Chris ran with his daughter who completed her first ever Half-marathon.

Runaway Train

Over in Somerset, Emma Richardson, Julia Conway and Sam Tooze took part in an 8.5 mile trail race, the Runaway Train, using some disused railway lines and through some spectacular countryside around Shepton Mallet.  Bec Davey and Helen Boehm enjoyed the shorter 3 mile version.

Although there were no official times, they were rewarded for their efforts with beautiful views, bluebells, a viaduct plus a wooden memento and a whole lot of fun!

Sunny Seaton parkrun

 It was a glorious day for parkrun on Saturday with more than 200 happy parkrunners enjoying the pebbles in Seaton including many visitors.  Matt Frost was third finisher in a PB of 18.20 with Kerry Board third female home in 22.28.

With the great conditions there were also PBs for Jason Potter in 20.51; Paul Johns 21.44 and Craig Tiley, who is on a roll of PBs, in 24.54.

Wayne Tooze celebrated reaching his 50 parkrun milestone sporting his recent London marathon finishers’ Tee.

Outstanding Ottery

It was a weekend of 10ks for AVR with a good turnout at the Ottery 10k on Sunday, part of the In-Step Devon series and organised by Honiton Running Club.  The fast, flat race started and finished at Ottery St Mary Cricket Club using country lanes around the town.  This year five-time Olympian and European champion, Jo Pavey started the runners off and then took part herself before presenting prizes.

First AVR home in 38:23 was Matt Frost in an excellent tenth place.  Kerry Board was first AVR female to finish, eighth female, in 45:48, chased all the way by Laura Kerr who smashed her PB to finish in 45:49.  Other AVRs who took part were:

Simon Dimmock 40:23 23rd; Eleanor Wood 46:31 63rd; Ron Seward 47:08 72nd;  Andy Charrington 49:00 79th;  Suzi Blackett 50:16 90th;  Jeremy Norcombe 50:25 92nd;  Kelly Giles 52:58 110th;  Corey Schultze 53:00 112th; Cliff Marriott 55:50 139th;  Angela Kerr 56:36 148th;  Fiona Seward 62:42 184th; Rachel Hiscock 64:01 191st;  Maxine Sweetman  66:20 195th;  Denise Burges 79:22 222nd; and Gill Day 79:23 223rd

A total of 227 runners completed the race and big thanks go to Roger Saunders and Howard Bidmead at Honiton RC for a great event including booking the best weather of the weekend!

AVRs before the Ottery 10k

Brilliant Bideford

 Conditions were near perfect for the Bideford 10k with a large field of about 800 runners lining up alongside the River Torridge for the fast, flat course that takes in views of the Taw and Torridge estuary between Bideford and Instow returning on the Tarka Trail. Olympian Phil Norman took the win in a fast time of 30:35!

Rich Hardy was 14th overall in a rapid 34:28 scooping the second M40 prize.

The race is always a popular one for the older age categories with a discounted entry and prizes for all ages up to 80!  The event attracted an incredible 28 runners over the age of 70 proving that running is not just a sport for the young.  AVR’s Diane Newton was over the moon to finish in 1:14:24, after a difficult period of running, improving both her time and place from last year.

All finishers received a fetching pink T-shirt.  The race was very well organised by Bideford AAC.

Rich Hardy with his second M40 prize

Seaton parkrun

It was a wet and chilly parkrun on Saturday in Seaton, definitely not Spring weather.  First finisher was AVR’s Joel Seward in 17.20 with Terry Emmett coming in second in a PB of 17.48.  First female was Deborah Whiston in 20.0 and first on age-grade in 79.4%.

Despite the downpours there were PBs for Dave Hutton in 24.31 and Craig Tiley in 25.39.  Janet Cullum celebrated her 100 milestone while Keith Agland reached 200 as one of many pacers from AVR.

Coronation BH 10k Time Trial

 On a damp and mizzly morning 36 AVRs kickstarted their bank holiday with a self-timed 10k time trial beginning in Colyford and finishing on the Esplanade.  It is the first of the bank holiday time trials for 2023 with coffee at Hideaway replacing the planned picnic and swim! Matt Hewer was first to finish with Deborah Whiston first female.

AVRs before the Coronation 10k Time Trial

Results here.

An extraordinary day out!

Four AVRs tackled the East Devon Round on Saturday with Julia Mallon completing the 104k Full Round, a remarkable achievement given just 33 completed the course which included an elevation of an incredible 9665 ft.  Starting at 5.30 am, with a piper to see the runners off from Offwell, the route took runners through forests of bluebells, across to Axminster and then onto Lyme where a tough section of the course followed the coast path over the Undercliffs into Seaton.  Julia was supported for some 22 miles by Emma Richardson, Helen Holmes and Suzi Blackett.

After running through the Wetlands to Colyton the course went along the East Devon Way up to Sidford, Gittisham and beyond before returning to Offwell via a final loop north of Honiton.  Finishing at 2.30 am the following morning in a phenomenal 21:05.33, Julia describes the event as “a brilliant day out!”.

Stephen Grigg, Dan Clist and James Hawker all completed the Half Round, following the same route as the first half of the Full and still a challenging 50k (35 miles) around 6000 feet of elevation finishing in Blackbury Camp.  Stephen was a brilliant fourth finisher in an amazing 6:46.20.  Dan and James ran together finishing in 8:59.37 -ultra runners and ultra brilliant.

 

Big thanks also to go to those providing the all-important feed stations and checkpoints on the route.  In Axmouth,  AVR managed the checkpoint with Sam Halls, Rob Collier and Rik Tumber working hard all day supplying essentials to the runners passing through.

 

North Dorset Village Marathon

At the North Dorset Village Marathon Ryan Snell was fifth in a very impressive 2:49.18 taking the first M40 prize.  The 26.2m underlating run attracted 167 finishers, and began at Sturminster High School going along country lanes through a series of villages across North Dorset.

Round the Tor

Ian Kinnersley travelled to Glastonbury for the Round the Tor 10k. The course was run on country lanes around the Tor with a great atmosphere boosted by good crowds of spectators throughout the course.

He finished 38th out of 288 runners and 2nd in the MV60 category in 42:22.

1-2-3 at Seaton parkrun

AVR took the first three places at the Seaton parkrun on Saturday with Jack Broom (16.41), Joel Seward (16.46), and Ritchie Durrant (in a PB of 16.50) battling it out all the way.  First female finisher was Deborah Whiston in 19.56.

The top six age-grade times were all AVR with Eleanor Wood 92% for 22.31; Ron Seward 80% for 22.34; Deborah Whiston, 79.6%; Carol Austin 78.3% for 24.46; Joel Seward 77.8% and Jack Broom 77%.

Jayne Tumber nabbed another PB in 33.16.  There was a great turnout of 244 parkrunners this week.

London Calling

 AVRs were out en masse at the TCS London Marathon this year.  With good-for-age, charity, club and ballot places an incredible 15 took to the streets of the capital on Sunday while two others ran the challenging 26.2 miles closer to home as a virtual event.

Up in London the first AVR home was Terry Emmett who paced his race perfectly to finish a superb 500th in an excellent 2:38.34, 87th M40.

Duncan Staddon in 2:48.08 and Matt Hewer in 2:58.37 also impressed with their sub-3 hour finishes.

Despite a recent spate of injuries, Rob Collier finished in a brilliant 3:06.22.

Rupert Pady was next AVR home in 3:17.50.

Kerry Board, running her first London marathon in the city rather than virtually, finished in an excellent eight minute marathon PB of 3:37.17, while Karen Eyre completed it in 3:39.01, a London best.

Alan Hornibrook completed his 13th London marathon in 3:54.01, an impressive 81st M65.

Rob Gibson, raising money for Seaton Primary School following his success in the club ballot, finished in 4:08.05.

Club chair, Haydn Boehm and Wayne Tooze ran together raising funds for the charity, Brain Research, finishing in 4:05.04 and 4:05.05.

Angela Kerr, running an incredible 14th London marathon and her 48th in total, finished in 4:37.52 and 57th F65 to comfortably retain her good-for-age place.

Ferenc Kovacs came in in 4:50.41 for his first non-virtual marathon; Tracey Anning-Beckett finished in 5:07.16 while Kathryn Thompson, who has also had to overcome serious injury and illness, finished in 5:48.18.

More than 45,000 runners completed the marathon which was won in a new course record of 2:01.25 by Kelvin Kiptum of Kenya.  The women’s race was full of drama with Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands taking the win in 2:18.33 on her marathon debut despite looking to be suffering from a hip injury during the race.

Both Mark Day and Louise Rawlins enjoyed lots of support from fellow AVRs pacing, cheering and a finish line welcome at the end of Seaton Esplanade worthy of The Mall itself.  Mark finished in a PB of 4:56.52 while Louise, completed her first ever marathon, having only started running two years ago in a creditable 5:11.24.

In the Mini London Marathon on Saturday Innes FitzGerald successfully defended her title with another dominating performance finishing a full 15 seconds ahead of the second placed runner on the 2.6k course.

Boston Bonanza

Tim Sibley travelled to the USA to take part in one of the Marathon Majors, the famous Boston Marathon which takes place annually on Patriots Day.  He completed it in 3:33.09 which was a great time on a tough course made all the more challenging with the wind and rain.  Even the GOAT, Kipchoge struggled.

AVRs dominate Seaton parkrun

 AVR had a great day at Seaton parkrun this week with Rich Hardy coming in as first finisher just a week after completing the Newport Marathon.  His 16:58 also placed him second on age-grade.  Luke Reed nabbed second spot in 17:53.

First female was Deborah Whiston in 20.05.  Top on age-grade was Eleanor Wood with an amazing 91% for her 22:53 finish.

There were also PBs for Jason Potter in 20:53; Steve Lewis, again a week after running Manchester Marathon, in 24:53; Elaine Chesterman in 33:07 and Liz Curley in 34:18.

On the road, Sam Miller and Tony Smith nabbed their V for the alphabet challenge at Victoria Docks parkrun which was alive with pre-marathon fever.  Dave Hutton and Sue Chambers were at Isabel Trail (grabbing their I) while Tim, Amie and James Sibley took part in Fletcher’s Cove parkrun in Washington while in the USA for the Boston Marathon.

Magnificent marathons: five PBs, 4 sub-3s

As we head into prime marathon season the first five AVRs started the ball rolling with Richard Hardy and Joel Seward taking on the 26.1 miles in Newport while Matt Frost, Jack Broom and Steve Lewis headed to Manchester to tackle the biggest UK marathon outside London.  There were four personal bests, one brilliant debut and such is the standard at AVR that the four youngsters all ran sub-3 hour marathons.

Over in Wales, Richard Hardy finished a tremendous 15th in a massive PB of 2:40.52 at the ABP Newport Wales Marathon while Joel Seward also improved his PB finishing 23rd in 2:44.30.  More than 1700 completed the race which was won by GB-ultra-athlete, Dan Nash in a course record of 2:19.46.

More than 18000 took part in the Adidas Manchester Marathon that started and finished near Old Trafford with the fast flat route heading out to Altrincham via Sale.  Jack Broom was making his marathon debut with a very impressive 87th place in 2:38.08.  Meanwhile Matt Frost also nabbed a PB in 2:56.23, 770th place.  Steve Lewis completed the marathon in 4:32.37, a PB, coming in a very creditable 11th M70 and 12871st.

The event also offers a team-relay option with teams of two or four.  Kevin Feeney joined with some family members running his first leg in an excellent 53:08 to set the team up for a brilliant 66th place from 238 teams with 3:57.40 overall.

Monday is the famous Boston marathon where our very own Tim Sibley will give Kipchoge a run for his money.  You can follow the race on Eurosport 2 from 2.30pm (UK time).

Noa batters Yeovilton

Three intrepid AVRs braved Storm Noa on Wednesday last week and tackled Yeovil Road Running Club’s (YRRC) Spring and Summer Yeovilton 5K race series.  With strong gusts of wind and driving rain, David Cull was first AVR back in 15th in 19.25. Adrian Strawbridge followed in 20th in 20.06 with James Ashforth in 38th in 22.15. This is a great event well organised by YRRC and with five more events in the series it is well worth considering to check out your speed over 5k.

Boggy Butleigh

Ian Kinnersley and Eleanor Wood headed into Somerset for the Butleigh 10k, which was actually closer to 6.5 miles of muddy off road running on tracks, bridleways and through woods all underneath the Glastonbury Tor.  They both loved it with Ian storming home in 51.39, an excellent 20th, and Eleanor fourth female finisher in 53.36.  About 120 completed the race in excellent Spring conditions.

A vertical Kilometre!

Rik Tumber took part in the KVK – Kernow’s Vertical Kilometre which is a 15-mile trail race across the hills and coastline of Cornwall around St Agnes with an incredible 1000m of climb.  Rik finished an excellent tenth in 2:16.33 from 121 finishers.

Lightening Bolt but no Usain!

Cliff Marriott popped up to Wiltshire for the Lightening Bolt 10k in a village just outside Chippenham.  It was a flat road race which Cliff finished in 54.10, 56th out of around 100 finishers.

 

Remembering John Mellodew at parkrun

 The family and friends of John Mellodew attended Seaton parkrun on Saturday to remember John, who passed away in January.  John, AVR member for many years, had been a regular participant at parkrun until the Covid break and often took part with three generations of his family.  On Saturday his daughter Anita celebrated her 50th milestone finishing second female in 22:25. Her daughter, Elsie also completed Saturday’s run.  Many AVRs who used to run with John also came to remember him.

The sun shone again making conditions perfect. First female finisher was new AVR member, Deborah Whiston in 20:28.  Ron Seward celebrated a PB in 22:26 which also placed him second on age grade with 80.61%.

Prize for the furthest travelled for parkrun tourism this week goes to Tim and Amie Sibley who nabbed the elusive ‘J” for the parkrun alphabet challenge by running Jamaica Ponds parkrun in Boston, USA.