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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.