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PBs at Exeter Half
Exeter Half Marathon is a fabulous, traffic-free route, along the footpaths and cycle paths along the Exe and the canal.
The race is organised by the City Community Trust and took place on both Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th, with different cut-offs to accommodate a wide range of runners.
The flat course is ideal for those heading for a half marathon PB, and AVR saw success on Saturday, with Angela Kerr, Matt Frost and Mark Spraggs flying the flag against a strong field.
Matt finished 17th in 1:21:59, a PB by 1 minute 20 seconds and Mark also hit a new PB of1:44:32!
Ange finished in 2:07:18, first in her age category.
A great race all round, bravo folks!
Cardiff Winter Warmer
In other half marathon news, Tim Sibley travelled to Cardiff on Saturday to take part in the Winter Warmer Half Marathon in Bute Park. Tim was pleased to finish in 37th place in 1:36:35 and 3rd V50.
Grizzly training
With three weeks to go, one or two of you were out on Sunday getting in those last training sessions for the Grizzly!
Watch the intrepid runners set off in this video.
Looks like the training is going well!
parkrun roundup
There were 33 AVR members at Seaton parkrun this weekend. Haydn Boehm, Jase Potter, Paul Johns, Yossi Maclure, Roberta Wadsworth and Emma Sampson all ran PBs. Additionally, Ron Seward took the top age-graded position.
Cliff Marriot and Pam Goddard were running at Weymouth; Carol Austin was at Cronulla, Australia; Ian Smith at Hermanus, South Africa; and Ellie and Matthew Dominey were at Melksham where Ellie took first female finisher.
Photos from Mark Spraggs, Matt Frost, Pam Goddard and Kathryn Thompson.
Sidmouth shines for the 4 Trigs
In stark contrast to last year, the weather couldn’t have have been more perfect for the 4 Trigs race on February 5th, ran in aid of the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY). This low-key race around Sidmouth is one of the “big four” down here in East Devon, alongside Blackdown Beast, the Grizzly and Exe to Axe. It covers approximately 28 km across “an obscene” amount of climb with controls at four of the trig points surrounding Sidmouth.
The route starts and finishes at Sidmouth Sailing Club and takes in the coast path, visits the Donkey Sanctuary and is mostly off road, with some great views.
Results update:
It turns out the perfect weather led to perfect results: new male and female records were set. AVR members were out in force: Tim Lenton finished 4th overall in 2:25:08; Rob Collier: 17th in 2:46:02; by my reading of the results, Karen Eyre was 3rd female in 3:13:19, Richard Jackson finished in 31st in 3:10:21, closely followed by Rupert Pady, 34th in 3:12:58, with Kerry Board and Emilie Brock in joint 41st crossing the line together in 3:19:24; Si Davey, Susan Hayes, Andy West and Eleanor Wood crossed the line together in 3:24:10, Steve Haines in 3:49:50, and David and Susi Sadler managed three trigs out of the four.
Every week, at least 12 apparently fit and healthy young people die suddenly from previously undiagnosed heart conditions, CRY aim to combat this by supporting awareness, screening and research. The 4 Trigs race has raised over £11,000 for CRY over the past 8 years.
Exmouth Express 5 miles
Meanwhile, over in Exmouth, a number of AVR members were also soaking up the rays in the 5 mile Exmouth Express. This road race is a 2 lap course along Exmouth promenade.
More AVR parkrun news
At Seaton parkrun on Saturday, Lee Doran crossed the line first and Adele Girdwood saw a new PB, with Ron Seward taking the highest age-graded position out of AVR runners.
Carol Austin and Lesley Adams are still on tour down under, visiting Centennial parkrun. Kristian Mears ran at Bushy, Clare Dolan at Southampton, Ellie and Matthew Dominey ran at Lydiard, with Ellie taking the top spot, Carolyn Nation was at Killerton, David Hutton and Susan Chambers were at Penrose, Ian Smith was at Constantia Greenbelt in South Africa, Tony Smith and Sam Miller were at Severn Bridge, and Joshua Hopson was at Frogmary Green.
Finally, Susi Sadler completed her 200th volunteer occasion on Saturday.
Thanks to Sam Halls and Louise Rawlins for the photos.
Spirits up in the Blackdown Hills
Blackdown Beast, organised by Honiton RC, is a social self-navigated 16-ish miler starting and finishing at Dunkeswell Airfield, with a 10 mile alternative course. The route visits Smeathorpe, Upottery and Luppit with steep climbs, mud and pasties promised en route.
There were smiles all round from the AVR members who took part in both the 16 mile and 10 mile routes.
As the race continued, the atmosphere didn’t diminish. The route was described as really enjoyable and picturesque, and praise was given for the friendly team and great organisation of Honiton RC.
Pictured, Helen Holmes, Julia Mallon, Vicki Wraight, Katharine Moran, Emma Richardson and Suzi Blackett, finished in just under 3.5 hours, despite stopping for pasties and mulled cider at the first “aid” station!
Crossing the line at the same time, AVR members Emilie Brock and Kerry Board took joint first ladies.
Emilie Brock described the event simply as “ace”!
Tim Lenton also finished first overall, making it an absolute clean sweep for AVR!
Well done to everyone who took part. A video of the start can be viewed on Facebook.
With thanks to Jeremy Slade and Suzi Blackett for the photos.
City Runs Exmouth
Matt Frost has been chasing 30 mins in the RunExe 5 mile series for a while. On 25th Jan, he achieved his goal with a PB of 29:46, finishing in 18th place overall. Well done, Matt!
The ARC 50
The dramatic Cornish coast path provides the setting for the ARC 50 mile race. A tough course with fantastic scenery. On 28th Jan, in perfect weather conditions, Patrick Devine-Wright completed the course in 10:06:56, finishing in 14th place overall and 2nd V50, out of a field of 224. Chapeau!
Grizzly get even closer
With 5 weeks to go until Grizzly 2023: “I Fought The Claw!”, a multitude of AVR members could be seen around the tops of Hooken Cliffs, from Beer to Branscombe, heading from the depths of winter into the last stages of their training!
The countdown has begun!
AVR across the globe at parkrun
Seaton parkrun saw 29 AVR members on Saturday. Adele Girdwood was highest placed age-graded with a fantastic 73.22% and Simon Dimmock was highest placed in 8th position. Additionally, Darrel Farley, Roberta Wadsworth and Paula Cooke all ran PBs!
There were AVR members running elsewhere as well: among others, Carol Austin was running at Albert Park in Australia, Craig Tiley at Lydiard, Ron Seward at Aberystwyth, and Paul Lloyd at Heartlands.