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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.
Farnborough Foray
Angela Kerr and Steve Lewis headed to Surrey for the Farnborough Winter Half Marathon which took place in freezing, sub-zero temperatures on Sunday morning.
With both recovering from illness and injury it was all about getting round with Steve finishing in 2:08.25, 1304th and Angela in 2:16.223, 1448th with 1697 completing the flat 13.1m race run around Farnborough airfield and organised very efficiently by 2:09 events.
Grizzly gets closer
AVRs were out in force over the weekend practising for the Grizzly and Cub. Two groups ran the Sid Vale Ring in gorgeous winter sunshine on Saturday while another two groups tackled the Cub route and beyond on Sunday.
Seaton parkrun
It was good to have the sunshine back for Seaton parkrun, and after a course check for ice the event was able to go ahead with 157 finishers. It was a clean sweep for the AVR men with first finisher Ritchie Durrant in a PB of 16:51 followed by Richard Hardy in 17:22, also second on age-grade with 78%, and Lee Moran in third in 18:35. Second female to finish was Kerry Board in 22:45.
Celebrating her birthday with a PB was Laura Kerr in 24:21. Helen Boehm got another PB of 37.14 while reaching her 50 milestone. David Sadler celebrated his 200th volunteering stint. Congratulations to all three!
Oh my!
Starting and finishing in Dawlish, the Oh my Obelisk half marathon takes the trails up to the Mamhead Obelisk with c1700 feet of elevation. AVR’s Tim Lenton, Eleanor Wood, Jeremy Slade and Henry Smith took part on Sunday. With so much rain it proved to be quite the mud bath so perfect Grizzly training!
Tim Lenton finished in an excellent seventh place in 1:35.41 also scooping first M45. Eleanor Wood was next AVR home in 2:02.59, an excellent ninth female and first F65. In 112th was Jeremy Slade in 2:25.21 with Henry Smith just behind him in 119th in 2:28.04. The race, organised by Dawlish Coasters, had 159 finishers with a further 86 running a 9-mile option.
250 up for Seaton parkrun
It may have been another wet, windy and wild Saturday but it didn’t stop the celebrations for the 250th parkrun event in Seaton. Since the launch event in November 2016 more than 10,000 different people have completed the 5k free, timed run with more than 500 different volunteers helping. With just a handful of cancellations as well as the “pause’ due to the pandemic, the event has averaged 189 finishers each week with many more volunteers and spectators all ensuring a wonderful atmosphere on the Esplanade every Saturday and contributing to Seaton’s friendly welcome.
At Saturday’s event, AVR Luke Reed was first finisher in 19:41 with Kerry Board, second female in 23:23. Chris Rathbone was third finisher and third on age-grade with his 20:02. There were milestone celebrations for Adele Girdwood and Bethany Laycock reaching their 100th parkrun and Matt Frost who hit the 25-mark. Finally there was a brilliant PB despite the challenging wind for Helen Boehm.
Don’t forget parkrun is only possible because of the wonderful volunteers and you can help at parkrun by emailing seaton@parkrun.com . It is a great way to stay involved if you’re injured or unable to run.
Bumper turnout for Winter Series
With the rainy day turning into a cold but dry, still evening an amazing 36 AVRs took part in the 5k Winter Series which uses the Esplanade and double Axmouth bridge route. It takes place once a month from October to March with an award for the most improved over the six months. In the running with just two months left are Sue Chambers and Matt Orsman, both with two-minute improvements. Results to date: https://www.axevalleyrunners.org.uk/winter-5k-series/