Category Archives: Race Report
Oh My Obelisk
SW X-Country
Gloucester 10
UKA Gloucester 10mile road race
Also on Sunday the 30th of December, Kirsteen Welch (seen here at the SW X-Country Championships) took part in the UKA Gloucester 10mile road race. There were lots of talented athletes there, so it was a tough competition to take part in.
Kirsteen ran very well and was having a good race in-spite of being sent the wrong way with the front runners by a race marshal! This was frustrating for Kirsteen, however with typical KW determination, she still managed to cross the line to claim the 3rd Lady, 1st for her age group and 23rd out of 408 runners. Her time was 1h:07m:42s, still a great result even with the misdirection adding an extra 0.65 miles.
The next and first challenge of 2019, is to represent Devon this coming Sunday in the Southwest XC Championships with the aim of being selected for the National XC Championships in Loughborough in February.
Xmas Pud Marathon
Plym Trail Marathon
The 2018 Plym Merry Xmas Trail marathon
The organisers, First And Last Running Ltd normally hold this as a four seasons (winter, spring, summer and autumn) event throughout the year. This year they added The 2018 Merry Xmas Plym Trail Marathon. O Sunday the 16th of December two Mighty Green ladies, Jo Earlam and Jane Hemsworth took part.
The race started at Clearbrook, near Yelverton and continued south towards Plymouth along the old railway line, now the Cycle Route 27. It is downhill all the way out, with the turnaround point being Coypool. This meant it was an uphill trek all the way back! The half marathon competitors ran the one circuit. Our two MG ladies took on the full marathon, so they had to do two circuits. It’s a beautiful scenic route on a path shared by walkers, runners, cyclists, cows and sheep! There is no traffic to contend with, making this marathon pleasurable to take part in. The refreshment stations were well stocked with chocolate, crisps, peanuts and satsumas as well as sports drinks and gels! Both ladies ran together giving moral support and were very happy with their finishing times of 4h:47m. Respect goes to both runners with Jane finishing her 22nd marathon and Jo, now having completed 65 marathons in total. Does this qualify her for marathon OAP status? I think it should, but i hope that it doesn’t mean that Jo is going to retire from the marathon scene.
Both ladies enjoyed the well organised event and would really recommend this one. Jo rates it as her favourite so far.
Cockington Caper
Deb and Don Capering around Cockington
Don Cawthera and Deb Marriott both ran at the Cockington Christmas Caper this weekend. Every year since 2004, Christian charity The Barnabas Sports Trust has organised this event. It was 7.5 miles of mud and hills. Fancy dress was an option and a great route around the footpaths and cycle paths of the Cockington Estate in Torquay. Running the route together they managed placings of 161 and 162 out of 240. Dons time was 1h:32m:31s and Deb’s was 1h:32:39. They still had enough energy after the run for a bit of Christmas shopping at the craft stalls much to Don’s delight!
Dorset Ultra
Devon Champion
Reindeer 10k
Reindeer run 2018
The 15th edition of The Reindeer Run took place on Saturday 1st of December 2018. This annual festive event raises funds for Otterton C of E School. There are two events, a fun run of 3k and a race of 10k, both start and finish in the village of Otterton. They are multi-terrain, rural courses, that use lanes, paths, tracks and farmland in and around the lower Otter Valley. Being held on the 1st of December, entrants are encouraged to come dressed in festive attire.
This year, due to the last week’s rainfall, the level of the River Otter is very high. This meant that the route under the road bridge was chest high in water, so for safety reasons the route had to be changed. Just after the start, the 10K was re-routed towards Ladram Bay and the Coastal Path back to the sewage works. Then through the lane to meet up with the old route across the muddy fields, up some slippery hills before the road, back to the white Bridge and up the River to the finish line.
In the 10K race were, Tim Mitchell who was the first Sidmouth runner back coming 13th overall in a time of 47m:28s. Then Sam Ingram, who had a very loyal fan base in the form of his family cheering him on his way to a fast 33rd place in 54m:23s. In 38th was Catherine Hilton in 55m:28s with Simon Hollyer 49th in 57m:47s. Sue Collman and her four legged running partner arrived in 51st position 58m:07s, with Chris Day-Kerry not quite a minute later in 59m:06s in 58th place. Twins Christine and Karen Farnham enjoyed themselves with Christine taking a last minute victory over Karen, CF 68th in 1h:00m:33s and KF 69th in 1h:00m:39s. Next came Rocker Shepard 71st in 1h:01m:09s, then David Wright in 83rd with a time of 1h:02m:38s and Sarah Clapham 86th in 1h:03m:17s.
Next in in order of appearance were three helpers of Santa, Jane Hemsworth being the fastest helper in 91st place with a speedy 1h:04m:08s, Helen Palmer not so far behind in 112th with a nippy 1h:10m:43s and Jo Earlam arrived in a steady time of 1h:10m:58s, 113th.
Jodie Hawkins endured the hills, got to grips with the mud and slipped over the line in 1h:14m:03s. Debbie Marriot (Mrs Claus) 144th, Monica Read 145th and Don Cawthera (Mr Claus) 146th, all crossed the line together in good festive spirits with a seasonal time of 1h:17m:24s. Julia hadrell 167th in 1h:24m:26s with Helen Neighbour 169th in 1h:26m:21s and Sue Cunningham 170th place in 1h:26m:23s As there was not an official last runner on the day, Terry Bewes very kindly offered to sweep up at the back, shepherding the tail enders and giving words of encouragement all the way back to the finish. He claimed the 182nd spot and got around in 1h:45m:57s. Due to a cold Emma Grainger DNS.
In the 3K Fun Run Tom Clapham was the 1st Sidmouth runner over the line coming 25th in 18m:15s. Zak Raynor in 25m:19s, closely followed by two young ladies showing great teamwork, Rose Ashby in 28m:26s and Kara Salter in 28m:27s. Then arriving in 30m:57s was Meena Agar followed by Sarah Watkins and Paul Williamson who both arrived in 33m exactly. There were 133finishers.