Get ready for JP’s Exe to Axe

Preparations for JP’s Exe To Axe are well underway

While the focus for some of the Sidmouth Running Club members is increasing the mileage preparing for the upcoming Grizzly, three Mighty Greens are working hard behind the scenes organising the Club’s renowned JP’s Exe to Axe race on Sunday 3rd April.

Seaton here we come

Named in memory of John Perratt, a founder member and long term treasurer of the club, the 22 mile course starts at Foxes Hole car park on Exmouth seafront and follows the SW coast path to finish at Seaton Sailing club. Chipped timing allows runners to set off between 9:30 and 10:00.

And down to Ladram Bay

Dubbed ‘An adventure 22 miles in the making’, it is not for the faint hearted but there are relay and half distance options which make the event novice runner friendly too. Organiser Paul Mitchell is keen to encourage more relay teams to enter the challenge so that runners can experience the ups and downs of the scenic route in 5/6 mile sections. This year the half option is Sidmouth to Seaton and starts at 11am by the water station at the flag pole.

 

Jo’s visit

Jo’s Visit to Sidmouth Running Club

 
 
On Wednesday evening Sidmouth Running Club’s Ambassador Jo Pavey MBE, was welcomed by Chairman Terry Bewes to the weekly club night meet up. She gave the club members a very interesting talk about part of her olympic journey. She gave words of wisdom and many words of encouragement, especially too our new intake of beginners. After the talk, Jo ran with all the beginner groups for part of their routes and also with the 3 mile and 4 mile groups. This was a very carefully organised operation, with tight scheduling for all groups to be in the right places on time. This is now the second time SRC has had the pleasure of running with Jo and she really is an inspiration. So our thanks go to her and we wish her all the best for Tokyo 2020. 

Photos courtesy of Tony Velterop

SW Coastal Path

The Sidmouth Running Club has generously donated £250 to the South West Coast Path Association to recognise the work the charity does in keeping their favourite running routes open, accessible, safe and in good condition.

The club, which welcomes runners of all abilities and boasts approximately 120 members ranging from 17 to 70 years old, decided to donate the money from their ‘Exe to the Axe’ race takings.

Terry Bewes, Sidmouth Running Club Chairman says, ‘Whilst we may tire running up and down the steep local hills, we never tire of the beautiful views our Coast Path provides. We wanted to donate this money to recognise the efforts of everyone at the Association who work to keep the Path open for everyone to enjoy.

With regular organised meet-ups on Mondays and Wednesdays in Spring and Summer on the Coast Path, the club takes full advantage of it’s unique views and elevation to motivate runners and improve their core strength and endurance.

Trustee for the South West Coast Path Association, Keith Wainwright met with the club on the Coast Path to receive the donation. Keith says, “We are very grateful to the Sidmouth Running Club for this donation. Whilst the Coast Path is free for everyone to use, it costs at least £1,000 per year for every mile of the 630-mile Path to keep it open, safe and clearly signed. Coastal running is a great way to get out and explore, but it also improves physical and mental wellbeing – and clubs like this are also a great way to socialise. We’d love to have more clubs showing their support for the Path in this way.” If you would like to donate or become a member of the Association please visit https://www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk/love-the-coast-path

You can join the Sidmouth Running Club for evening runs between 2 and 6 miles or sign up to one or two events they organise on the Coast Path during the year. The Exe to Axe, which takes place during April is a 22-mile course with a 4000 ft assent from Exmouth to Seaton. ‘The 4 Trigs’ which takes place in February is a tough 20-mile run taking place in and around Sidmouth.

AGM 2017 Awards

2017 Trophy Winners

Chris Long Trophy: Male runner of the year. Antony Hall.

Hair Temple Trophy: Lady Runner of the Year: Debbie Marriot.

Chair’s award: Rob Edwards

Terry

Junior Girls Trophy: Kate Marriot

Junior Boys Trophy: Toby Garrick

Reindeer Run Most Improved: Sue Cunningham 3 min.

Runners Runners Trophy: Gail Goldsmith

Wooden Spoon (Biggles Award): Terry Bewes

2017 MIGHTY GREEN PRIZE WINNERS

Mighty Green Racing:

Katie Kent – Barcelona Half – White and Dry Sauvignon.

Mighty Green on holiday:

Ellie Keast – Australia – Bombay Sapphire gin

Mighty Green Fancy Dress Queen:

Christine Nichols

Mighty Green Most Fashion Conscious Male:

Dr Charles Keen

Mighty Green Most Fashion Conscious Female:

Paula Farrand

Mighty Green Highest and Lowest award:

Joe Kent

Mighty Green I Need Another Holiday Soon Award:

Don and Debbie

Mighty Green Selfie Award:

Nigel Donk Maeer

AGM Chair’s Report

Chair’s report to the 14th AGM 12/04/2017

Firstly I would like to say that the last 12 months have been a resounding success for the club which continues to grow ever stronger. A lot of this success is

Helen

on the back of the work put in by the previous chair Helen Palmer from whom I took over last year. Helen steered the club through a difficult time in her usual calm and efficient manner. She still keep an eye on me, tapping her watch if I am going on to long on a Wednesday evening, or they are taking too long to get from the club to the car park so tell them the warm up starts when they are outside the door and run over. She is my running buddy and we have run and walked many miles over the years. She dragged me around my first Grizzly when I was 60 and got an ear blasting for her trouble, and this year when she saw I was struggling, came back and said “come on we can do this, and we did. A great friend and a credit to this club.

None of this would have been possible without the time and dedication of the leaders and coaches, not only in taking the runs but also the time they give in attending the various courses. Of course the more the club grows the greater the call will be on them. During the year we welcomed four new leaders Adam Marston-Price, Nigel Maeer, Tim Clay and David Lee. Tim Mitchell is currently taking a four day coaches course which he finishes in June so he will be organising some form of training plan for the autumn with his newly found knowledge. We are always looking for new Leaders so if you are interested in attending a one day course held locally then please let me know. And with that I would like you to join me in a round of applause to show your appreciation to them.

I would also like to express a vote of thanks to the committee for the work that they put in unseen on behalf of the members and in particular our Secretary Jo Earlam. Jo has been extremely busy this year but is always on the ball keeping us up to date on all the rule changes that affects us and minuting our meetings. Treasurer Sarah Burston, another lady with a busy life who keeps our account up to date but due to growing work and family pressure she is now standing down from the role. I would like to take this opportunity to pass on our appreciation of all the time she has given to the club in the role of Treasurer.

Naomi Garrick our Social Secretary never gives up trying to get the social side of the club going and it is an uphill struggle. It is also a side to the club that I have never been able to understand. When running you could not get a more sociable group of people, I have been on runs with the ladies that have lasted 5 hours or more and they never stopped talking! I have heard it said on more than one occasion from members of other clubs that you can always tell when the Sidmouth ladies are coming as you can hear them talking half a mile away. Yet we struggle to get the response to the social events we put on. This is an area I hope we can improve on in the coming year and we are arranging a BBQ here at Port Royal on Saturday 17th June. If you have any ideas for a social event please let Naomi know.

John Keast, our Membership Secretary spent a lot of last year getting to grips with the England Athletic Registration System. This System is an extremely important tool to the club as it allows us access to email all our members in one hit. And this is where you come in when filling out your membership form, especially your email address. Make sure it is clear and legible so that John can read it and check your spam folders for EA e-mails coming from jo.earlam@hotmail.co.uk.John has already started to input the 2017 membership forms and he has obviously got to grips with it as I have already seen it throwing up some anomalies.

Web Editor Rob Edwards. I would challenge anybody to find another Running Club website that is as good and up to date as ours. That in itself has had the effect of raising the profile of the club and the continuing increase in membership. The time and effort he puts in is incredible, what I send him one day is usually on the site the next. I cannot speak highly enough of him, not only with data input but sorting out any problem that arises with the system. At committee meetings he speaks a different language with weird sounding words similar to Dutch Tony. We do need an understudy for him, preferably someone younger with IT knowledge that could teach an old dog new tricks and at the same time learn how the system works to safeguard the future.

Exe to Axe race director Paul Mitchell who once again, with the help of Rob Edwards organised and ran an extremely challenging event exceedingly professionally as I have seen by so much favourable feedback from those that entered.

Thanks also to all the club members who helped out on the day.

The Chairman’s Mighty Green Challenge has been a resounding success and will be repeated this year. Keep sending in the photographs because as you will see later there are prizes to be won at the end of the year.

The Mighty Green on holiday has been seen in Gibraltar, Hanoi, Greece, Tokyo, Scotland, Ireland, Morocco, the Baltic, Spain, Croatia, Portugal, Wales, England, Bali, Australia, Africa, India, Madeira, Thailand, South Africa, Italy and France.

The Mighty Green Racing shirt has been worn in the following races: The Wolf Run, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Bristol, Taunton, Windsor, Exeter, London, Dartmoor, Dublin, Drogo, Templar 10, Barcelona and Australia.

Earlier in the year we sent out a questionnaire and from that we were able to find out what you would like from the club. This has resulted in Justin Ashby developing an 8 week 10k training programme focussing on the Ottery 10k. This has proved an outstanding success with over 30 runners registering, ranging from those who were on the Beginners course to the more accomplished runners. So much so that Tim Mitchell has been recruited to help him out. Already PB’s are coming in from members on this course. I thank them both for their time and expertise.

The Time Trials have been resurrected under the leadership of Vice Chair Becky Robson. She must have been overwhelmed with the 74 members who recorded times on the first outing, together with the helpers and others running but not recording a time we had over 80 members out on a Wednesday evening, truly remarkable. Thank you Becky and all your helpers.

Members also showed an interest in Park Runs and Debbie Marriott will be organising these. There are a number of venues around here where the event takes place and if there are sufficient members interested Debbie will arrange a coach outing to one. Contact Debbie if you are interested.

Guess the time of your run. We will discuss this at the next committee meeting and arrange a date and venue.

The January beginners’ course was a huge success. Expecting 10 to 15 people, on the first night 35 enrolled with a further 10 the following week, and for once I was at a loss of how to cope with this! Helen Palmer came to the rescue and once again got involved with organising them. The positive feedback from them regarding Helen and the run leaders on the course speaks for itself and only about 10 dropped out. For some unknown reason she will not let me get involved with the beginners!!

Port Royal. When you become a member of the Running Club, you automatically become a member of the Port Royal Club. This allows you full use of all the facilities when the club is open, except when there is a private function on. You can also request a key for which a deposit will be required or a door code whichever they decide on, allowing you access to the showers and toilets at all times. It is here to use and they have asked us for feedback on the bar, are they selling what you would buy or would you like to see other products available? e.g. coffee machine, better quality wine, different beer or spirits, more comfortable seating etc. Please let us know.

This autumn we will try and arrange for Gavin and hopefully Jo Pavey as well to come and give us a talk and maybe run with us. But with Gavin’s experience in the Exe to the Axe, that might be optimistic.

We will see what interest there is in going to Exeter Arena on a Monday night for training on the track and we will arrange a coach if there is sufficient interest.

Any other ideas for the Autumn/Winter programme please let us know.

During the year club runners have collectively entered 60 different events (39 the previous year).

The Sports relief mile organised by Colin Flood raised £3,475.07. Overall 72.5 million was raised.

Organising the races at the Sid Vale Athletics meeting raised the club £300.

It is great to see those that started in the beginners continuing to improve, likewise the more accomplished runners who have joined throughout the year. One of

Rita

them told me that when she told her friend she was thinking about joining us she was told “you don’t want to join them they are hardcore” Well that is one thing we are not. We are one big family that enjoys our running and that is the message we must get out there. The press reports play a part in this as the public can see not only the range in the age of our members but also that their friends run. I am ever grateful to my wife Rita for her help in compiling these reports, present tense, past tense, commas, full stops, spelling, grammar and my old favourite of or off mean nothing to me so on a Tuesday night when I write the reports she gets the calling while watching TV “pause that a minute please and check this”.

Thank you to my grandson Kyle for the time he gives to the club with his amazing photography, when they say that the camera never lies, don’t believe it. Keep taking the photos everyone and send me details of events you enter.

And finally, to sum up, I would like to thank you all for continuing to support your club, renew your membership now so that you are insured while running with us, buy that Mighty Green shirt and wear it with pride, enter more races wearing it, it’s not about winning but supporting your club, show them the strength of The Mighty Green Army.

Thank you everyone

Terry

Chair

Exe to Axe Race

Sunday 3rd April, Race Starts at 10:00am

For all Exe to Axe enquires please contact Paul Mitchell on:paul.l.mitchell@outlook.com or enter via The Runners World Website.


Event Closed: Race Results

Links for reference only Race Sign up form  |  Exe to Axe Maps


10:00am, Sunday 3 April 2016 | Start Foxes Hole Car Park Exmouth | Finish Seaton Esplanade, Exmouth, EX8 2DG

Event Profile
Distance: 20 miles
Surface: Multiterrain
Route: Point to point
Setting: Rural
Profile: Hilly
Water stations: Every 5 Miles
Traffic free? No
Extras
Awards/mementos: Medal, Winners’ prizes
Venue facilities: Toilets, Onsite parking, Refreshments, Supervised bag storage
Organiser’s notes: 13th year of event, 4,000 feet of climbing Fell Running Association event following breath taking East Devon Jurrasic Coast path approx. 20 miles. Race starting in Exmouth Foxes hole car park, transport available from Seaton (finish) to the start at Exmouth. Relay option four stages teams 2-4 from Exmouth to Budleigh Salterton to Sidmouth to Branscombe to Seaton. Records Male 2hr 26.47 (2012) Female 3.04.11 (2009)
Relay details:: Four stages Exmouth to Budleigh Salterton to Sidmouth to Branscombe toSeatton
Entry Information
Cheques payable to: Sidmouth Running Club
On-the-day entry: Event Now Closed
Entries in advance: Event Now Closed
Postal closing date: Monday 28 March 2016
Size of field: 350 competitors
Minimum Age: 18
Last year’s entry: 300
Event website: http://www.sidmouthrunningclub.co.uk
Entry form(s): Available from race website
or universal entry form (PDF-72K)
Entries in advance Entries on the day
Normal Entries £10.00 | affiliated £10.00 | unaffiliated £12.00 |

Event Organiser Details
Contact: Paul Mitchell, Race Director, Sidmouth Running Club
Address: Maple Cottage
Lower Wheathill
Sidmouth
Devon
EX10 9UA
Enquires to: Paul Mitchell
Mobile: 07831 559341
Email: paul.l.mitchell@outlook.com

Exe to Axe 2015

Conditions for this year’s race turned out surprisingly well. Gales were forecast all along the Devon coast for the day and recent rains had made the route very muddy and slippery underfoot. As a result some of those pre-entered didn’t bother to make the start but they were compensated to a degree by a good number of late entries.

 

The rain held off for most of the day and the very strong South Westerly winds proved to be a big help to the runners. A few, quite a lot actually, did slip up on the muddy slopes but this in no way dampened their enthusiasm. The following wind also ensured that generally speaking it produced some of the quickest times that we have seen over the years. This has to be measured against the frequent changes of route forced upon us by cliff falls along the coast. Having said that, the first 8 runners were all quicker than last year’s winner, Michael Robinson, who improved by 4 minutes but had to settle for 5th place.

 

Undoubtedly though the performance of the day came from Annie Conway, an Ambleside AC member, who came down from the Lake District to show us all how it should be done. She and the ultimate winner, Matthew Clyst one of the local Axe Valley Runners, swapped places frequently but in the end Matthew beat her to the finish line by a mere 9 seconds in a time of 2.41.41. Annie did however have the satisfaction of breaking the Ladies’ course record by more than 22 minutes. She does however have previous in this event having run it in 2010 as Annie Baumber when she finished 2nd lady but more than half an hour slower than her blistering run this year.

It is also perhaps pertinent to point out that, apart from Matthew this year, only two other men have beaten her time. They are Tom Merson, the male Course record holder in 2011 and 2012 and James Bellward in 2010. Annie, we salute you and would love to see a lady winner of this race next year.

 

There were 203 finishers with 96 either not starting, pulling out, or part of a relay team.

2015 Grizzly Announcements

The 28th running of the Grizzly and Cub runs start together on Seaton Esplanade at 10.30 am on Sunday 1st March – this year subtitled “Dash to Delirium” some runners do have weird brainwaves after the run – and they remain one of the toughest Multi-Terrain challenges you are likely to come across. The 20 ish mile Grizzly will finish at the same location from approx. 1 p.m., while the shorter 9 mile Cub Run which is run over part of the main course will finish from approx. 11.30 am. There are 1,812 entrants in the Grizzly with Benfleet RC bringing 63 runners (10 more than last year), Bedford Harriers 29, Tiptree RR 27, Honiton RC 26 and host club AVR 63. There are 53 runners from the Netherlands, 2 from the USA and Cyprus plus 1 from France and Germany. There are 347 runners in the Cub Run, plus the “Grizfest” and junior runs on Grizzly Saturday. The first three from last year’s Grizzly are up for the challenge again, that’s winner Ceri Reed of Wild Running, Rick Weston, Serpentine RC and AVR’s Patrick Devine-Wright. The Headquarters and baggage facility this year will be at Seaton Town Hall where the Runners Need (Exeter) shop, open to all will have super bargains.

 

The GRIZZLY course is 20 AVR miles of very tough running, around and through some of the best scenery in the country, with lots of hills, two official bogs (though some of the fields may resemble bogs) and a soupçon of undulating pebble beach. This year we haven’t had the rain and gales of last year but it will still be a tough endurance test. The route has been slightly modified and this year after a small loop around Seaton beach the runners will go over to Beer via Bunts Corner, Old Beer Road and Old Beer Hill, down Long Hill and Fore Street, then up Common Lane, through the Common Car Park and Caravan Site then over the common to Branscombe Mouth where there will be music by Kagemusha Taiko – Japanese-style drummers. (The Cub Run will turn left on or near Branscombe beach and return via Under Hooken). The Grizzly proceeds to the Village Hall, then lots of private land around Gays Farm where Slapjack will be jamming, then Watercombe and Elverway before finally reaching the two bogs in the Hole area. After a severely mucky experience it’s onward to The Fountain Head where the renowned Grizzly Group Stampita (formerly Rooting Around) will be boogying on. It’s then back to Branscombe Mouth on the Coastal Footpath. A jaunty jog along Branscombe beach is followed by the Stairway to Heaven climb back to Beer Common, eventually returning to Seaton by way of Beer Jubilee Gardens, Clinton Way, Beer Road and Cliff Field Gardens. En route there will also be bagpipers and Dave Somers and other musicians to entertain runners and spectators.

 

The best spectator vantage points will be at Seaton Sea Front, (Start and Finish), Beer Fore Street (3.0 miles), Beer Head Car Park (3.3 and 17.6 miles), the Sea Shanty at Branscombe Mouth (5.5 & 16 miles), Branscombe Village Hall (6.2 miles), the Fountain Head Branscombe (14.3 miles), and Beer Cliff Top and Jubilee Gardens (18 miles). Please arrive in plenty of time and encourage the runners in this mass of human endeavour. Most runners would welcome some chewy sweets e.g. Jelly Babies, or even a drink, especially near the end of the race if the weather is hot. Wherever you decide to watch, please bear in mind that the byways around Branscombe will be very congested, so please park sensibly at correct locations, not in the lanes. Much of the middle part of the course, including the infamous bogs, is on private land and therefore inaccessible to spectators.

 

For the top few runners it is a very challenging race, but for the majority it is an arduous test akin to a journey of self-discovery, combining Deep Ecology, spiritualism, One-ness philosophy and Multi-terrain running, and once again somewhere en route there will be a superbly constructed Grizzly Memorial provided by the kindred spirit of the Dungbeans. Runners can tie a ribbon, or place an object as they pass through, and have a shared moment of reflection on whom or what is really dear to their hearts – this can be a truly emotional experience.

 

There may well be traffic delays at Seaton as The Esplanade is closed all day on Sunday and also on Saturday afternoon for the Junior races. Castle Hill will be closed between 10.30am and 5.00pm. Due to the Coastal path closure Beer Road will be closed for a while in sections from Castle Hill to the top of Long Hill at the start of the run then on the return Beer Road from the exit of Clinton Way to Cliff Field Gardens will just be coned off to enable the safe return of runners. Delays in Fore Street Beer between 10.50 am and 11.30 am, Common Lane will be closed during the event, so delays will occur near the Anchor until 4.30 pm. In Branscombe Northern Lane from Branscombe Airfield to the cattle grid at junction with Hole Hill (east), will be closed between 11.00am and 3.30pm Locksey’s Lane will be closed between Branscombe Village Hall and the A3052 between 11.00am and 3.30pm. There will be a one way system in operation between 12.00noon and 3.30pm near the Fountain Head:- Up on the Right (Coxes Hill) and down on the left (Berry Hill). If going to the Masons Arms for lunch from the Sidmouth direction please keep to the A3052 and turn right just before the Beer turning and use Vicarage Hill.

 

The main race sponsors are the technical Sportswear Specialists Scimitar (T shirts), East Devon Sports Therapy & General Injury Clinic, Seaton and Everys Solicitors (race numbers and banners). Other race sponsors are Tesco, Seaton (car parking and bananas), Photo-fit.net (Event Photography), Axminster Tools (postage), SAK Logistics (van hire), Quicks Engineering (SW) Ltd, Axminster (trophies), East Devon District Council (car parking), Devon County Council (Marshlands Centre – first aid) and Axe Skip Hire (waste skip at finish).

 

Huge thanks all the shops and local businesses as always getting completely behind the Grizzly and going to town with their decorations and activities – it’s going to make the Town come alive for the weekend.

 

There is a fantastic Grizfest being planned that is crammed full of activities for locals and visitors alike starting on Friday 27th Feb Mad Dog McRea (+Sound of Sirens) at The Gateway, Seaton Town Hall from 7.30 for 8pm, then on Saturday at 10am the Grizfest will get underway in Seaton Town Centre. The 2K family run will start at 2.15pm and the 4K race at 2.45 from outside the Hook and Parrot. On Saturday evening at 7pm for 7.30pm there is the Annual Griz Quiz at The Gateway, Seaton Town Hall.

 

On Grizzly day at 8am the Grizzly Café is open for breakfast at The Gateway, then for the spiritual side of the event an open air service is being organised by Churches Together in Seaton from 9.30am to 10.15am at The Amphitheatre.

 

There is so much going on so please check out http://axevalleyrunners.org.uk/grizzly/home for all the activities.

So all is set for a great Grizzly and Cub 2015, let’s hope we have a fine day to enable you to come along and join us in all the fun.

Exe to Axe 2014

The winter storms had played havoc with the Devon Coast line over the months prior to the race but, apart from one minor diversion leaving Sidmouth and a few fallen trees, the Coastal Path survived pretty well. There was still a fair amount of mud around but by and large the route had dried out and the day itself was blessed with good weather in compensation for losing an hour’s sleep with the clock’s moving forward overnight.

The coastal route was looking at its very best and the 178 starters set off from the mouth of the River Exe in Exmouth with great enthusiasm. Some of that euphoria dissipated over the 22 miles of Coastal Path and indeed 6 runners were obliged to pull out from injury but the rest usually raised a triumphant smile as they crossed the finish line.

A slight south easterly head wind was just enough to cool down some of the quicker runners without materially slowing them down and Michael Robinson, having last year finished 2nd (after taking a wrong turn on the final stretch), revelled in the conditions. He said before the race that he couldn’t wait to do it again and came home a convincing winner this time in 2 hours 48 minutes, having led all the way. David Parrott appearing for the first time ran a well judged race and took second place, overtaking local runner Patrick Devine- Wright on the last section from Branscombe.

There was an interesting tussle amongst the girls. Jane Allison set off strongly but was caught by Lin Lascelles at the half way mark. Lin, who had by that time also unusually dropped her husband kept up the pressure to win comfortably in 3 hours 17.35 for 12th position overall. Jane simultaneously went through a bad patch and was overtaken by Amy Greenhaigh but hung on for a well deserved 3rd place.

The relay race was boosted this year by a group of 18 runners from the Dacorum & Tring Club who were rewarded when the pairing of Steve Russell and Alex Deane finishing in 3 hours 44.07 took the first spot much to the delight of the rest of the contingent.

Exe to Axe 2008

EXE TO AXE SUNDAY 30 MARCH 2008

 

The skies cleared, the rain stopped, the wind dropped. What more could the runners in the Exe to Axe ask for apart, perhaps, for a few less hills and some bigger sign posts. Conditions were in fact right from the start with the going soft underfoot but not slippery and cloudless skies all the way.

The run is not easy, taking in 20.3 miles of the Coastal Path from Exmouth to Seaton and over that distance it is easy to take a wrong turn somewhere along the line. That is all part of this particular race and a few runners did clock up some unnecessary miles. The local runners of course have no such navigational problems and it is this knowledge that leads many of them to opt out of the much tougher second half, from Sidmouth onwards.

The early leader James Walker, was the first to go off course, heading inland at Budleigh Salterton after the loop to the bridge crossing of the River Otter. This left Nathan Montague, Terry Conway and Alex Pilkington to take control of the race and indeed they finished in that order despite all 3 also taking a slight detour.

 

Amongst the Ladies Linda Cummins led all the way, that is until the last few yards! Janet Wilson had lost contact with her at the start but picked it up on the last leg from Branscombe. With Linda in her sights she pipped her at the post by mere seconds after 3 hours and 24 minutes.

 

94 individuals and 8 Relay Teams completed the race.