Parkrun Returns

SRC Welcome Return Of Park Runs

The green shirts of Sidmouth Running Club were spotted among the hundreds of runners who lined up at 9am on Saturday throughout England to mark the return of Park Runs since March last year. Everyone was mindful of the Covid guidelines and very appreciative of the volunteers who made the return possible.

Gripper at Exmouth

Adrian ‘Gripper’ Horne was close to his PB on the Exmouth course and was pleased to be back running along the seafront. It was the reverse route at Killerton which meant more incline but this did not affect Clive Gilbert and David Skinner’s enjoyment.

Clive at Killerton

Over at Seaton a new start position and a longer stretch of pebbles saw Julia Haddrell complete her 98th Park Run and Sarah Powell said she preferred the new set up.

Sarah and Julia at Seaton

Mighty Green, Jo Earlam headed to the coast on Friday to complete her 79th marathon-and an ultra at that! The route took the runners along the scenic coastal path between Charmouth and Weymouth for 28.8 miles. Run leader Jo said,”Number 79 will be remembered as the slow hot one!”

Jo on marathon 79

Sarah Browne ran her first half marathon at the weekend for Stroke awareness and what a run; 4th female, 9th overall in 2:26:00.

Sarah at her 1st 1/2M

Last Wednesday mum and son, Naomi and Toby Garrick entered the Exeter City Runs 10k. Naomi finished in a very respectable 54 minutes while Toby powered round and completed in the course in 34:29, a new PB knocking 25 seconds off the PB he had at the Tipton Rail and River 10K where he came in first place.

Jo Pavey and the Garricks

Toby said’ “It was at the start of the heat wave so proved tough conditions but it was an amazing experience to run alongside Jo Pavey MBE for the first 4km and then move to the next group up.” Toby is now turning his focus onto marathon training and increasing his mileage.

Tommy 10k

Adrian’s Tremendous Tommy 10k Challenge for Royal British Legion

Back in October Sidmouth Running Club member Adrian Horne saw a Facebook post advertising a fundraising challenge by the Royal British Legion called The Tommy 10k. The challenge was from the 14 October running through to the 14 November, although it has since been extended until the 30/11 because of its popularity.

The challenge was to either run a 10k, run 4 x 10k or 10 x 10k over the month. Sticking to the original dates this Mighty Green chose to try and complete the 10 x 10k adding in an extra challenge by running them on consecutive days. He planned to start the runs on 2nd November so he would complete them on Armistice Day. Adrian said, “Having never run on more than 2 consecutive days I knew this was going to be a real challenge for myself.”

A donation page linked directly to RBLI was set up with a target of £100 which was quickly surpassed. Over the month, with some massive support from his partner, Annie, family, friends and SRC members, he managed to complete the challenge and midway through, not feeling too bad, he decided to see if he could run 200k in the month.

Adrian, a club run leader, clocked up an amazing 226.6k or 140.84 miles, raising to date £1,015.00 for the Royal British Legion, which like many charities have suffered this year. Adrian, feeling very humbled by people’s generosity in such difficult times would like to thank everyone from the bottom of his heart who shared his FB page or donated to this worthy cause.

SW Veterans Championship Race 2020.

   There was welcoming atmosphere at Sunday’s SW Veterans Championship Race at Sidford playing fields despite it having rained all night and morning.
   As a result of the rain, the course was muddy, in places, inches deep and although flat this made the course very challenging, especially for myself (Ann) since I had no tread on my shoes!
The event was a competitive field and had attracted entrants from as far afield as Newquay, Bristol, Westbury and Salisbury. Most of the mud had stuck onto my shoes which slowed progress around the course. So, it came as no surprise that I crossed the finish line 47h05s later taking the wooden spoon. John Sharples fared a bit better than myself, but only a bit.
   This run made John Sharples realise that he is genetically programmed to run only in straight lines! The course was a series of 90 degree turns around several rugby and football pitches. Every corner neatly sodden after the heavy rain. John commented “My technique was to apply the brakes as I approached each turn, with the intention of elegantly drifting around, likeTodd Carter in Dancing on Ice. Sadly this did not work” !
http://www.southwestvets.co.uk/race-page/results

Park Running

Many of the Mighty Greens have been making the most of our local, and not so local, Park Runs.  With so many Devon Park Runs on our doorstep it would be rude not to participate in such a social and inclusive event.

 

Park Runs take place at 9am on Saturday Morning in the following Devon Locations and many more:

Seaton Esplanade 

Exmouth Seafront

Exeter Riverside

Haldon Forest

Parke National Trust

Killerton National Trust

You can find Park Runs across the world so please tell us if you participate in a more exotic one, just like Ann Cole did when she visited Cologne, Germany.

If Park Runs are your thing, you may be interested in reading a book by Devon author, Ian Mortimer,

Why Running Matters: Lessons in Life, Pain and Exhilaration From 5K to the Marathon

In his book Ian talks us through a whole year of running in Devon, from his home in Moretonhampstead.  He describes each run and reflects on why running is so valuable.

Final Countdown

Final Countdown 31 December 2019

By Terry Bewes

 

What a better way to finish the year than with a new trail run. Winding Paths organised the Final Countdown 10km race around the Dartington Hall estate. As with many races now, this one was sold out long before the day, so if you see a race you fancy do not delay signing up. There was plenty of parking, a café and toilets close to the start. Myself and Milly Frankpitt listened to the race briefing which told us that the start and finish were the same so starting off at the top of a hill for a long downhill run you soon realised that it would be a long run up hill to the finish. This is not a PB course thanks to the gates and stiles, but it does make you start at an easy pace. The run takes you through woods, up hills, along stoney paths, a bit of tarmac, across fields and lots of sticky mud. There are also a few technical sections to keep you on your toes. A third of the run is through fields by the river Dart and in places the steam railway is on the other side.

And then we were at the bottom of the hill ready for the run to the finish. We finished together in 1:16:19, 150 and 151 out of 245 finishers to collect a very nice medal for our effort.

The organisation was great and the marshal’s brilliant including two off our own, Alan Kay and Adrian ‘Gripper’ Horne who earned an entry into an upcoming Ultra. The race will return on the 31st December 2020, we will be there, and I can thoroughly recommend it.

Otterton Reindeer Run 2019

The Otterton Reindeer Run

 

A fantastic turnout for this years Otterton Reindeer Run with 25 SRC members in attendance writes Hamish Spence.

   Festive spirits were in full flow in Otterton on Saturday the 7th of December and just to be clear in the form of attire not drink. Some competitors were dressed in fancy dress including a Gingerbread man, Reindeer or wearing Santa hats or deer antlers. The weather was kind to the runners on the day giving them a mild and dry day with no wind. The ground was not too wet, so not much slipping around going on under foot either, making it possible for some great time keeping.
   First Mighty Green to cross the line was Alex Munro in 15th over all in 49m08s, John Keast 53:57, Kyle Baker 54:20 Ellen Keast 54:26 and Catherine Hilton 56:37. Christine and Karen Farnham as usual headed off together with Christine pulling away leaving Karen behind. This lasted until halfway around when Karen caught her sister back up and then overtook. Karen stayed ahead for the rest of the run and crossed the line just one second in-front, 1h02m05s. Then came Sarah Clapham in1:03:01 with David wright at 1:04:55 and Cathy Keast 1:06:37. Derek Blackburn 1:08:09, Susan Reeves 1:09:12, Jon Bull 1:11:16, Nikita Kay 1:12:37. Bert Dykema took part with his sister Frederiek and they ran the whole route together in 1:13:43. Helen Palmer 1:28:09, Julia Haddrell 1:25:44, Lesley Miszewska 1:26:16. Helen Neighbour came in at 1:28:04 with Sue Cunningham following 2 seconds later. Gingerbread man Ronnie Masters took 1:28:27. Caroline Ball enjoyed the run and finished in 1:29:08 beating Alexa Baker who finished in 1:29:24. Terry Bewes found himself playing cat and mouse with Ronnie Masters aka Gingerbread man, finally being over taken for the forth time just before the end coming in at 1:30:02.

 

The Mighty Green Juniors Take Part In The Otterton Reindeer Fun Run.

 

Fifteen mighty green antlered juniors took part in the Otterton 3km Reindeer Fun Run on Saturday and all had a great time writes Kerry Boyle. 

   On a lovely clear day, and the 15 SRC juniors lined up excitedly with the adults at the back of Otterton church, the race started straight up a hill which prevented the youngsters going off too fast. There were several running club coaches and parents running with them to help them keep to a steady pace and to ensure they didn’t take the turn off for the 10k run by mistake! The route took them along tracks around the back of Otterton, with a well earned water and jelly baby stop at the half way point. Then the route followed the river Otter path back into the village of Otterton finishing down a footpath at the back of the village hall.
   First in for Sidmouth juniors was Robin Dafforn finishing in 3rd place, with Aidan Corfield 7th and Frazer Felton-Smith in 14th. Maisie Crouch was the first female for Sidmouth juniors finishing in 17th, with Seth Lancaster close behind in 18th who said ‘it was a hard race but really fun’. Arden Chipping was next in 24th place and James Jamani 27th, 8 year old William Hall had a fantastic run dressed as a reindeer finishing in 28th place with his brother Dominic ‘The Grinch’ not far behind in 30th place.  All 15 finished the race and wore their antlers with beaming faces, congratulations you have done Sidmouth running club proud!

 

 

Exmouth to Erddig – Mighty Greens out and about

The Mighty Greens were out at 5 different parkruns last Saturday, 24th August.

 

Parkrun Roundup

Park Run Round-up
   Back in January this year, Jessica Daer signed up to the 2019 beginner programme, but hasn’t been running with the club since the programme ended. She found that the runs were getting a bit quick for her in her pregnant state. However, she did continue to take part in the Park Run events until she was 30 weeks pregnant. Today, her baby got to the 7 weeks of age point, so it was time. Out came the running shoes for the first time in a few months, an eviction order was given to the moths who had taken up residence in her running kit and off to Exmouth she went.
   Wearing her Mighty Green shirt with pride, a start-to-finish, slightly slower than normal, but non-stop Exmouth Park Run was completed. On completion, Jessica remarked that “Its thanks to the Sidmouth Running Club and the beginners programme, which really helped keep me fit and healthy throughout the pregnancy,” adding that, “Once I can keep up with you lot again, I’ll be back”! …we have been warned and look forward to seeing her again soon.
   Meanwhile, David Skinner continues his Welsh tour picking a pancake flat route in Pond y Bala
and The Farnham Sisters, Ann Cole and a yellow clad Emma Grainger hit the track around  Killerton Park.
Sun, sand, stones and sea seekers at Seaton Park Run included Alexa Baker, Dee Lawrence and Sarah Powell. They all found the stones and enjoyed the sun, no one had a swim and the sand alluded them!