On Saturday run leader Clive Gilbert returned to the town of his birth to run his 200th park run; his 74th in a different venue! Accompanied by fellow MG and run leader Derek Blackburn, Clive enjoyed his trip down memory lane.
Clive at his 200th parkrun!
Mighty Greens represented the club at two half marathons on Sunday. Run leader Yasmin Salter headed up to Bath where she said it was a beautiful morning to run through the city. How much of the city did she see though as she set herself a new PB finishing in 1:54:34?!
A very happy Yasmin Salter
Sarah Clapham and Sue Collman headed off in the other direction to take part in the 13th Eden Project half marathon, Cornwall’s biggest running event organised by St Austell running club and the Eden Project. The ladies enjoyed the route which took them through woodland, along quiet lanes and through villages where there was great support from locals. The final stretch was downhill within the grounds which offered great views of the biomes. They were very pleased with their 2:36:17 finish time considering the hilly terrain and thoroughly enjoyed the complimentary pasty and beer at the end. All runners had free admission to visit the biomes afterwards and one tree will be planted at the Eden project for each runner registered. A great day out.
Sarah Clapham and Sue Collman by the biome
Much closer to home, 25 club runners including 3 Juniors took part in the inaugural ColyTEN and fun run organised by Axe Valley Runners in association with Colyton Football Club. It was a superbly well organised event; everyone was very welcoming, there were lots of encouraging marshals and the route was marked out very clearly. AVR know what they are doing as organisers of The Grizzly and as MG run leader Bex McDonald said it felt like a mini Grizzly with all the best bits of deep streams, sticky mud, steep hill scrambles and even a samba band!
MG’s at the Inaugural ColyTEN
In fact getting to the start line was a taste of what was to come, a five minute walk from race HQ at Peace Memorial Playing Fields which involved skirting a large section of slurry only to learn that you were soon to turn around and run through it!
We didn’t go through the gate on the way back!
Whilst the runners were getting to the start the 1 mile fun run took place and Barney, Dom and Amelia, wearing their new club t-shirts did the club proud and enjoyed themselves too.
Juniors Barney, Amelia and Dom
MG Niall Hawkins had recced part of the course the previous weekend and it paid off, he was the first SRC over the line in 1:18:17, finishing 20th out of a field of 235 runners and MG Louise Dalton was the first SRC female to finish in 1:36:10.
The multi-terrain 10 mile route involved two river crossings (a chance to wash off the slurry), a steep ascent through Ox Woods, beautiful undulating woodland paths through Morganhayes Woodland and two extremely steep climbs which made it very difficult underfoot at times. This was reflected in the slips, trips and falls that were experienced along the way from run leader Alexa Baker sliding elegantly to her knees on a fresh cow pat to MG’s Becky Knapman and Amanda Stokes who are now sporting some nasty bruises, cuts and grazes. It wasn’t just the MG’s who took a tumble, Christine and Karen Farnham assisted a fellow runner who took a nasty fall in front of them as did Scott Chown and Nikita Kay which reflected in their finish times but shows how supportive the Mighty Greens are.
Kerry Salter flies over a stile
Although all the runners knew there was a lap of the playing fields before crossing the end it was mentally challenging to turn away from the finish flags to run it. Vice chair Sarah Watkins, loudly pronounced her dislike of it as she crossed the finish line with Carol Hounsell, referring it to the ‘slurry’ at the beginning of the race!
The flapjack, banana and buff were appreciated by all as were the stunning views from the top of the woods. Hopefully this challenging race will be a firm fixture in the years to come.
Results: Niall Hawkins 1:18:17; Louise Dalton 1:36:10; Mark Norton 1:40:27; Amanda Stokes 1:41:19; Stuart Moul 1:44:56; Paul Reeve 1:52:01; Rachel Bernard 1:53:02; Beccy Johnson 1:55:58; Alison Williams 1:56:04; Becky McDonald 1:56:05; Christine Farnham 2:02:58; Karen Farnham 2:03:40; Nikita Kay 2:05:17; Scott Chown 2:05:17; Becky Knapman 2:06:08; Katie Harris 2:11:43; Alexa Baker 2:12:39; Kerry Salter 2:12:40; Sarah Watkins 2:22:39; Carol Hounsell 2:22:40; Donna Womersley-Westlake 2:34:56; Clare Luke 2:34:57