Category Archives: Event

Jo Pavey’s Visit

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Jo Pavey MBE visits SIDMOUTH Running Club

As the saying goes things tend to happen in threes. It was only a few weeks ago that Club members entered the Delicious Drake’s Trail dressed as the British Olympic Equestrian team. This was then followed by an e-mail from Olympic event rider Mary King congratulating us on winning the ‘Spirit of the Trail’ award. And to continue the Olympic theme the Club has been honoured to welcome Jo Pavey MBE to come and run with us and enjoy a social afterwards.

The visit was arranged by our social Secretary Naomi Garrick who met Jo when she visited the school where she teaches. At the recent Rio Olympics, Jo aged 42, a mother of two young children became the first British track athlete to compete in five consecutive Olympic Games.

The evening was arranged so that all the members had a chance to run with her and judging by the number of members who were there no one wanted to miss out. This was the largest number I have seen and nearly all wearing the Mighty Green and they were not disappointed.

Before we started, Terry Bewes (Chair) presented her with her own Mighty Green shirt so she did not look out of place running with us.

161025-jo-pavey-terry-becky

She ran the first mile with the two mile group the next two miles with the four mile group, the next two with the six mile group and the last mile with the six plus group. It was a great experience to run with her and she took time to talk with various runners in each group which was greatly appreciated.

Back at the Club she spent a couple of hours talking to members and their families, signing autographs, posing for photos and generally enjoying herself. To all who had the pleasure of meeting her all agreed she was a genuine lovely lady who showed an interest in them and their stories.
At the end of the evening she presented the Club with a signed GB team
shirt from the Rio games and the Club thanked her with a bottle of champagne. Jo has agreed to become an ambassador for the Club and we all look forward to her next visit.

Delicious Drake

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The Delicious Drake

Fantastic weather, stunning scenic route, brilliant company and delicious food and drink, these were all experienced by the 15 members of Sidmouth Running Club who had entered the Delicious Drake’s Trail. This is one of the three trails organised by Delicious Trails the others being the Dart and Kernow Trails. These runs are where trail running and food festivals collide with each stunning trail showcasing the best of local food and drink.

There is always a fancy dress theme attached to each race and this time it was sporting legends. Helen Palmer came up with the idea of British Equestrian Riders, this was agreed and Terry Bewes was soon on the doorstep of local Event Olympics medal winner Mary King to get some ideas. From that we soon had a team of 15 scouring local charity shops and the internet to kit ourselves out as dressage, show jumping, and event riders, forming the British Equestrian Team complete with a variety of horses.

The run started at Tavistock College sports centre where the tone for the day was set. Once signed in and our dressage routine, created by Debbie Marriot and Don Cawthera was performed in front of a somewhat amazed audience of other sporting legends, we headed to the toasted oat & almond granola, Autumn fruit compote, yoghurt, apple juice and Plymouth tea, and then we were off.

First stop was for breakfast mimosa with lemon drizzle cake. Next stop bacon & halloumi / mozzarella & squash bites, fruit juices and cider, followed 1 mile later by Sharp’s Cornish Pilsner, next stop was a Devon cream tea with Plymouth tea. Another mile later was Gouda cheese, Devon apple and cider chutney, bread and edible local insects, they were quit yummy! Further on pizza & brioche with Norcotts cider. Next, lavender shortbread and a welcome glass of water.

Then rustic sausages and jail ale followed. Another mile then there was apple cake and more lovely water. The final stop offering salami & smoked beef jerky, Tavy porter ale and would you believe it a whole pig roast! At the finish at the Moorland Garden Hotel you were given a meat patty and cookie medal. And just to make sure you did not go home hungry they had laid on a food festival.

Along the way and where space allowed we performed our routine under the musical directorship of David “the carrot” Wright.

Now you may ask yourself “How can you run after all that?” and the truth is you can’t. The stopping and starting, eating and drinking soon takes its toll and the lactic acid build-up in your legs soon reduces you to walking pace over the last couple of miles, but who cares for this was a day to enjoy and boy did we.

The icing on the cake so to speak was that we won “The Spirit of the Trail” award and the 300 competitors raised well over a £1,000 for the CHICKS charity.

Athlete of the day, Christine on her mount

From a Club point of view the “athlete of the day” was Christine Nichols who wore her blow-up horse costume complete with battery operated fan throughout the day and in that heat it must have been like a sauna. After Christmas we will all move into starvation mode ready for the Dart next March when we hope more Club members will join in.

Cotleigh Climb

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The Cotleigh Climb is an invitation only social run organised by Howard Bidmead, Chair of Honiton Running Club. This year four Clubs were invited to take part, Axe Valley Runners, Honiton, Tiverton Harriers and SIDMOUTH Running Club. The run started and finished at Cotleigh Village Hall and covers a distance of 10 miles mostly off road.

With many of the SIDMOUTH Sunday Runners not available due to other commitments we only managed a team of three which was disappointing.
However the three of us soon became aware of why the run is named, as dropping down into Cotleigh from the top of the hill we realised that we would soon be running up it.

Being a social run there are no numbers or times and you could set off any time between 9.30 and 10am with members of the other Clubs. You followed the 10 mile route marked with yellow arrows and dots which at times we found difficult to spot so we ended up running 10.75 miles. It was a good experience to run in a new area and the panoramic views from the top of the hills were stunning and the run along the streams in the valleys interesting. It is a funny thing about hills that the ups always seem longer than the downs and it applied to this course in particular which had a couple of beauties.

With the run over it was now time for the social and the ladies of Honiton had laid on a spread to be believed, there was enough food and drink for twice the number of runners and it went down well.

This was a good training run for both Janice Ranson and Milly Frankpitt as in two weeks time they will be running the same distance but this time eating and drinking their way around the Delicious Drake Trail.

Blackdown Beauty 2016

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The Blackdown Beauty

 

Wearing the ‘Mighty Green’ seven members of Sidmouth Running Club headed off to the Blackdown Hills to run the Blackdown Beauty. This is the sister run of the Blackdown Beast which is run over a different course in January when runners battle wet lanes, boggy fields and indeed a bog. Runners could be forgiven for thinking they had entered the wrong race as the first mile of this run was through a sea of mud.

The run itself is billed as a social run as there are no numbers, and no times, only the challenge of completing this 18/19 mile self-navigation course. With the current excellent growing conditions the nettles were chest height, the undergrowth so thick and the corn so high that at times we lost sight of our shortest runner Abbi.

The start is at Priors Park Farm, Culmhead and the seasoned ‘Beast Runners’ Helen Palmer, Monica Read, Abbi Lee and Terry Bewes were joined by new ‘Beauties’ Jo Earlam, Jane Hemsworth, and David Wright.

This is a lovely run through the beautiful Blackdown Hills taking in a mixture of lanes, trails, fields, climbing over a variety of crooked styles of which there were plenty and road, not forgetting the four pub stops on the way round.

There is another reason that runners return year on year and that is for the legendary cream tea laid on by the ladies of the Smeatharpe WI at Peartree Cottage, Stapley. There were huge scones, mountains of clotted cream and lots of jams plus endless pots of tea and a beautiful garden in which to enjoy it, the only snag is that there is still six miles to run afterwards.

At the finish you are encouraged up the last field to the sound of Chariots of Fire blasted out by DJ Howard Bidmead chairman of Honiton Running Club who organised this excellent event, and to make sure you do not go home hungry they even have a bar-b-que set up in a barn with plenty of food and drink on offer, hay bales on which to relax and enjoy it and all in the name of charity, raising over a £1000 for Macmillan.

Meanwhile making a very impressive return to the racing circuit was Suzi Rocky. After her last race in which she set a PB she suffered an awful hamstring tear which put her out for quite a while. However her recovery now seems complete as taking part in the Women’s Running Magazine 5K run in Exeter she came home in first place. Welcome back.

Black Down Beauty Sign up

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The wait is over…!!  –  Sign up Now

The Blackdown Beauty entry form is available on the Honiton Running Club website. There are only 200 so don’t hang about they will soon go.

This social run takes place on Saturday 25th June and covers various routes between 10.5 and 18 miles over the Blackdown Hills, via 4 pubs (18 mile) a legendary cream tea by the Smeatharpe WI and back to the start for more food and drink, and the cost is only £10. May be one for you Nigel Donk Maeer as you like breaking records. The record for the most scones,cream and jam eaten by one person stands at 11, but beware they are WI size scones and there is still 6 to 7 miles left to run afterwards. See you all there.

See Event Details Here

Grizzly Challenge 2016

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Renowned as one of the toughest going, that take in shingle beaches three times, river runs twice, hills many, muddy woodland trails, no make that very wet and muddy, flint paths, fields, and not forgetting the two bogs and the famous Stairway to Heaven.

A race that sold out 2000 places in a matters of hours back in September and is greatly oversubscribed, attracts runners from all over Europe.

Well, what you can say about is done with one single word – fantastic!

Fantastic organisation by Axe Valley Runners, start by the Town Cryer, route, views, marshals, supporters all around the course, entertainers, water and food stations, competitors and the fantastic 21 Sidmouth Running Club members resplendent in their Mighty Green Club shirts who took on the challenge.

Of the 1408 that started the main race 1402 finished, with the Club having 5 runners in the top 500. Danny Painter 142nd in 3:02:19, Joe Kent 259 in 3:18:08, Mark Welland 274 in 3:20:17, Naomi Garrick 325 in 3:25:16, Kerry Boyle 472 in 3:25:16. Sue Baily was next in 3:49:47

Mother and Daughter duo Lynda and Kaylee Hawkins challenged each other around the course finishing in a very respectable time of 4:08:21 closely followed by father and daughter David and Abbi Lee in 4:19:54.

Abbi had entered her father into this and he was not going to be shown up by her so he had been putting in many hours of hard training which had paid of not only in the time but by dragging her home over the last few miles.

The Rusty Runners, Helen Palmer, Cathy Keast, Moncia Read, Terry Bewes and new recruit Katie Kent set out to beat last years’ time of five hours and 12 seconds and smash it in a time of 4:37:55.

The final runner was David Wright in 4:46:28 and when you take consider that his longest run before was 13 miles that was an excellent achievement.

Rocker Sheppard took the ambulance to the finish when an injury got the better of him at Seaton Hole.

We had four runners in the Cub Run Suzi Rockey 1:48:55, Sarah Burston 2:08:43, Mark Burston 2:08:43, Rebecca Colwill 2:13:03.

A feature of this race is the tree of remembrance and Helen Palmer tied the memorial ribbon she had made out of club Colours on behalf of the whole club in memory of John Parrett.

A fitting tribute and his fabulous commentary was missed by all.

http://www.sidmouthherald.co.uk/sport_2_1392/athletics/sidmouth_runners_rise_to_the_challenge_of_the_2016_grizzly_1_4458494

 

Blustery Bicton Blister 2015

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27 Sidmouth running Club members competed in the Blustery Bicton Blister. The Bicton Blister is a 10 mile multi-terrain race on Woodbury Common in East Devon, starting and finishing at Bicton College East Budleigh, the start and finish are short road sections, with the remainder of the race being on sandy, stony and muddy paths across the Commons of East Devon Over runners took part in the Bicton Blister and Bicton Lite races which were multi-terrain events over and around Woodbury Common.

The Bicton Lite is the Bicton Blister’s little Brother, 4.5 miles same start and finish, just less distance on the Commons.but never less still challenging

Click here for race results

Blackdown Beast 2016

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Saturday morning saw 9 Sidmouth Running Club members attending the pre-run briefing at the Highfield Club, Dunkeswell ready for the start of this very popular run. I say run as it is not a race. Falling between the pre and post-Christmas races this is a 17 mile self-navigation social run over the beautiful Blackdown Hills. We were promised plenty of mud, bog and hills and there were plenty of each.

The run is split into 4 legs, the first about 7 miles takes you through fields, lanes, woods, farm yards and a proper bog to Smeatharpe Village Hall where the W.I. ladies had hot pasties and mulled cider waiting. The next leg of about 3 miles and the easiest takes you to the Sidmouth Arms at Upottery where more liquid refreshment is available. You have the opportunity of finishing here and taking a bus back to the start but for the hardened Sidmouth runners that was never an option.

Leg 3 is only about 3.5miles but very tough. After a road run to Rawridge you then plough your way across two very boggy fields before starting a mile plus climb up to and through the Buddhist Monastery woodland which now has a lake, to the top of the ridge where you are rewarded with a fantastic 180 degree panoramic view before dropping down into Luppit. Arriving at the unique Luppit Inn which is one of the smallest Inns in the country you are greeted by Gladys the Landlady who will tell you “I am 93 you know”, but I am sure she was 93 last year as well, a great character.

The final leg takes you through a series of boggy fields and a few more hills to finish you off. Arriving back at the Club, tired, muddy and wet we all agreed to return next year.

As I said at the start this is a social run but of course there is always the competitive runner amongst us. Normally this would be George but this year it was Jessica Raynor who finished 4th out of the 180 runners in under 3 hours and was the first lady home. She was back home in Sidmouth and had a bath by the time the true social runners finished some 2 hours later.

A superbly organised event by Honiton Running Club and over a £1,000 raised for charity.

Fulfords 5 2016

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On Sunday, 6 Sidmouth runners who weren’t quite as mad as those doing the four trigs braved the elements to get to the Fulfords Five in Exmouth. Luckily, there was a break in the weather and the two-lap course allowed runners to experience beautiful sea views and a dry but sandy course. Rob Edwards was the first man home for Sidmouth in an impressive time of 38:36, followed closely by Brendan Shepherd.

There was then a bit of a wait before Colin Flood and Sarah Brown crossed the line within 10 seconds of each other, just after 44 minutes. John Doherty had a good run to finish in around 45 minutes, and on her club debut, Suzi Rockey broke her own personal target of 50 minutes by a considerable amount! Mick Allen wasn’t far behind, and Bill Valentine was the last of the Sidmouth runners home, also beating his own target by 6 minutes. The race was held at the perfect time to avoid the rain, but all runners now have a beanie hat as a momento for the rest of the bad weather.

Four Trigs 2015

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Four Trigs raises funds to support CRY heart charity. Another amazing day for all involved in the 16th, Four Trigs Challenge.

After a very wet and blustery Saturday, the day before the Four Trigs race, we were granted a dry, although windy, window on Sunday 7th February. The runners left in sunshine and nearly all competitors had returned before the rain came in by late afternoon. The runners enjoyed themselves, most managing to smile at the end of this challenging task. It was particularly difficult this year, due to all the rain prior to the event and this made the course very muddy and slippery.

The runners had to visit each trig point at High Peak, Beacon Hill, Buckton Hill and Western Cliff with many other hills and valleys in between. This gruelling 16 mile race has a massive 3,200 feet of climb. Many runners chose to run around in small groups making it a sociable affair and they all finished in very high spirits talking and laughing as though they’ve been for a stroll across the seafront. After the race many of the competitors sat in the Port Royal Club reliving the race and enjoying their well-deserved Haymans’ pasty. Some competitors also took advantage of and indulged in a free massage, organized by Terry Bewes, and provided by Exeter Physio. Tea, coffee and cakes were also available for those that wanted to stay that little bit longer.

Over the years this event has made charity donations of over £7,000. This year all proceeds will be going to the charity, Cardiac Risk in the Young. Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) was founded just over 20 years ago in 1995 and has become a leading national charity, striving to prevent young sudden cardiac death (yscd) through awareness, screening and research. CRY also provides a “bespoke” bereavement support programme for families and partners who have been tragically affected by the sudden death of a young person.

Every week in the UK at least 12 apparently ‘fit and healthy’ young people (aged 35 and under) die suddenly from a previously undiagnosed heart condition. That’s 600 deaths a year and this is likely to be a conservative estimate. In 80% of these cases, there will have been no signs or symptoms, which is why CRY believes that proactive cardiac screening is so vitally important. As such, CRY now screens over 20,000 young people (aged between 14-35) every year. This pioneering programme involves a simple, non-invasive electrocardiogram (ECG) that looks at the electrical activity of the heart. If necessary CRY will also perform an echocardiogram, an ultrasound scan of the heart.

The charity raises awareness of the risk of undetected cardiac conditions in young people. We owe it to our children to be aware. All the proceeds from the run will go towards the £3,500 needed for a screening unit. Our aim is to have a mobile CRY screening team to our local area in the near future.

By supporting CRY you will help save young lives from these potentially fatal cardiac conditions. For further information please visit www.c-r-y.org.uk or www.testmyheart.org

This year’s race was won by Tim Lenton, who has won the race previously, and managed the challenge in 2 hours 24 minutes. Justin Ashby achieved second place with a time of 2.29. Third place went to Patrick Devine-Wright achieving 2.32 and fourth place went to Matthew Bellamy coming in at 2.39.

The first woman home was Jessica Raynor who came in at 21st position with the time of three hours six minutes.

John Keast and Ian Voce have retained their record of having successfully completed every Trig race: 16 in total. Congratulations must go to John, Cathy and Ellie Keast who took part in the Four Trigs Challenge making this a family affair. John and Ellie ran together, (father and daughter) completing the challenge in three hours 55 minutes.

Towards the back of the field, real stalwarts, were Helen Palmer, Monica Read, Sarah Watkins, Terry Bewes, Ian Voce, David Palmer, Roy Couzens, Mandy Burroughs, Cathy Keast, and Debbie Marriot who all finished around the five hour mark, give or take five or 10 minutes. Again this year we had a few veteran walkers and special mention must be made to Arthur Vince, Stuart Bondi (Rambo) and Joy Couzens who took over seven hours to complete the challenge.

Finally and by no means least a huge thank you to all the helpers (the marshals and the tea ladies) who made the day go so fantastically well. I would also like to thank Nick Keast for all his support in helping Robert and I with the organization of the event. His knowledge and experience have been invaluable. In particular, thanks must go to Stewart Hayman for his continued support providing pasties to all competitors and to Keith Poulter for allowing access to Buckton Hill Trig Point. Thanks must also go to Exeter Physio for giving up their time to provide a free massage for the runners and a big thank you to Chris Woodcock our stalwart photographer.

Marion Hayman

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