Sidmouth Running Club had a record turn out for their AGM on Wednesday evening with members struggling to park their cars way ahead of the 7pm start. Is this because chairman Terry Bewes following Covid, has honed it down to a 5 minute affair in an outside space before the club run?  The running club members really appreciate the time Terry, treasurer Tim Clay, secretary Cheryl Boulton and the committee members put into the Mighty Green running machine!

The AGM

With the business over with it was time to run and the club split into four with Sarah Watkins leading the 3 mile group, Alexa Baker leading the 4-5 mile group stepping in for Kyle Baker at the last minute as he had just injured himself sprinting with the 11+ group (was he being too competitive?!?), Clive Gilbert leading the 6 mile group and Ben Chesters leading the fast 6 mile group.

Sarah’s 3 mile group enjoying the view!

Without realising it three of the leaders took their groups via Natasha’s bench and took a group photo with the beautiful coastal view behind them.

Alexa’s 4-5 mile group enjoying the view!

Ben and his group were like deer popping out of the trees and undergrowth all over the place!

Clive’s 6 mile group enjoying the view!

It was a lovely venue for an AGM and run-here’s to another year of Mighty Green running!

Sidmouth Running Club’s Clare Luke and Donna Womersley-Westlake swapped their Mighty Green club shirts for blue ones when they ran in the Great West Run last week.

Clare, Sue, Sarah and Donna before the start

They were part of the Sidmouth Hospice at Home team raising vital funds for their 24/7 specialist palliative care hospice at home service. The ladies enjoyed every minute of the half marathon and finished in 2:48:38 and raised over £200.

Sprint finish

Also running through the streets of Exeter in the glorious sunshine wearing his new MG top was Tom Knight who had a cracking run finishing in 1:38:48, 48^th out of 1,723 runners!

It was a PB for MG Yasmin Salter who rang the bell at the end to celebrate finishing in 2:03:45 and Ollie Goodchild-Horne wasn’t far behind in 2:12:54.

Yasmin rings the bell

Running together and enjoying the supportive crowds along the length of the route Sue Collman and Sarah Clapham finished in 2:30:08, which they were very pleased with as it was very hot!

Flying through the finish line

Sidmouth Running Club Treasurer Tim Clay handed over a cheque for £250 to Christie Burton from the South West Coast Path Association from the proceeds raised from the Sidmouth Celebrates weekend of events.  Donations of £100 to the RNLI via Axe Yacht Club and £100 to Exmouth Beach rescue for the use of their premises where also distributed.

Treasure Tim Clay

In the middle of the Coronation weekend, Honiton Running Clubs’ Ottery 10k and fun run took place which meant SRC’s social secretary, Naomi Garrick, could go to town with the red, white and blue!

Naomi dressed for the occasion

Participating in the 1 mile fun run were 6 SRC Juniors Jonathan, Marcus, Dom, Louis, Harry and Amelia and two mums Carol and Donna, all of whom were pleased with their finishers medal.

The start of the fun run

The 10k route took the runners along quiet country lanes and was enjoyed by everyone.  Tom Knight was the first MG to cross the finish line in 44:41, 44^th in a field of 227. Jo Pavey MBE presented the top 3 male and female awards and although Shaun Tipton was not a recipient, he was delighted to have a photo taken with the Olympian.

Photo opportunity for Shaun Tipton and Jo Pavey MBE

This race saw the return of MG Emma Grainger back from injury and although it has been nice seeing Emma marshalling at many local events cheering on the Mighty Greens it is even better to be running alongside her.

And they are off!

Results: Tom Knight 44:41; Colin Ryan 44:49; Mark Andow 45:55; Colin I’Anson 48:07; Richard King 49:23; Yasmin Salter 50:38; Shaun Tipton 52:05; Christine Farnham 54:18; Tim Swarbrick 55:06; Naomi Garrick 56:02; Karen Farnham 56:21; Georgia King 57:30; Christie Ward 1:00:51; Sarah Clapham 1:02:38; Hannah Maslen 1:03:09; Jo Earlam 1:04:47; Amelia Frankpitt 1:06:22; Marion Johnson 1:06:47; John Doherty 1:11:03; Ann Cole 1:14:30; Emma Grainger 1:17:06

SRC’s David Chipping and Martin Barnard ran the East Devon Round on Saturday, 107kms of absolutely stunning East Devon countryside. Although Martin said there was a fair bit of walking, shuffling and a dose of hobbling too! With wake up alarms set for 03:00 and a 05:30 start time at Ofwell near Honiton they saw the best of the day with a beautiful sunrise along with SRC’s Jess Watkins, Grahame Womersley-Westlake and David Wright who were running the 35 mile ultra option.

David and Martin enjoying the scenery

Ruby Red Running the organisers behind The East Devon Round were amazing and had planned a fabulous route, with endless bluebells and a constant chorus of bird song with the countryside being the real star of the day. David and Martin stopped for ice creams at Lyme Regis,

A well deserved ice cream stop at Lyme Regis

bumped into fellow SRC members doing the ‘half‘ distance and enjoyed plenty of snacks at the wonderfully stocked aid stations. Martin said by linking up so many places they knew and discovering so many more made the time fly by and it was only at about the 80k mark when the endless soup, cake and crisp supplies started to struggle to keep the fuel tank full. As night fell and torches were fired up the two Mighty Greens were met by family and friends which gave them a great boost and a couple of those legends joined them for the last 10K to provide some new conversation topics, a gate opening service and to protect them from some frisky bullocks.

Stunning trig point view

The pair eventually finished just after 22:30, a full 17 hours after the start and quickly got stuck into some sticky toffee pudding. There were 35 finishers and they came in joint 24th, but for them it was never about a position, it was a journey to look back on for years to come and smile. For David looking down at his 10 black toes is a reminder of his amazing achievement! For anyone who has thought “I can’t run that far, but I’d like too” no matter what that distance is, Martin has just learnt you probably can, give it a go. And if you want to see East Devon in all its glory, do the East Devon Round, it’s a belter.

East Devon Round 35 mile ultra Mighty Greens

In the 35 mile ultra, Jess was very happy to finish first lady in 7:30:00.  The Mighty Green highly recommends the race for the beauty of the scenery and the support given. Running his first ultra, Grahame was delighted to finish in 8:15:00, 15^th overall and 9^th male and said he had a great day, enjoying every minute and is now looking for his next challenge!  David Wright ran a marathon distance before stopping at checkpoint 4.

Grahame was spotted by Martin and David

Meanwhile in East Devon, eleven Mighty Greens ran the Sid Valley Ring Half Marathon organised by Climb South West. Starting with an uphill climb the race takes you through quiet country lanes and footpaths to a height of 236m before dropping into Sidbury, follows a section of back lanes through Harcombe, a steep climb to Dunscombe cliffs and the coast path before a short excursion inland to Salcombe Regis, through the woods and back onto the coast path back to Sidmouth.

The Mighty Greens at the start of the Sid Valley Ring (missing Liz and Jim)

Colin Ryan had an exceptional run finishing 22^nd out of a field of 75 in 2:11:29 and Beccy Johnson who was running her first half marathon was very pleased with her time of 3:20:37.

Beccy and Kerry with their medals

Results:  Colin Ryan 2:11:29; Christine Farnham 2:50:01; Karen Farnham 2:50:01; Beccy Johnson 3:20:57; Sarah Watkins 3:20:57; Kerry Salter 3:21:00; Jim Hudson 3:27:46; Liz Wright 3:46:32; Carol McManus 3:46:32; Donna Womersley-Westlake 3:50:56; Clare Luke 3:50:56

Donna and Clare at the finish

Four Mighty Greens travelled to London to take part in this years London Marathon including Mark Andow who won the draw for the club place.  It was Mark’s first LM and he was aiming for a sub 3:30:00 finish which he certainly achieved finishing in an impressive 3:28:22. The Mighty Green tucked in with a very encouraging pacer for the first 18 miles, caught a glimpse of Mo Farrah, and enjoyed the encouraging shouts of ‘Go Sidmouth’ from the crowd.

Mark Andow collecting his LM number

Mark who said it was great to run in club greens took the opportunity to raise some much needed funds for a small local charity-SnackPack (Exeter’s Children’s Diabetes Group).  Mark chose this charity as the 9 year old daughter of his Mental Health Team colleague, Claire, became critically unwell and subsequently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Claire now volunteers as Chair for SnackPack which organises outings and events throughout the year for children and their families to get together and share their experiences, concerns, successes and have fun. The link to Mark’s fundraising page is https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/claire-potts9

Lynda Hawkins at the start of the LM

Lynda Hawkins was the next Mighty Green to cross the finish line in 3:53:48. It was her third LM and was delighted to get a new PB.  Hot on her heels was Richard King finishing in 3:53:03; surprisingly they didn’t see each other!  Richard has been looking forward to this event since he completed the LM for the first time last year and has been training hard to get a sub 4 hour finish which he absolutely did!

Richard King and the record breaking Exmouth milkman

One memorable moment came when he went to the family meet up point after the race which was near the Horse Guards Parade ground just as the Government alert went off-the noise was something else!  The Mighty Green also met the record breaking milkman from Exmouth who carried four bottles of milk all the way round!

MG Jane Hemsworth had to wait patiently to get through the starting line, her wave went off at 11.09am and it was 11.20am before she ran over it, nearly her lunch time!  Running her 6^th LM Jane had a lovely day, enjoying the carnival atmosphere with drums, singing and live music.  Jane said residents were offering food, water hoses and unofficial rest stops while pubs and spectators were offering runners half pints of beer!  The Mighty Green declined the offers and finished in 4:53:35 with a smile on her face.

Jane Hemsworth with her 6th LM medal

Closer to home several Mighty Greens gathered under the club flag at Exmouth in brilliant sunshine ready to take part in LMEvents The Maer 10k and Maer Half.

The Mighty Greens at LME’s Maer Half and 10k

Having won an entry as part of her prize in last year’s 10k event, Mighty Green Marion Johnson decided to challenge herself and signed up for the half marathon, her first, along with MG Janice Ranson who finished in 2:18:27.  The course was definitely challenging, a multi-terrain single lap climbing nearly 1000ft along the spectacular coast path but Marion took it in her stride and finished in 2:41:59, coming first in her 70+ age group!

Lizzie Mayne from LMEvents does a great job creating a community event and encourages marshals by offering a free place in a future event.  Niall Hawkins was running thanks to his wife Kate for marshalling at the Sidmouth 10k and Yasmin Salter had her dad, Ollie, to thank.  Christie Ward had volunteered her dad, John Sharples, to marshal for this event and earnt herself a future race entry.

Marion Johnson on her way to claim 1st in age category

The Maer 10k Challenge is a single lap course which is scenic and a little challenging at times but the Mighty Greens excelled themselves especially Niall Hawkins who finished 4^th overall and first in his 40-54 age group in 40:14 out of a field of 116.

Yasmin and Becky McDonald were also well under the hour finishing 51:09 and 53:30 respectively, and a PB for Becky to boot!  Christie had a fantastic run too, finishing in 1:00:19 with Alexa close behind with a PB of 1:01:18.

It was a very friendly, well organised event (as you can tell by the smiles in the race photographers’ photos) especially as MG John was manning the water station halfway round cheering us on and everyone received a medal and cake!

SRC’s Antony Hall took his Mighty Green running vest and matching Mighty Green trainers to America to compete in the 127^th Boston marathon having qualified with his time from running the Manchester marathon last year.

Look at those MG trainers!

Antony caught his bus transfer out to the start at Hopkinton and made his way in the drizzle along with 30 thousand fellow runners to the start line. Once they got underway, a steady undulating route followed, with great views and absolutely incredible support from the locals for the whole way, which was especially helpful when they reached the infamous Heartbreak Hill at mile 20, which Antony said certainly lived up to its name!

Well deserved medal

With that out the way, it was a straight run to the finish outside the Boston public library to huge applause from the crowd and the Mighty Green picked up his medal after finishing in a steady but respectable 3.33.05.

Antony had a great time saying the support and kindness of the local community make this one of the best races he has done in a long time!

Yasmin Salter represented the Mighty Greens when she ran the Paris marathon last weekend.

The Sidmouth Running Club leader enjoyed the course which went past all the big monuments and finished in 4:21:00.

Yasmin Salter enjoying the sights of Paris

Yasmin was cheered in by her support team who wore fetching green berets and her dad Oliver flew the Devon flag.

The Mighty Green Berets

Will we be seeing more of the Mighty Green berets?

Following a visit from the Easter bunny at SRC’s last Junior session (jumping very apt!) on Wednesday there was much excitement for the upcoming Junior Fun Run especially as this time there were optional water obstacles along the way.  Numbers swelled as Saturday approached due to football being cancelled because of the weather which meant a busy Friday evening of admin for SRC chairman Terry Bewes but worth it to see nearly 50 youngsters line up at the top of Muttersmoor.

A fantastic turn out for the Junior Fun Run

With club members and parents marshalling the route down to the grassy slope above Jacobs Ladder, their first chance to get wet and have fun loomed.

Slip Sliding away

Tony Sarsby and his Sidmouth Fit crew had set up a water slide which was thoroughly enjoyed and not just by the fun runners before they all headed down to the beach for more boot camp activities in the sea and sand.

Great team work on the beach

Now completely wet and covered in sand the smiling group continued their run along the promenade to the finish line at the Ham where they received a well deserved medal.

The finish line beckons

SRC 11+ leader Adrian Horne said what a brilliant well organised event it was, and it was great to be in collaboration with Sidmouth Fit.  He loved being involved with it.

Terry would like to thank everyone involved especially Tony Sarsby and the Sidmouth Fit crew for making the event such a success but most of all the children and their parents who had some very soggy, sandy clothes to wash!

SRC run leader Alexa Baker swapped her trainers for walking boots to lead a walk around the Sidmouth Ring on Saturday. SRC chairman Terry Bewes waved off seventeen walkers (not all SRC members which was great) and a dog called Blue as they set off from Kings Garden and Leisure Centre and headed to Core Hill to pick up the trail.

Ready to walk the Sidmouth Ring

It wasn’t as muddy as anticipated following the previous day of rain and the views were stunning over the different valleys.  The rain showers became a bit more persistent as they approached the SW coast path and waterproof trousers were donned but it did not dampen the groups spirit especially as the free cream tea was fast approaching.

Perfect photo opportunity for the Sidmouth Ring Walkers

So much so a short cut was required on top of Salcombe Hill to divert down Milltown Lane and up through Woolbrook to make sure they didn’t miss the 3.30pm deadline.  The walkers received a lovely welcome from Georgia and her team at Kings who served up endless pots of tea and huge, delicious scones with plenty of jam and cream. After 13 miles it went down a treat and was much appreciated.

Enjoying a well deserved cream tea after 13 miles

Sid Valley Cycle Club joined in the celebrations by having a club ride on Sunday morning taking in the coast path and visiting three beaches, Exmouth, Budleigh Salterton and Sidmouth.  SRC member Chris Heywood swapped his Mighty Green shirt for his SVCC one and joined 30 club riders for the 62km round trip.

SVCC at the start of their celebration cycle around the coast

Starting from Sidmouth, with two other meeting points along the way, the riders split into smaller groups.  Amazingly all the groups arrived at their coffee stop, Kings Garden and Leisure Centre in Exmouth at the same time before heading off to Budleigh Salterton on their way back to Sidmouth.

Sid Valley Cycle Club enjoying a well deserved coffee stop

Also, on Sunday morning 12 members of Axe Vale Canoe Club set off in sunshine from Seaton to enjoy the SW coastline from the sea as they paddled to Branscombe and back.

Axe vale canoe Club joining the celebrations

Once landing at Branscombe they chatted to the SRC marshals at the water station before having brunch at the Sea Shanty.  It’s a good job they fuelled up as their journey back was into a head wind making it much harder to paddle.

AVCC enjoying the coastline from the sea

The SRC marshals at the finish line at the yacht club watched their progress as they paddled across the bay completing their 9 mile trip back to their club house.

Ted Swain from East Devon Ramblers led a walk along the Coleridge Link,  open to everyone as part of the celebrations which included a lovely afternoon tea at Newton Poppleford village hall afterwards.

Admiring the views along the Coleridge Trail

31 walkers and 2 dogs joined leader Ted  to walk the 8.5 mile scenic route and a special mention must go to Martin Pratt who took part in the Sidmouth Ring walk and this one, was it the lure of the cream teas?

Afternoon tea for the East Devon Ramblers

Sunday saw the fruition of months of planning and organising for a small team of Mighty Greens Terry Bewes, David Lee, Rob Edwards, Tim Clay, Alexa and Kyle Baker , the inaugural Sweetcombe Scramble marathon and JP’s Exe to Axe race.

Most of the great Mighty Green organising team

At 8am Melissa Butcher, the only marathon walker, set off under sunny skies with a matching smile as the marathon runners gathered for their 9am start.

Melissa Butcher came from London to walk the marathon

The self-navigating route took them along the coast path to Budleigh Salterton, an inland loop to Otterton then back onto the coast path all the way to Axmouth. Sponsors Polly Cochrane and Alex Gwillim from Sweetcombe Cottage Holidays were at the finish line cheering the runners in and presented the overall winner James Blackbourn with a plaque, medal and lovely engraved Dartington glass vase.  James finished in 4:07:55, with Adam Gregory in second place in 4:19:37 and Matthew Harrison in third place 4:22:39.

Polly and Alex presenting their trophies to the winners of the Sweetcombe Scramble Marathon

First lady over the finish line was Harriet Foreman in 5:19:24, Adele Foxwell was second in 5:19:37 and Harriet’s mum, Jenny Lailey came third in 5:26:04.

Polly and Alex presenting the female winners of the Sweetcombe Scramble Marathon

They all received an engraved Dartington glass vase and a commemorative medal. For the Mighty Green marathon runners Jane Hemsworth came 1^st in her age category and Mark Andow and Hannah Maslen came 3^rd in their respective age categories. Jane and Mark were using this brute of a marathon as a training one for the London marathon in a few weeks’ time!

Richard entertaining MG marathoners

It was marathon 99 for Jo Earlam and she really appreciated marshal Richard King’s rendition of ’99 marathons’ to the tune of ’99 red balloons’ at the first water station.

The 19^th JP’s Exe to Axe race was started at 10am by race director David Lee and David Perratt. The Exe to Axe race was renamed in memory of John Perratt, founding member and long term treasurer of Sidmouth Running Club and it was an honour to have son David, daughter Lynne and John’s wife, Brenda present throughout the event.  SRC had one relay team, Birds On The Run, with Ann Cole setting off with 11 other Mighty Greens ready to swop with Brigid McEleney-Smith at Sidmouth.

The Mighty Green Relay Team

Starting at 11am from Sidmouth 12 Mighty Greens ran the Sid to Axe, the toughest section by far.  In fact, the total climb overall is higher than Ben Nevis.

Ladram looking lovely in the sun

First to cross the finish line was Matt Clist in 3:05:26 and hot on his heels, Tim Lenton finished in 3:06:27 and James Green finished in 3^rd place in 3:15:09.  Brenda Perratt presented them with their well-deserved trophies and medals having cheered them over the line.

Brenda Perratt presenting the trophies to the winners of JP’s Exe to Axe

A special mention must go to one family who went the extra mile to celebrate the anniversary of the coast path; Justin Adkin rowed a single scull wave piercer from Exmouth to Axmouth, his brother Robert ran JP’s Exe to Axe race and his sister Emily Fabizio cycled from Beer to Exmouth, turned around and cycled to Axmouth, all starting at 10am!

A family affair-rowing cycling and running from Exmouth to Seaton

Sidmouth Running Club would like to say a big thank you to their sponsors Sidmouth Town Council, Visit Sidmouth, Sweetcombe Cottage Holidays and councillor Ian Barlow for his vision without which the weekend of celebrations would not have happened.  This is true of the members of Sidmouth Running Club too who came on board supporting the events either by participating in them, marshalling them or both.  A weekend to remember.

The Exe to Axe Mighty Greens (missing Colin, Lynda and Pete)

Sweetcombe Scramble Marathon Results: Mark Andow 9^th overall, 5:15:57; Grahame Womersley-Westlake 5:53:14; Ollie Goodchild-Horne 5:54:49; Martin Barnard 6:02:37; David Chipping 6:02:37; Hannah Maslen 7:08:43; Hamish Spence 7:13:11; Jo Earlam 7:55:25; Jane Hemsworth 7:55:53; Leeann Thomson 7:57:47. Adrian Horne retired at Sidmouth

Exe to Axe Results: Colin Ryan 4:11:22; Lynda Hawkins 4:35:46; Pete Norman 4:54:35; Becky McDonald 4:55:52; Vicky Eul 4:55:55; Paul Reeve 5:03:48; Clive Gilbert 5:37:58; Mark Norton 5:37:59; Helen Palmer 5:50:43; Clare Luke 6:14:50; Donna Womersley-Westlake 6:54:28. Simon Hollyer retired at Branscombe.  Out of a field of 126

Exe to Axe Relay:  Ann Cole and Brigid McSmith 5:36:21

Sid to Axe: Christine Farnham 2:43:53; Karen Farnham 5:43:53; Derek Blackburn 2:52:48; Becky Robson 2:54:51; Ian Robson 2:54:51; Kerry Salter 3:01:10;  Beccy Johnson 3:01:10; Kathy Jordan 3:01:10; Sarah Clapham 3:03:25; Christine McCormick 3:04:41; Liz Wright 3:05:50; Jim Hudson 3:05:50.