Tag Archives: cross country

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

 

Exe to Axe Race

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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

Devon Cross Country Championship

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Five junior members of Sidmouth Running Club made it through to the final held at Stover School, Newton Abbot last Saturday and all came away with exceptional results of which they should be proud, competing against schools from all over Devon. There were around 400 competitors over the various races. It was an achievement in itself that they all made it to the final having to go through the qualifying races at School, East Devon, then Exeter and East Devon.

It was a tough course which claimed several victims due to the muddy, slippery conditions

Toby Garrick year 10 competing against year 11 came 6th.

Katie Marriot year 8 came 13th beating many who had beaten her in the qualifying heats.

Ollie Beech year 6 competing against year 7 came 9th

Jo Ashby year 7 came 21st

Molly Garrick year 7 came 24th

Toby and Ollie will now represent Devon at the South West Schools competition in Cheltenham in February.

Sidmouth Running Club congratulates them all.

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

Race Information & Sign up form    ||    Practice Agenda    ||   Race results

Drogo 2015

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Six Sidmouth runners ventured to the edge of Dartmoor last Sunday to run the challenging and beautiful Drogo 10. This is definitely one of the most scenic races in the calendar and one of the best supported too – nearly 500 runners completed the 10 mile course this year. Saturday morning’s torrential rain left the course in a satisfyingly muddy condition, however runners could certainly not complain about conditions on race morning with a temperature of 15 degrees justifying the many short sleeves on display – quite rare in November! When you think about Drogo the mind tends to focus on the notorious Hunters’ Path, a brutal half mile climb back towards the castle at mile 8.

However, it would be foolish to forget hills no.1 and no.2 both of which are energy-sapping climbs from the river valley to the ridge path. It seems as though the Sidmouth crew took the conditions in their stride. Linda and Jade Hawkins are becoming a regular sight on the circuit with both completing the course comfortably under the 2 hour mark. Claire Ashby looked remarkably fresh as she emerged from her ascent of the Hunters’ Path, finishing in a highly respectable time of 1:41.

Fiona Cummins took the honours of first Sidmouth lady home in a time of 1:36, easily in the top half of the field. Just ahead of her in a time of 1:32 was Alan Colwill whose tactics of ‘run hard for 8 miles then walk the last hill’ clearly paid dividends. Claire’s husband, Justin, also enjoyed proceedings, finishing 14th in a time of 1:08.