Castle Drogo 10

Honiton Running Club had a great turnout for the South West Road Runners’ Drogo 10 mile race last Sunday. This is a very challenging off road race with the start and finish at Castle Drogo. There are two major hills; the first coming out of Fingle Bridge and the second at the 8 mile mark up the infamous Hunters’ Path. There are breathtaking views once at the top of the hills which almost make the pain worthwhile. The race was won by Johnny Gilby in the incredible time of 57 minutes 37 seconds. Not too far behind was Honiton’s Ian Stewart who finished 19th in 1:09:45. It was Ben Stone’s first attempt at the race and he was happy to come 23rd in 1:10:14. Steve Selley had a great race even though he fell over. He finished 89th in 1:21:03 beating Steve Davey by just 3 places and 7 seconds. Paul Williams was running his first race for Honiton RC and had a fantastic race finishing right behind Steve with just 1 second splitting them. Bruce Strawbridge was next back delighted with his race coming 100th in 1:22:04 less than a minute behind the previous three. Mark Dallyn’s sore ankle held up meaning he finished 125th in 1:23:03. Richard Harris finished next in 131st place in 1:25:39. Judy Davey was the first back for the Honiton ladies to come 162nd in 1:28:59. She was followed by Pippa Westall who came 236th in 1:36:10. The other Honiton lady, Louise Crisp, came next in 250th place in 1:37:45. Jim Hill is an experienced racer but this was his first for Honiton. He last ran Drogo in 2002 when the route was a little different and he was pleased to finish 342nd in 1:47:05. Steve Briggs has moved near Plymouth and doesn’t get out to club nights so it was great to see him. He finished 370th in 1:50:24. There were 496 finishers.