As usual Honiton Running Club has had a busy year competing in events all around the southwest, England, Europe and across the world. With over one hundred members they are one of the largest sporting clubs in Honiton and they can be seen running around the town and in the lanes roundabout on most days of the week. A monthly 5k challenge and regular Monday night coached sessions have enhanced the overall fitness within the club while a dedicated group for beginners on a Monday night has also been well supported. Wednesday nights have been used for longer club runs, often offroad in the summer, while a monthly run with a pub meal afterwards in the has been popular.

One of the most important developments this year has been the formation of the Honiton Junior Club which started in January and now has an enthusiastic bunch of over 30 runners, with 9 coaches to keep them busy. Some older juniors have already moved on to run with the senior club. Over the first year the juniors have competed in several running events and socials and it is hoped that they will continue to grow in the forthcoming year.

There have been several highlights to the year starting with the Sport Relief runs on 16th March which included one, three and six mile events and, despite appalling wet weather, attracted 460 runners including the mayor in full regalia and several town councillors. Several thousand pounds was raised for the Sport Relief charity and the club will promote the bienniel event again in 2010.

The next club highlight was a record number of Honiton runners competing in the Grizzly multi terrain race from Seaton followed by a good representation in the London Marathon. These events were the culmination of a hard winters training for many of the clubs runners with sponsorship from the London Marathon by Bruce and Tracey Strawbridge of nearly £2000 for Hospice Care. Sarah Evans, Janet Leach and Maggie Richards of Whimple raised a staggering £3500 for their charities and this was achieved through raffles, a quiz night, an auction, a successful 5 mile fun run around Whimple and generous sponsorship. The club president, Alan Rowe completed three consecutive marathons for charity.

The social calendar started early with a late Christmas Ceilidh. In April twenty or so Honiton runners travelled to Spain for a few lazy days and then to take on the Malaga half marathon in sweltering temperatures. The wedding of club members Andy and Ruhi on the day of the AVR Midsummer Dream subdued the numbers in that event but some still managed both. There were barbeques after the Crewkerne 9 at Rod & Sarah Warrens and also after normal club runs. Also a wonderful evening buffet from Simon Hall after the Forde Abbey event and a barbeque after cycling the Granite way from Lydford to Okehampton and back. In November the annual firework display was a hit at Jerry & Maggies while the Christmas lights run drew a good crowd for mince pies and mulled wine awith Pete and Suzanne Lyus and Dave and Sarah Dunne.

Club coaches Jo and Paul Lowman once again organised well attended training sessions for the Race for Life charity event while Ian Jeeves again organised a superb set of runs for the Charter celebrations which attracted over sixty runners. The Honiton 12k race saw its last run as next year it will be reincarnated as a 10 mile race. There will also be other races promoted by the club in 2009. The club meets every Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening at 6.30 and will be organising special training sessions for the Grizzly and London Marathon again in 2009. So if anyone needs to get fit or lose a few pounds after the Christmas period then come along to the club training sessions for a friendly welcome.

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Water, water everywhere at the Reindeer Run 

[Wet Legs]

When the members of Honiton Running Club headed to Otterton on Saturday for the annual Reindeer Run they found the village almost cut off by flood water. Either side of the main bridge a lake of water filled the valley so that it was scarcely possible to see course of the river.  Part of the normal route of the race follows the river bank to the village where the runners are sent under one of the bridges and on up the valley before turning back for the final run in. On Saturday the bridge in question had water rushing through the arches almost up to the parapet, but the organisers were not to be defeated by a little water and changed the route to steer clear of the river itself but not as it turned out, clear of water.  The Reindeer Run, now in its fourth year, is put on to raise money for Otterton Primary School. Now in its fourth year, it has become a very popular pre-Christmas event; a good run, lots of fun and very good hospitality. Despite the floods, there was a record turnout of 286 runners including 90 under the age of 17.  The Christmas spirit was well to the fore with runners decorated in Santa costumes, reindeer hats, and tinsel, and a verse of a carol was sung before the start.  At the off many of the adults found themselves puffing along behind a stream of galloping youngsters but after a mile the fun runners headed back to the village and the main runners turned up a muddy track towards the coast.  There was mud in abundance, ankle deep and treacherous in places but all part of the challenge. The changed route took in the edge of East Budleigh then turned back towards Otterton along Frogmore Road. This presented it own challenge as most of it was under water and knee-deep in places. Water was surging across the road from streams and fields and at one fast-flowing point a quad bike was used to provide something to hold onto. But all made it back safely to the cheering crowd at the finish and the waiting mulled wine and mince pies. The Honiton runners had a very good day, James Denne winning the race itself and the men’s and ladies teams winning the team prizes. The Davey family had their own triumph with Steve and Judy first married couple to finish and daughter Katie coming third in her category. Judy however has the right to feel aggrieved; she had a sprint to the line with Richard Harris of Honiton Motel Garage, who was wearing a splendid set of reindeer horns. When he dipped for the finish the horns crossed the line in front of Judy so she was given 51^st place behind Richard’s 50th.

Full Honiton results were:

1st, 00:30:57, DENNE, James; 9th, 00:34:26, GOC, Milan; 14th, 00:35:46, DAVEY, Paul; 21st, 00:37:12, DAVEY, Steve; 22nd, 00:37:20, PADDON, Guy; 33rd, 00:38:57, STRAWBRIDGE, Bruce; 40th, 00:39:46, OAK, Ceri; 48th, 00:40:53, DUNN, Thomas; 50th, 00:40:56, HARRIS, Richard; 51st, 00:40:56, DAVEY, Judy; 58th, 00:41:58, BURGESS, John; 64th, 00:43:51, BROOM, Marion; 120th, 00:51:15, LYUS, Pete

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Honiton fielded 20 runners at the BBC Children in Need Colyton Fiver road race on Sunday. Two laps of mainly flat country lanes saw some good racing with several Honiton runners getting back into racing after time out. Kevin Hawker continued his good form with a third place while Gary Enticott managed to just outsprint Steve Davey for the line to lead the rest of the Honiton runners home. Judy Davey was first Honiton lady home while John Burgess had a battle all the way around the course but managed a last minute dash to take the  over 60 crown. Honiton finishers were: 3 Kevin Hawker 29.19; 33 Gary Enticott 34.08; 34 Steve Davey 34.11; 44 Judy Davey 36.54; 47 John Burgess 37.22; 50 Richard Harris 37.36; 53 Marion Broom 37.57; 63 Nikki Gigg 39.39; 68 Brent Dicks 40.22; 72 Nick Thorpe 40.38; 86 Dan Brown 42.35; 100 Sandra Thorpe 44.41; 115 Vanessa Glyn Jones 47.27; 116 Tracey Strawbridge 47.29; 117 Kim Werner 47.53; 120 Tracey Dingle 48.11; 121 Tina Stevens 48.11; 135 Sarah Spence 50.37; 139 Mickie Dicks 51.41; 140 Claire Louise Nuttall 51.50. Katie Davey was sole representative of Honiton Juniors and ran 20:48 and was 24th out of 51 runners in the one lap race.

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The valley of the Teign in full autumn colour is the backdrop to The Drogo 10, one of the most popular off-road races in Devon. Last Sunday over 400 runners set off from Castle Drogo with the prospect of 3000 ft of climb and 10 rugged miles of trails, mud and water ahead of them. After a brief run along the castle drive they were soon plunging down a twisting footpath to the valley below. A brief run down a road took them to a footbridge across the Teign and then a run along the valley trail to Fingle Bridge. Cheering spectators urged them on as they turned up the side of the valley and the first major climb of 370 ft. Only the very fit run this with the rest plodding along hoping for the top. At four miles the runners are heading along the side of the valley with the route climbing and dropping continuously. After 6 miles they are heading back to Fingle Bridge and another 370 ft climb up The Hunters Path and finally along to the cheering crowd at the finish in front of the castle . The race was won in 1:00:26 by Tom Merson of South West Road Runners but he was pushed hard to the line by John McFarlane of Thames Hare & Hound who was only 13 seconds behind. First lady was Wendy Urban of Torquay AC in 1:15:9. The Honiton Running Club contingent were led home by Steve Davey but there was a great battle between Gary Enticott and Ceri Oak with Ceri getting ahead on the Hunter's Path only to see Gary sprint passed at the finish. Judy Davey was pleased to get round the course in a reasonable time despite feeling off-colour. Marion Broom decided to do the race at the last minute and enjoyed the experience which is more than can be said for John Burgess who damaged his hamstring for the second time in six weeks and the good run he had been hoping for went out of the window. Warren Oak was doing the run for the first time and must have been in a minority of one when he said he "hated the flat bits" Tracey Strawbridge completed the Honiton group with veteran runner Vanessa Glyn Jones who said "actually it was an enjoyable run through woods, tracks and along the river with some amazing views after the steep climbs.

111th, 01:23:54, DAVEY, Steve; 132nd, 01:26:13, ENTICOTT, Gary; 13rd3, 01:26:15, OAK, Ceri; 175th, 01:30:31, DAVEY, Judy; 207th, 01:34:24, BROOM, Marion; 254th, 01:39:14, BURGESS, John;
270th, 01:40:35, OAK, Warren; 378th, 02:02:48, GYNN JONES, Vanessa; 380th, 02:04:27, STRAWBRIDGE, Tracey
 

Junior runners from Axe Valley, Sidmouth and Honiton running clubs gathered on Saturday morning at Core Copse on East Hill for the first of a new three race cross-country series. Macolm Bayer of Sidmouth had devised three testing courses for the different age groups that involved tracks, mud and plenty of hills to climb. The U13 event had good group of runners doing a 3.5 Km route. The top boys and girls places were dominated by Sidmouth and Axe Valley but Honiton's Reuben Heeler-Frood was only just pushed into fourth place by 4 seconds. The race was won by Nick Smith in 12:10 and the first girl was Ellie Stone in 16:10, both from Sidmouth RC.

Honiton Results were:

4th, Reuben Heeler-Frood, 15:52; 10th, Jake Harvey, 17:48; 16th, Katie Davey, 19:50; 20th, Jennie Doble, 23:28; 21st, Jodie Williams, 24:28.

The U15 race was over 5K and had a much smaller field. The winner was Iain Harwood of Sidmouth in 24:32 and first girl was Romy Phillips of Axe Valley in 28:40. This time Honiton got among the placings with Steven Trenchard 3rd boy in 26:49 and Sophie Keywood 2nd girl in 32:00. Ben Barton of Honiton was 4th in 27:27

The last race for U17's was over 6.5K and was an all boy affair. The winner was Daniel Clapp of Axe Valley in 28:25 and Honiton's Tom Dunn came in second in 31:21.

The next race in the series will take place in Morganhayes Wood near Seaton on 17th January.
 

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A cool but dry Sunday morning on November 2nd saw 10 runners from Honiton RC line up for the start of the Ilminster 10K. The first half of the course is mainly uphill, but that had the bonus of the second half of the race being mainly downhill! A fantastic effort by our very own James Denne saw him take first place overall from a field of nearly 300 runners in a time of 34.40. The next Honiton runner home was Gary Enticott in 43.51 followed by Claire Pomeroy in 48.56. Next home was Sarah Warren in 49.43 very closely followed by husband Rod in 49.54 who thought he could catch her on the downhill run back but was pipped at the post. Another Honiton couple Brent and Micky Dicks also ran and came home with times of 52.14 and 1.05.44 respectively. Other Honiton runners who successfully completed the race were Jill Wood in a time of 1.02.32 and Kim Werner in 1.03.01.

Meanwhile across the Atlantic in New York, two runners were flying the flag for Honiton in the New York Marathon. While Paula Ratcliffe was winning the ladies race in 2.25 the Honiton men were a little further back. Richard Harris, in only his second marathon, smashed through the four hour barrier with a time of 3.51.29. Alan Nicholls took a leisurely stroll around the course finishing in 4.25.49.

Honiton took 16 Juniors to Exeter Track last Wednesday night for the second of the 3K Winter Series. In the F-race, Dale Kingston, running his first 3K won in 13:32 with Honiton runners coming in as follows, Sophie Keywood (14:06), Rosie Lyus (14:08), Katie Davey (14:27), & Robyn Moyse (16:46). Sophie, Rosie and Katie all had good PB's with Rosie knocking 50 seconds off her October time. In the E-race Jake Harvey first Honiton runner home in 13:04 followed by Daisy Flanagan in 13:18, both PB runs. Daisy had a great sprint for the line against Abigail Richards of AVR and just pipped her. The next race saw Lily Helston tackling her first 3K having only just turned 11 the day before. In the October race she easily won the mile for 10 year-olds. She seemed to be going too fast but maintained her pace very well and steadily moved up through the field and finally sprinted for the line against an U15 runner and came home first in 12:07. Reuben Heeler-Frood ran 12:21 and Sam Urquart 12:23, both recording PB's. In the C-race Tom Dunn led off quickly and was in the lead for the first lap, but he had gone off too quick and slipped back to 6th in 11:31 just in front of Emma Kiernan of AVR but still a PB. Ben Barton also ran in this race and came in 10th with a PB time of 11:49. The last Junior away was Steven Trenchard in the B race which was won impressively by an U15 runner from SWRR in 10:23 but Steven ran excellently and also got a PB in 11:02, equal 11th out of 20 runners. Finally the Juniors stayed on for the A-race and their ear-splitting cheers were louder than the fireworks as they gave great support to James Denne and Kevin Hawker who came home 2nd and 3rd.

Several Honiton runners travelled to the other side of Dartmoor for the 7-mile event put on by Tavistock AC. The inclines were gradual for a change and it was all on minor roads. Tim Legg was going at 6-minute mile pace for the first five miles, but managed to accelerate towards the end, making it to the finish line in 40. 52 finishing in 8th overall and only 2m 20s behind the winner out of 630 finishers. Tim picked up his first award as the fastest Male Vet 45, having just recently got 'promoted' to the 45-49 year age group. Gary Enticott got round in 51:01 (111th place overall); Nikki Campbell, 59:00 (323rd); and Anne Ephraums, 66:39 (485th).

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Honiton runners were up early on Sunday morning to travel to Minehead for the Exmoor Stagger race. This annual event provides a challenging off road course using the steep and varied terrain around Minehead. This year the route ran from Minehead to the highest point on Exmoor, Dunkery Beacon, and then back to Minehead following a mixture of paths, rough terrain and tracks on both the outward and return leg, with some tough climbs. With such a serious test in front of the athletes it was with some surprise that they saw Honiton's Heather Foundling Hawker on the start line. Heather, an International ultra-distance champion, has been sidelined for 14 months with a series of injuries which have put a return to any form of running in serious doubt. She went into the race with a "suck it and see" attitude after months of swimming to keep some of her fitness. After an easy start she was quietly pleased that her aches and pains were under control and not getting any worse. She kept her forward momentum throughout the race and only in the last few miles was she confident enough to let her caution slip and move up a few gears. With great relief and satisfaction she crossed the line in a time of 2hours 21.44 minutes in an incredible 17th place overall and was very surprised to be announced first lady home. Heather will now take stock of her fitness and decide whether to start training again towards her previous goals in ultra-distance running.

Meanwhile Heather's husband Kevin Hawker was doing some staggering of his own on the course. After a challenging three hour cross country marathon a fortnight ago Kevin was finding the going tough but fought on across the moors to finish a few places in front of Heather in 14th with a time of 2.17.46. Simon Hall also travelled to the event and undertook a thorough examination of his fitness throughout the course. He came home 161st in 3.19.18. Claire Pomeroy decided to do the shorter alternative to the Stagger in the form of the 6 mile Stumble which was timed to take place during the time that the Stagger was run. It was also a challenging off-road route and Claire finished 3rd in her age group with a time of 69.10.

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Dartmoor Vale Half, Cardiff Half & Wadebridge Tri (Dated 20th October 2008)

Six intrepid souls from Honiton Running Club arrived at Newton Abbot race course to do battle with the Dartmoor Vale Half Marathon on Sunday. The weather was ideal for running, dry and not too warm, and with the finish in front of the stands at the race course the runners were assured of a good welcome home.
The course was well marshalled on roads but there was a sense of humour failure at about 7 miles when a serious upward incline stretched the capabilities of all runners. The only silver lining was the runners had a good view of Chudleigh and it was mostly downhill all the way back but there was a sting in the tail with a couple of short sharp hills in Kingsteignton before the racecourse hove into view.
Vernon Gillard and Roger Saunders set off at a sub 7min/mile pace but after 3 miles Roger decided this was way to fast and let Vernon slowly disappear into the distance. Vernon made it round in 30th at 1:32:03 and Roger in 45th at 1:36:04. Steve Davey who had been gaining on Roger finished close behind in 47th at 1:36:31. Judy Davey put in a good time to finish 67th in 1:39:28. The day went to Marion Broom, though, who did a PB for this distance in 1:45:31 which was amazing considering the course elevation profile. What would she have done if it had been flat? Finally Nikki Campbell, who was fresh from the Bristol Half Marathon, came in at 1:51:07, not quite as quick as at Bristol due to the hills but still a good time for a relative newcomer to the club.

Meanwhile on Saturday Paul Davey travelled to the Welsh capital for the Cardiff half marathon, a very flat and fast course and a cloudy day made for a good time. Paul's lack of training recently caught up with him for the last 2 or 3 miles but he was still pleased to come away with 1.29.27 which sets him up nicely for the Snowdonia Marathon next weekend.

Last weekend while most club members were concentrating on the Honiton 12k preparations Tim Legg was contemplating his first ever Triathlon competition. It was foggy as he left Honiton, but to the west of Exeter it was a fine sunny morning, and in Wadebridge by the time the race started at noon it was very warm. The first discipline was swimming, which is his weakest event by far but he completed the 400m in about 13 minutes. Then it was into the transition area to put more clothes on and head off on the bike. The bike route was out and back, along the A39, mostly uphill and into the wind going out, and downhill with the wind behind coming back. At just under 15 miles, this part took him 52 minutes. The run then took me along the Camel Trail, which was busy with people enjoying the warm autumn weather. The course of just under 5 miles took him just about 30 minutes, giving a total time (including transitions) of 1 hour 39 minutes and 50th place out of 115 finishers and left Tim hungry to give it another go during the 2009 tri season.

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Honiton 12k Race Report & The Parrett Trail Relay (Dated 12th October 2008)

[Photo 1] [Photo 2] [Photo 3] [Photo 4]

Sunday saw the sixth running of the popular Honiton 12k road race  in which  160 runners and 65 fun runners toed the start line on Honiton High Street. In contrast to the first event which was run in atrocious wet conditions the final Honiton 12k was completed on a sweltering October day but which possibly made the conditions more demanding for the athletes. After a fast start down the High Street and on to Exeter Road and Heath Park the field was soon strung out with the leaders sprinting away at the front. Adam Carlson of Torbay AAC was setting a punishing pace and had started to pull away by the 5k point. Honiton's James Denne tried to keep Adam within catching distance but realised quite quickly that the pace was too hot and decided to gauge his effort for a respectable finish. After a circuit via the Ironbridge and Gittisham,  Adam  raced onto the finishing field with a clear and decisive lead of  91 seconds over the chasing pack to finish in a time of 41.02. James was pleased to hold his second place to finish in 42.33 which was another step for him towards full fitness after a year hampered by injury. Other finishers in the men's race were 3.Paul Duff 42.52; 4.Chris Ray 43.05; 5.Kerry Roberts of Tiverton 43.19; 6.John Shipland of North Devon RR 44.10.

The women's race was a similar story with three ladies breaking clear of the pack to race around the course. Rachael Currie pushed the pace all the way round and stretched a lead out to 47 seconds at the tape in a time of 50.18. She was shadowed all the way around by Jessica Watkins of Sidmouth Running Club  who finished well in 51.05 with Axe Valley Runner Hannah Bridger  another 52 seconds back in 51.57. Other lady finishers were 4. Serane Burd of Women's Running Network 53.45; 5. Emma Kiernan of AVR 56.32; 6. Julie Hedges SWRR 57.58; 7. Nicki Ashworth WRN 58.57.  Honiton runners were thin on the ground as most were manning the event by marshalling, providing water and overseeing the finish and start areas. Honiton finishers were:  21. Vernon Gillard 50.57; 26. Steve Boyes 51.27; 35. Gary Enticott 53.30; 37. Julian Gigg 53.43; 98. David Gage 66.33; 105 Brent Dicks 68.34; 120 Kim Werner 72.22;  122. Linda Pike 72.35; 130. John Collar 80.44.

The fun run started just after the main race cleared the start with runners of all ages and with many in fancy dress sprinting down the High Street and turning down Dowell Street for the mile event. The front runners surged onto the finishing field at the Sports Centre after only a few minutes with the lead runner, Nick Smith of Sidmouth, crossing the line in under 6 minutes and  the first young lady, Annabel Arnald,  coming home in third place overall. Winners of the fancy dress competition were Charlotte Dicks and Matt Spry.

The event this year was again well supported  by local businesses Honiton Sports, Thornhayes Nurseries, M.G.Webber Hale Lane Nurseries, Everys Solicitors and Tescos. Thanks also go to the  Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Honiton who were at the finish to present medals and prizes. Applause also to the many helpers who manned the event to make it a great success for both the running club and the town of Honiton.

Parrett Trail Relay

On Saturday Honiton Running Club entered two teams into the Parrett Trail for the first time. The Parrett Trail, which is organised by Crewkerne RC is a six leg relay from Steart on the north Somerset coast, to Wynyards Gap, just over the Dorset border, near Crewkerne. At over 53 miles in total, the route crosses the Somerset Levels following the River Parrett to its source. In addition to running distances of between 8 and 10.5 miles, each runner has to find their way as the route is mainly unmarked.  The Honiton ladies team was led off by Sarah Warren and the men by Guy Paddon. Sarah was keen to run the first leg as she grew up in the area and had also previously checked out the course. Needless to say, she got lost! Leg 2 was run by Marion Broome and Rod Warren.  Marion also managed to go the wrong way at one point; a worrying trend among our ladies team.  Both leg 2 and leg 3 routes involved a run up Burrows Mump, a steep hill where according to legend King Alfred burnt the cakes. Leg 3 was run by Nikki Gigg and Roger Saunders. Nikki was the first Honiton lady not to lose her way, a welcome relief. Nikki and Roger handed over to Judy and Steve Davey for leg 4. Judy was keen to continue the previous trend and duly got a little lost. This didn’t stop her from being 1^st lady on her leg, and the mistake was Steve’s fault anyway. Leg 5 started flat but also incorporated a stiff climb up Ham Hill, glorious views but hard work to get them. Ceri Oak and Richard Harris ran this leg; Ceri and Nikki had been particularly nervous beforehand, but like Nikki managed to find her way faultlessly. The final and hilliest legs were run by Fran Bond and Geoff Foster who were greeted at the finish by most of their team members.  Fran and Geoff were surprised to find that their route took them along a river bed, unfortunately not a dry one.

Out of 28 teams, the Honiton men managed a very respectable 11^th place, with the girls 2^nd in the ladies section. Winning teams were Yeovil men and Exmouth Harriers ladies. Finally, thanks to the injured John Burgess and Nick Thorpe as the support team and to Richard Harris of To-an-Fro for supplying the minibus.

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On Sunday two Honiton stalwarts, Kevin Hawker and Steve Boyes, had a go at the Clarendon Way  Marathon. Starting from the Godolphin School in Salisbury the route  passes through some stunning countryside in Wiltshire and Hampshire before finishing at Kings' School in Winchester. The route was mostly off-road, tough and challenging but is one of the most scenic races in the south west. So this was not a day for personal best times over the marathon distance but rather to race for position. Kevin did just that and demonstrated his good form with an excellent second place in 3 hours and 3 minutes. Steve ran the race off the back of the New Forest Marathon a fortnight ago but still managed a good time of 4.03 in 63rd place.

HONITON JUNIOR RUNNERS ATTACK THE TRACK

Honiton Running Club Juniors visited Exeter Arena last Wednesday to compete in mile and 3000 metre races. For most it was their first track race and they tackled the distance with great enthusiasm. Lily Helston ran the mile race and after two laps had shaken off the opposition and ran on strongly to win by the length of the straight. The 3000 metre events were divided according to ability many of the juniors found themselves overtaking slower adults. Steven Trenchard came second in his race and Ben Barton gained third spot in his. Daisy Flanagan ran well to come second in her age category. The races are part of a series that run through to March next year so they will be back next month to try and improve their times. 

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Novice Marathon Runners win New Forrest Team Prize & Musbury Castle (Dated 29th September 2008)

Brilliant runs from three Honiton Running Club ladies scooped the Ladies Team first prize at the New Forest Marathon last week. Fran Bond, Judy Davey and Marion Broom were all competing in their first marathons and the hundreds of miles of training paid off as their finishing positions in the ladies race of 10^th, 15^th and 37^th put them four points ahead of Littledown Harriers. After weeks of rain the day was hot and the sky clear, and with an undulating course it was not ideal conditions for a marathon. Fran set off with her training partner Richard Harvey, but after half-way left him behind, finishing in an excellent time of 3:38:03. Judy was not far behind. Her aim was to achieve the qualifying time for automatic entry to the London Marathon of 3;45:00 so she was delighted to finish in 3:41:38 after a hard battle over the last few miles. Marion was hoping to run under four-and-half hours but realised she was running well when she caught John Burgess at five miles and then left him a few miles later. She was still amazed to cross the line in 4:00:04 and only regretted that she just missed out on a sub-4 hour time. Richard and John hit the dreaded marathon wall and had to walk & jog the last miles and finished with disappointing times of 4:12:44 and 4:22:31.  However marathon-man Steve Boyes salvaged some male honour by completing his sixth marathon of the year in 3:31:31. His seventh, The Clarendon Way marathon between Winchester and Salisbury, will be run this weekend.

Half-an-hour before the marathon 1700 runners set off on the New Forest half-marathon course. Richard Harris, of Honiton Garage, had his appetite whetted for running by the London Marathon back in April. He joined Honiton Club and has been improving rapidly. He is in training for the New York marathon but this was his first “half”. He finished 174^th in an excellent time of 1:36:11. Garry Enticott did the Bristol Half-marathon the week before and despite the hot the weather and hilly course he managed to knock 4 minutes off his time finishing 207^th in 1:38:11. Steve Davey would normally expect to lead this group home but does not run well in the heat and had to settle for 441^st in 1:46:27. Special mention must also be made of another first-timer Laura Pyle who joined the running fraternity with great enthusiasm only a few months ago. She finished 1367th, with a time of 2:14:14. Other Honiton runners were: Simon Hall, 499^th 1:47:58; Claire Pomeroy, 501^st 1:48:07; Jennie Sleeman, 652^nd, 1:51:40; Vanessa Glyn Jones, 1258^th  2:09:16.

Team Photo

The annual Musbury Castle Challenge race was run last Sunday and  a small band of runners to flew the flag for Honiton as many were away at the New Forest event. As usual it was a very tough course with many steep ascents and sharp descents but light work was made of those by James Denne who is right back up there with an excellent third placing in a time of 50.43. Pete Lyus mad his annual pilgrimage to Musbury and took the family with him to run the race. Pete came home 82nd in 82.22 and his wife Suzanne soon crossed the line 83rd in 83.46. Jo Lowman is getting back into racing mode and made the trip in 85.88 in 85th place. In the junior race Thomas Dunn also managed a third place while Rosanna Lyus finished off the family day with 13th position.

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The last week has seen Honiton runners busy racing across the region in a variety of events.

Last Saturday was the culmination of months of training in running, swimming and cycling for Honiton Running Club member Grant Boyd as he took on the ultimate challenge in sport by competing in the Iron Man Triathlon at Sherborne in Dorset. Grant has a history of taking on the difficult events and has completed the Tough Guy race in Staffordshire for the last several years as well as doing several Grizzly runs and has even done a few sissy road races. The gruelling event consisted of a 2.4 mile swim, followed immediately by a 111.7 mile cycle with a total elevation of 2070 metres then a full 26 mile 385 yards Marathon. In his own words Grant says:"I don't know where to start really. I did manage to finish but a good deal later than I expected. The race was delayed by half and hour starting at about 06.30am but was still dark when we got into the water. Even in a wet suit the lake was freezing. In the transition area after the swim there were lots of people being looked after by medics with space blankets around them. My bike leg started in disaster as before I'd completed 2 miles I got a puncture on my rear tyre. After this I made steady progress until an emergency loo break which cost me another 10 minutes. The course was 3 laps of around 37 miles each. It seemed every direction I cycled in was into the wind. Then the marathon started. I don't know what was more demoralising, the constant loo stops due to an upset stomach or hearing the commentator anouncing that people were "Ironmen" as they crossed the finish line and I still had more laps of the course to do! After lots of walking, undressing and dressing I crossed the finish line with the day as dark as when I'd started, hearing the commentator finally declare that I was an "Ironman" too. Including transition times my swim leg took 1.29.01, my bike leg 7.40.30 and my run 5.20.08. Overall time 14.48.31. I am really pleased to have finished but without the puncture and loo stops I probably would have been 1.30 quicker. There's always next year!!"

On Wednesday ten runners took on a much swifter challenge at the sixth and final race in the Yeovilton 5k series. Tim Legg was again to the fore by finishing well in 7th place with his best time of the year in exactly 17minutes. Steve Davey has run five of the six races this year and has been very consistent with a best of 19.59 and slowest of 21.14. This months effort was only 4 seconds off his best in 44th place but he will be looking to get under 20 minutes every time next year. Gary Enticott has run all six races and has had a similar series of results but missed the 20 minute barrier by three seconds last month and by 18 seconds this time in 48th. Richard Harris finished in 60th with 21.12 just in front of young Thomas Dunn who finished 65th with 21.35. Judy Davey led the Honiton ladies home with 68th in 21.49 followed by Simon Hall, 71st in 22.09, and the fast improving Marion Broom who was 72nd in a new best time of 22.14. Claire Pomeroy was next in 76th with 23.07 with Vanessa Glyn Jones finishing off with a new best time of 25.51 in 96th place.

Sunday morning was a welcome warm and pleasant change to recent weekend days for the seven Honiton runners who got up early to travel to Bristol for the annual half marathon. Finishing times for the Honiton athletes were: Paul Davey 1.31.17; Guy Paddon 1.39; Gary Enticott 1.42.09; John Caswell 1.46.03; Nicola Campbell 1.50.32; Brent Dicks 2.01.36 and Michaela Dicks 2.27.51.

Meanwhile James Denne is coming back to good form after a year off and showed his class and a clean pair of heels to the chasing pack by winning the Shepton Beauchamp 10K in a time of 37.14 and beating the previous record by 3 minutes. Claire Pomeroy also got amongst the medals by finishing 3rd lady in 50:25
 

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Five Honiton RC athletes chose to make the trip down to Ash, near Yeovil on Sunday to race in the Ash Excellent Eight races.  The main 8 mile race began with a nice gentle downhill slope for about 1 mile, then across a few fields then straight into lots of mud for about a mile until a steep climb and decent, followed by a tough climb after 8 weary miles to finish with.  James Denne lead the team home in 3^rd place with a time of 52.19, just over 2 minutes behind the winner.  Steve Davey was next home in 29^th in 1.03.28 followed closely by Judy Davey in 37^th in 1.05.26 which was good enough for 3^rd lady overall.  Marion Broom was next home in 62^nd in 1.10.02.

Judy    James

In the 3K Junior Race, Katie Davey came home in 19^th place overall in 19.59 which was good enough for 5^th in her age group.

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The bank holiday weekend saw Honiton runners attending several races. On Friday evening it was the Forest Flyer Five at Haldon Country Park. This was a very scenic route along twisty forest paths with plenty of hills. Paul Davey led the Honiton group home closely followed by Steve Davey. Steve’s wife, Judy, was next home with Nicky Campbell and Anne Ephraums completing the trio of ladies.

Paul, Steve and Judy all raced again on Saturday at the Battle of Sedgemoor 10k which begins and ends in Langport and visiting the villages of Drayton and Muchelney. Gary Enticott managed to knock a couple of seconds off his 10k personal best as did Steve Davey so they were both pleased. The race organisers promised a fast flat course but all runners agreed that there were more than a few undulations! Katie Davey flew the flag for the Juniors completing the 2 mile off road fun run in 14 minutes. There were 400 finishers in the main race and Honiton results were: 54th Paul Davey 40.44; 58th Richard Harvey 41.05; 76th Julian Gigg 42.15; 81st Steve Davey 42.22; 98th Gary Enticott 43.20 and 150th Judy Davey 45.58.

The indefatigueable Steve and Judy Davey rounded the weekend off on Monday with a visit to Bampton to take part in the Quarryman’s Trail 10k off road race. They both thoroughly enjoyed this extremely muddy, hilly race - Judy so much so that she decided that, along with several other runners, she would extend it slightly and put in an extra loop! Despite this, Judy still managed to win her category and was pleased to come home with a bottle of wine. Steve finished in 49.58 and Judy took just under 57 minutes. After a few hours at home their feet again started twitching so they added a few more miles to their day by leading the Monday evening 10k training session to Cotleigh and back.

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Yeovilton 5K Series (Dated 18th August 2008)

The Honiton runners were once again out in force at the Yeovilton 5km race series despite the heavy rain showers before the event. Team Honiton are showing their green credentials by travelling to the event in a minibus thanks to Richard Harris.
Tim Legg led the team home in a time of 17:28 despite stopping to tie his lace and letting the leading lady sprint past. He came in 13 overall and was the first 45+ Vet so got a bottle of wine for his effort. Steve Davey just missed getting under 20 minutes by 1 second but still had a good run with Gary Enticott only 2 seconds behind with a 30 second improvement on his PB. Roger Saunders improved on his last time by about 20 seconds at 20:26 perhaps because fellow runner Richard Harris caught him after the first kilometre but then faded. Richard almost came in under 21 minutes bar 2 seconds. Judy Davey had an excellent run at
21:28 for a new PB by 25 seconds and was the first 45+Vet Lady home so also got a bottle of wine. Nikki Gigg was not far behind at 22:10 and also broke her PB by 35 seconds. Marion Broom is improving very quickly in her debut year and took almost 2 minutes off her best time at 22:22. Finally Vanessa Glyn-Jones came in with her fastest time this year at 26:11 which was a 31 second improvement to  complete Team Honiton's results.

Results Table

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Haslebury Plucknett (Dated 10th August 2008)

The threat of a rainy night didn't deter Honiton runners who were out in force last Wednesday evening for the Haslebury Plucknett 10k Trail Race.  The two lap race started from the immaculate North Perrott Cricket Ground and followed a very pretty route around the local tracks and paths with a good hill near the end of the lap. James Denne has missed a year of competition but came back with a strong run in seventh place and a time of 41.04, just a couple of minutes behind the winner. Club Treasurer Roger Saunders was next home 42nd in 49.10 but was looking over his shoulder for John Burgess who has been training hard lately and was pushing the pace to finish 55th in 50.51.  Greg Axsel took the family along for support and gave a good show by slowly working through the field and finishing 79th in 55.04 while Rod Warren put his recent speed training to good use by sprinting around in  57.29 for 92nd place. Brent Dicks had a solid run and finished 99th with 59.24 and Alan Nicholls just got inside the hour with 59.57 in 102nd. Laura Pyle found the going tough after a fast start and finished 113th in 61.52 with Vanessa Glyn-Jones finishing well in 122nd with 64.38. Kim Werner rounded up the night for Honiton finishing 131st with 67.17.  A pleasant barbeque and well earned cup of tea or pint  at the bar finished the evening very nicely.

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The Junior Section of Honiton running Club held their first awards evening last Tuesday. Parents and runners had a highly competitive game of rounders and a barbecue before the presentation of the awards by Honiton running Club President, Alan Rowe. The first section of awards were for those youngsters who had made a big contribution to the club. A club doesn’t exist unless people come, and those who come week by week are the heart and soul of a club which is built round such people. The Attendance Awards went to Tom Dunn and Rosie Lyus. The Fun Runner Awards are given to the runners who have fun and help other people to enjoy themselves.- very important people to have in the club. This year they went to Sam Urquart who makes the most noise at high speed and to Robyn Moyse for the loudest scream.
The Tough Runner Awards are for the runners who keep going and don’t give up. They always make a great effort. They make the rest of us think that we can try harder and went this year to William Donovan and Natasha Browning. Running and athletics is also about performance excellence so there were several awards in this category. The best improvements in the club Time-Trial trophies went to Michael Rae and Ashleigh Logan. The best race performance awards were won by Jake Harvey and Lily Helston. Special achievement Awards were won by James Proctor and Steven Trenchard while the junior runners of the year awards were attained by Reuben Heeler-Frood and Katie Davey.

Awards Photo

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The second running of the Tipton St John Rail and River run saw an excellent contingent of Honiton runners, both adult and junior, turn out to pit themselves against the six mile course and the 2.5 mile Fun Run.

First away were the adults who headed out towards Venn Ottery before taking to footpaths, tracks and lanes that led them out to Fluxton.  Plenty of mud and some stretches of ankle deep water  added extra spice to the course and Stephen Carnall’s new white trainers were suitably baptised. Guy Paddon and Steve Davey continued the tussle they had had Charmouth with Guy leading the way almost to the line, but a final sprint saw Steve take the honours again.  Judy Davey doesn’t do “slow” at the start sprinted away from Bruce Strawbridge but as they entered Harpford Woods Bruce went ahead and was third Honiton runner home. Unfortunately Judy lost sight of Bruce at a critical junction and turned left instead of right. Not only did she go a mile out of her way but she lost her “first lady” place as a result – jokes about the female sense of direction were not appreciated. Mention must also be made of steadily improving Stephen Carnall who recorded a good time on his third run for the club and of Laura Pyle who had an excellent first run. Laura started the club’s Race for Life course only six weeks ago but has quickly shown herself to be a very promising runner.

The Juniors had a challenging time, running out to Harpford by road and then back along the river bank. The five Honiton runners, Natasha Browning, Katie Davey, Jodie Williams, William and Daniel Donovan all did well and with Tasha coming in 3^rd girl.

Full adults’ results

Steve DAVEY, 5th 00:44:19  Guy PADDON, 6th 00:44:26  Bruce STRAWBRIDGE, 7th 00:47:06    John BURGESS, 15th 00:49:03  Nicola GIGG, 24th 00:51:54  Marion BROOM, 26th 00:52:00  Stephen CARNALL, 34th 00:53:14  Brent DICKS, 39th 00:55:01 Judy DAVEY, 40th 00:56:04 Laura PYLE, 42th 00:56:42  Nicola CAMPBELL, 46th 00:57:34  Anne EPHRAUMS, 49th 00:58:44  Jackie COSTELLO, 64th 01:02:34  Vanessa JONES, 65th 01:02:42 Tracey STRAWBRIDGE, 67th 01:03:00  Kim WERNER, 77th 01:04:39  Sarah SPENCE, 98th 01:10:40  Allison MOXOM, 99th 01:10:48  Mickie DICKS, 100th 01:10:48

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A pleasant Tuesday evening saw runners from all around the region converging on the manicured lawns of Forde Abbey near Chard for the annual run around the stunning grounds and the surrounding counrtyside. Honiton were well represented with a massive twenty two adult members competing in the senior race accompanied by a good number of children, and a few parents, having a go in the junior fun run. The promise of an excellent post race party, courtesy of Simon Hall, also may have had an impact on the numbers.

After the sprint of the first few hundred yards down the steep sloped lawns it was nice to see Honiton youngsters zipping around the grounds of the abbey to finish their mile race full of pride and ready to cheer their parents around the main 10k course. The senior course took in several long hills with stony fields, mud, stiles, electric fences and two freezingly deep river crossings making it a truly challenging course. Richard Harvey has been training hard lately and it showed as he eased his way around the course to finish well in 22nd place with a time of 44.08. Richard's long distance training partner Fran Bond tracked him all the way but didn't look like catching him this time but finished just four places back in 44.54. Steve Davey  has been doing a prodigious amount of racing this year and obviously enjoyed this one finishing one place but 37 seconds down on Fran. Bruce Strawbridge also enjoyed the race and scored a rare victory over Ceri Oak  as he finished 34th in 46.33 to Ceri's 47th in 46.55. Leisa Lavender has been racing sparingly this year but has been very consistent in her running with a good 47th finish in 47.22 while newcomer Richard Harris bounded around the course in 48 minutes  in 51st place - one to watch in future perhaps. John Burgess's ancient legs stood up to the test extremely well and left three quarters of the runners behind him in 53rd place and 48.08. Other runners: 58 John Bartholomew 48.50; 63 Malcolm Hall 49.12; 66 Judy Davey 49.32; 87 Simon Hall 52.04; 94 Claire Pomeroy 53.14; 98 Nikki Gigg 53.24; 103 Marion Broome 54.24; 116 Brent Dicks 55.54; 123 Jennie Sleeman 56.49; 134 Alan Nicholls 57.53; 136? Pete Lyus; 138 Stuart Bramley 58.37; 178 Tracey Strawbridge 67.27; 185 Allison Moxom 69.10; 186 Kim Werner 69.11.

A depleted field of Honiton runners assembled on Seaton seafront  on Saturday for the wonderful AVR Midsummer Dream Run of about 17 miles. Due to a clash with the wedding date of club members Andy Bowman and Ruhi Rahmat many club members were otherwise engaged but several Honiton runners decided to try to do both events. The tradition of this race is to jog, or stagger, around the course at a lazy pace while enjoying the hospitality of the several inns along the way and of course the cream tea at Southleigh. But some of the Honiton crew didn't quite get into the spirit of tradition and proceeded to do a dry - that is  no alcohol - circuit, and finished in somewhere around four hours compared to the usual seven. I will not name names  but next year those runners might find themselves under strict orders by the Honiton Master of Ceremonies - there will obviously be many forfeits to perform .

Mr & Mrs Bowman

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Apologies to Richard Harris for no time or place for his Yeovilton run but it was not in the online result and I couldn't contact him Monday by deadline. Thanks to him for transporting us all in the minibus.

Last Wednesday Honiton Runners travelled to Yeovilton for the monthly 5k challenge. This 5k course has become the benchmark for Honiton racing performances and gives a challenge to all aspiring racers due to the quality of the athletes throughout the field. Tim Legg shot off from the start and raced around the flat road course in fine style. He finished well clear of the Honiton crew in 17th place but still some way off the leader with a 17.53 clocking. Steve Davey has been chipping away at his times lately and knocked 32 seconds off this time  with 20.24 in 52nd. Steve managed to keep in front of fast improving Gary Enticott who was one place down on Steve but also improved by 14 seconds to 20.33. Roger Saunders followed Gary home in 54th with a 20.45 clocking. John Burgess managed to knock another 4 seconds from his best with 21.18 in 64th while Judy Davey took her age category prize with 22.17 in 82nd. Nikki Gigg seems to have found a course and distance that she likes and smashed her debut time of last month by 50 seconds  to 22.45 and 80th place. Nick Thorpe, ever the gentleman, didn't outsprint Nikki at the finish but was next home  by a second. Alan Nicholls managed to get in the 100 with 23.28 in 97th while Marion Broome also smashed last months debut time by 52 seconds with 24.21 in 105th. Tony Whiteley rounded up the Honiton interest with 26.32 in 117th.

On Saturday evening nine club members travelled to Bampton for the annual 10k road race. This one has quite a testing course so times were not expected to be outstanding. Nevertheless Tim Legg again blasted off from the start and pushed himself around the course to 14th place at the finish with 38.07, nearly 6 minutes clear of the next Honiton runner. Other results: 52 Steve Davey 43.56; 70 Bruce Strawbridge 45.52; 74 Richard Harris 46.12; 79 Judy Davey 46.30; 116 Nikki Gigg 50.15; 127 Marion Broome 51.59; 131 Stephen Carnall 52.09; 184 Tracey Strawbridge 60.12.

Talaton Trotter & Killerton Kanter (Dated 9th June 2008)

On WEDNESDAY 18^TH JUNE Bruce & Tracey Strawbridge will be presenting their sponsorship money raised by their running of the London Marathon to a representative of their chosen charity Hospiscare at 18:15 at Honiton Sports Centre.

Good weather on Saturday, a good turnout of Honiton Running Club runners and two very enjoyable races for those who love to run the country tracks, fields, hills and mud. Honiton had 26 runners between the two events including 5 husband-wife combinations and were the biggest team at Talaton. Several of the runners also completed both events.

Both were low key affairs but the TalatonTrotter has become one of Axe Valley's new East Devon series and so there were more of their runners turning up and they scooped most of the prizes. Fortunately it wasn't too hot and the runners had an occasional shower to cool them down. The Trotter measured 7.18 miles on John Burgess's Garmin and had slightly more climb than the Killerton Kanter which was pretty well 10K.  Tim Legg came  3rd in the Trotter and Stephen Boyes showed his excellent marathon form in being 2nd HRC member home. Gary Endicott continues to lead the remaining field but only just squeezed in ahead of Guy Paddon.  Ceri Oak was second lady, and Bruce Strawbridge, Judy Davey, then  John Burgess was the finishing order in both races.  John,to his surprise, came  first in his age group at Killerton and received a healthy bag of fruit to munch together with a nice plant courtesy of the National Trust. Judy, Claire Pomeroy  and Nikki Gigg were also placed in their categories.

Talaton Trotter Result: 3 Tim Legg 47.01; 11 Stephen Boyes 52.22; 19 Gary Endicott 54.30; 20 Guy Paddon 54.34; 23 Ceri Oak 55.26; 29 Bruce Strawbridge 56.23; 37 Judy Davey 57.50; 40 John Burgess 58.06; 46 Malcolm Hall 58.59; 51 Greg Axsel 60.08; 55 Warren Oak 61.20; 60 Nick Thorpe 62.54; 66 Brent Dicks 65.21; 79 Sandra Thorpe 67.03; 87 Pete Lyus 69.02; 94 Linda Pike 73.35.

Killerton Kanter Result: 16 Tim Legg 44.41; 43 Steve Davey 48.28; 45 Bruce Strawbridge 49.17; 47 Judy Davey 50.03; 53 John Burgess 51.27; 58 Simon Hall 52.43; 62 Claire Pomeroy 53.36; 77 Nicola Gigg 55.53; 91 Nikki Campbell 58.02; 98 Anne Ephraums 61.19; 135 Alison Moxam 71.28; 136 Kim Werner 71.28; 137 Mickie Dicks 71.30; 138 Tracey Strawbridge 71.30.

The past couple of weeks have seen Honiton runners in action in a variety of events around the country.

The Edinburgh Marathon was the summit of the spring training regimes of both Jennie Sleeman and Steve Boyes. Jennie was training for her debut marathon and had done many long hours training around the East Devon roads in all weathers. After an overnight stay at Glasgow she joined the others on the 6.45am runners bus to join the other 14000 runners who set off with sand blowing into their faces and then bright sunshine. Passing long stretches of beach, lively pipers and bands, and winding their way round the grounds of a country mansion the miles rolled by. At mile 18 the runners turned their backs to the wind and headed for Musselburgh Racecourse where a huge crowd cheered them in. Jennie was delighted to complete her maiden marathon in 4 hours and 19 minutes 36 seconds, and to raise money for Neil’s Wheels, a charity which provides sports wheelchairs for children with physical disabilities.
Steve, on the other hand, is an accomplished marathon runner with several good finished under his belt. After a good start he passed 10k in 44.13 and the halfway point in 1.36.34 and was really going for it. Slowing a little on the second half Steve finished in 3.21.57 which was a superb time and has now thrown down the gauntlet to many of the young pretenders in the club to get their training shoes on and try to beat his time.

Monday night saw another running of the inter club woodland relays between Honiton, Axe Valley Runners, Sidmouth and the Met Office. Honiton had an excellent turnout with several junior teams joining the seniors for the first time. Honiton mens A team were 5th home in 56.10 with the ladies not far behind in 7th with 58.41 and the Juniors 10th in 61.29. Running times were: Mens A. Richard Harvey 13.39; Vernon Gillard 14.30; Tim Legg 13.03; Roger Saunders 14.58; Womens A. Ceri Oak 14.32; Judy Davey 15.33; Leisa Lavender 14.36, Fran Bond 14.00; Mens B. Simon Hall 15.21; Bruce Strawbridge 15.07; Steve Davey 14.45; Gary Endicott 14.29; Junior A. Sam Urquart 15.13; Llily Heston 15.21; Jake Harvey 15.30; Reuben Heeler-Frood 15.25; Mens C. John Burgess 14.44; Nick Thorpe 15.51; Rod Warren 16.27; Alan Nicholls 16.33; Junior C. Steven Trenchard 13.22; Michael Rea 15.32; Katie Davey 18.32; Sophie Keyward 17.07; Sweepers. Nben Barton 15.23; Tom Dunn 15.03; Vanessa Glyn-Jones 18.37; Simon Hall 16.25; Ladies B. Sarah Warren 16.58; Nikki Gigg 16.45; Marion Broome 18.18; Claire Pomeroy 16.28; Dregs. Sue Jones 17.52; Pete Lyus 18.06; Tony Whiteley 17.38; Tichard Harvey 15.15; Junior B. Becky Matthews 17.40; Rosanna Lyus 17.37; Ashleigh Logan 26.13; Robyn Moyse 20.41.

Last Sunday morning a large contingent of 17 Honiton runners converged on Crewkerne to join the145 others for the annual 9 mile road race around a very hilly course with several stretches of flooded roads thrown in for good measure. Although never threatening the front runners there were several good battles between the Honiton squad. Gary Endicott led the Honiton runners home in 45th with 66.38. There were several notable runs with supervet John Burgess probably the best of the bunch showing a clean pair of heels to most of the others in 66th while Jon Bartholomew showed promise in 76th place. The day was completed with a relaxed Barbeque at Rod and Sarah's.
Times: 45 Gary Endicott 66.38; 62 Steve Davey 69.36; 65 Julian Gigg 69.54; 66 John Burgess 70.03; 67 Bruce Strawbridge 70.08; 76 Jon Bartholomew 71.52; 80 Judy Davey 72.13; 83 John Caswell 72.34; 87 Sarah Warren 73.57; 91 Nick Thorpe 74.18; 113 Marion Broome 79.39; 117 Alan Nicholls 80.44; 121 Sandra Thorpe 81.42; 137 Gerry Evans 86.27; 147 Vanessa Glyn-Jones 88.40; 150 Tony Whiteley 90.07; 157 Tracey Strawbridge 97.49.

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Yeovilton Summer Series - (Dated 18th May 2008)

Wednesday was a pleasant evening for a run so 12 Honiton runners made the journey to Yeovilton for the second 5k race of the summer series. Always a fast and competitive race this one was no exception with the leaders racing away from the start around this totally flat course. The winner came home in about 16 minutes but there was good racing throughout the field. Gary Enticott led the Honiton contingent home with a new personal best of 20.47 in his second race in the series, an improvement of 33 seconds. Steve Davey started fast but suffered from a stitch at 4k and saw John Burgess go by at speed. However Steve rallied himself and pounded after John to just get himself in front by the finish in 21.14. John was very pleased to take a huge chunk off his PB, down 24 seconds to 21.22. Judy Davey has had a heavy week of racing and training so a fast 5k was sure to test her but she held on well to finish  in 22.11 just in front of fast finishing Rod Warren who smashed his PB by exactly a minute at 22.25. Alan Nicholls tried to keep in touch with Rod but slipped back from 4k to finish in 22.51, exactly the same time as his run last May. Alan finished  just a second in front of Rod's wife Sarah who, like Rod,  smashed her PB by exactly one minute. Nick Thorpe was a little out of sorts but finished OK in 23.01 followed by a debut run by Nikki Gigg in 23.35. Nick's wife Sandra has also been unwell lately so was astounded when she ran a new PB by 30 seconds in 25.01. Two more debut runs, by Marion Broom in 25.13 and Vanessa Glyn-Jones in 26.43 finished off the race for the Honiton runners.

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London Marathon 2008 - (Dated 21st April 2008)

Honiton Running Club was well represented in this year’s London Marathon with nine runners completing the gruelling 26 miles 385 yards. Even for fast seasoned runners it is a challenge that demands many miles and many months of training. Kevin Hawker had put in the miles and was looking for a fast time. He lined up with the elite men but had to dodge all the celebrities for the first two miles and then had to stop to slacken off his shoe-laces but after that he had a cracking run and came in 216th in the tremendous time of 2:41:39. Kevin had to have a heart operation a few year’s ago and so ran for CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young), raising £680. Vernon Gillard caught up with Guy Paddon by the Cutty Sark and they ran together. The were cheered on by Guy’s family at Tower Bridge, and kept each other going as far as mile 20 when Guy’s legs began to give out. Vernon was still feeling good and pressed on. He found himself passing lots of runners as he increased his pace and was delighted to finish in 3:28:46. Vernon raised £550 towards the Honiton Golf Club’s Breast cancer appeal. Guy had to settle for survival but still recorded a personal best time of 3:35:47 and he also collected sponsorship to help Maggie Richards reach her charity target. Husband and wife team of Bruce and Tracey Strawbridge had won Honiton Running Club’s two marathon places and had fine runs in their first marathon. Bruce had a good steady run comfortably getting under the 4 hour mark by 6 minutes and Tracey was very pleased to cross the line in 5:12:47. Together they are hoping to raise nearly £2000 for Hospice Care. Injury had kept Stuart Bramley out of the both the London and Berlin marathon’s last year so he was pleased to make the start line this year. His run was going well until the last two miles when cramp set in. However his time of 4:21:59 put him well in the top half of the 35000 finishers so he was very satisfied with his achievement. 

The Whimple Ladies

Sarah Evans, (04:42:16) Janet Leach (05:07:29) and Maggie Richards (05:09:53) began racing several years ago in Whimple's Village Day 1.5 mile Fun Run.  Following this, they began to run regularly together once a week extending their runs to 2 miles, then 3 miles and bravely decided to take part in the Race For Life in Exeter. After completing their 2nd race the following year the Whimple ladies caught the bug for racing, running became more serious and another challenge was required.  They took part in a couple of 10Ks but this was not enough!  Janet and Sarah blamed Maggie for sowing the seed about training for the London Marathon.  After much discussion during their runs together they decided to apply for London 2007 but were unsuccessful.  Disappointed, they entered and took part in the Taunton, Great West and Cardiff Half Marathons and re-applied for London 2008.

Janet was successful this time. So having trained so hard together for so long and not wanting to feel left out, Sarah and Maggie decided to take the charity route.  Sarah went with The Wooden Spoon (Rugby's charity supporting mentally, physically and socially disadvantaged children and young people) and Maggie, egged on by Guy Paddon, decided to run for Children With Leukaemia.  Then the serious training began. Joining Honiton Running Club gave the ladies more confidence about their running and the Devon hills certainly stood them in good stead for 26.2 miles!

Between them the Whimple Ladies had to raise £3500 for their charities and this was achieved through raffles, a quiz night, an auction, a successful 5 mile fun run around Whimple and generous sponsorship.

The Big Day arrived and the Ladies lined up with rhinos, apples, camels, butterflies, men in nothing else but  leopard skin thongs, etc etc.  It was a great occasion and the Ladies thoroughly enjoyed the carnival atmosphere.  It didn't matter that it rained or that Sarah's belt fell off, or that Maggie had forgotten to take her trousers off at the start and that Janet made full use of the facilities en route (hedge, wall and portaloos). They survived, they were still on their feet come the end and they all managed to save a few beans for a sprint finish.

A brilliant experience, great atmosphere and the Ladies were in total agreement that it's, never say never.

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Honiton runners have been quietly tucking away the training miles since the Grizzly to face a big week of events across England and Europe.

A group of 25 runners and supporters headed for the Lecrin Valley in Spain for a few lazy days to take in the sun and tapas and also to run in the half marathon at Malaga. 18 runners braved the 75 degree heat to run a very fast course which wound too and fro along the Malaga promenade and ended in a steady hill back to a stadium finish. The organisation was excellent and there was fantastic support all along the route although there were also several mishaps to the Honiton runners. Julian Gigg had a measured run and led the Honiton runners home with a steady 1.40.13 timing in 871st place of the 2114 who crossed the finish line. Julian was tracked for most of the way by Steve Davey who was running just a little way in front of his wife Judy. But things went pear shaped for Steve at around 11 miles as he started feeling the pace and the heat. Judy had just overtaken when a black fog surrounded him and the next thing he knew he was waking up in an ambulance. But after a thorough check up at the hospital and some fluids Steve was discharged after a few hours to face his fellow athletes jibes and denying any knowledge that Judy had passed him on the route. Meanwhile, Judy, oblivious to Steve’s demise carried on to the end and finished second in her age category in 994th place with 1.42.30. Super Vet John Burgess was surprised in the last few miles as Sarah Warren overtook him after steadily pacing herself around the course. John upped the ante a little and managed to outsprint Sarah to the line in a very good 1187th with 1.46.16. Sarah finished beaming in 1208th in 1.46.38 with a personal best time by over 5 minutes – the heat obviously agreed with her. Malcolm Hall was next home in 1280th place in 1.48.03. Dennis Costello and Jon Bartholomew had shot off together at the start but both found the going difficult after 10 miles. Dennis kept a good momentum and finished in 1521st with 1.52.59 while Jon saw the wheels fall off and finished in 1842 with 2.01.17. Nick Thorpe, tour organiser, ran with Rod Warren at a steady pace and both had an uneventful race, Nick upped the pace in the final couple of miles coming home 1525 in 1.53.03 and Rod in 1595 with 1.54.48. Alan Nicholls started the run very tentatively for 3 miles then stretched his legs to 8 miles where he caught up to Nick and Rod. But too few training miles started to tell and a swallow dive at 10 miles didn’t help but Alan finished smiling in 1766 in 1.58.41. Club Chairman Paul Lowman had been suffering with shingles over the last few months so started the race with a “suck it and see” attitude. But he had more reserves than he thought and managed an excellent half marathon debut with 1850th in 2.01.35. Sandra Thorpe did her usual, seemingly effortless, steady run and was pleased with 1956th in 2.07.50 but was caught on the line by fast finishing Brenda King who topped the age percentage ratings for the Honiton finishers with 1957th and 2.07.51. Vanessa Glyn Jones was happy with her 1969th in 2.08.37 with Gerry Evans just behind, 1991st in 2.10.16, and Jackie Costello 2052nd in 2.15.48. Tony Whiteley rounded up a good day in Malaga with 2085th in 2.21.39.
A few words on Todays run:

Meanwhile the Honiton runners left behind in England woke up to see a blizzard raging outside. Undeterred they headed for the county town of Somerset to partake in the Taunton Half or Full Marathon convinced this was the race for 'real runners'. In the event although there was a chill wind the brilliant sunshine kept them warm and the snow showers stayed away.
Tim Legg led the Honiton runners home coming in at 1:23. Roger Saunders was next in a good time for him of 1:32 followed closely by Guy Paddon in 1:33. Richard Harvey had a bad day only managing 1:36. Grant Boyd finished in 1:39. Steve Boyes decided 13 miles was not enough and went round a second time to complete the Full Marathon in 3:22, a good days work.

Not to be outdone two Honiton runners crossed the channel to join thousands on the streets of Paris for the annual Marathon race. Claire Pomeroy ran a superb race in her debut marathon to finish in 10512 place with a time of 3.47.12. Simon Hall was not so thrilled with his run, especially after going through halfway in 1.53. Simon finished 18605 with 4.20.05.

The weekend of racing obviously took its toll on the Honiton entry for the first race in the Yeovilton 5k series on Wednesday night as only three Honiton runners toed the start line. Gary Endicott finished 63rd in 21.20 with Judy Davey 77th in 22.13 and her daughter Jo in 91st with 23.19.

Honiton Running Club will again be promoting its “Race For Life” course beginning on Monday 12th May from 6 til 7pm at Honiton Sports Centre. The course will run for 8 weeks and will cost £5. Email: Secretary@Honitonrc.com or telephone 01823 601298 for more details.

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Despite horrible rainy weather in Honiton on Sunday morning the spirit of the Sainsbury's Sport Relief Mile runners couldn't be dampened. Well over 400 competitors gathered at Honiton Sports Centre to show that the people of Honiton and East Devon could rise to the challenge. They had lots of fun and raised lots of cash to help transform the lives of thousands of people in the UK and across the world's poorest countries.

Even before Sunday loomed large the Honiton Sport Relief team knew that it was going to be a busy day as there were 304 pre-entries for the event. But this number was swelled by a massive 176 entries on the day for the one, three and six mile distances. Each event started with a performance by the Honiton Twirlstars followed by a mass warmup led by Vladka Juroskova, one of the Honiton aerobics instructors. The runners then assembled at the start and were joined in the one mile event by Mayor Vernon Whitlock and the town
crier, both in full regalia, accompanied by several town councillors. There were an abundance of fairies and a fair assortment of other fictional characters who set off at a good pace from the start on the High Street near
Clapper Lane. A noisy crowd at the bottom of New Street cheered on the runners and it wasn't long before they had wound thier way to the finish. They were greeted by family and friends and Honiton Running Club members who distributed goody bags, water and cakes. Music was provided by Ceilidh band Slack Ma Girdle and Manor House School Taiko Drum Band, many of whom had slipped away to compete in the mile event. The three and six mile events started at 11.30 with a good mix of entrants from both the athletic and fun
run fraternities. The leaders shot of at a frenetic pace while many took a more gentle approach now that the rain had subsided. The first lap leader in the six mile run was a young Axe Valley Runner who went through in about 19 minutes to great applause but their were several hard on his heels. It was a few minutes before the first three miler burst through the finish and then a trickle turned into a torrent as the drums beat and the crowd cheered. Tired legs soon recovered and smiles, chat and banter followed and a healthy glow of a challenge overcome and the knowledge that thousands of others were finishing across the country and that millions of pounds were being raised to help those less fortunate around the world. As always in an event like
this the organisers owe thanks to many who helped on the day. Honiton Running Club Secretary Alan Nicholls was the main event organiser and was aided by a posse of helpers including Ian Jeeves who managed the route and liased with Police, John Burgess who organised the marshalling, Jenny Sleeman who masterminded goody bag distribution. Nick Thorpe sorted the entertainment while Suzanne Lyus headed up late entries and Club Chairman Paul Lowman led the start and finish teams. Jo Lowman ran the cake stall and
was endebted to all who donated cakes including Bakers the butcher, Shauls bakery, Warrens bakery, Ganesha health foods and the Crusty Cob. Thanks are also due to Honiton Lions Club, Honiton Round Table, Honiton St John and the local Police who did a splendid job controlling traffic and ensuring a safe environment for the hundreds of runners. Money raised on the day was well over £1300 in entries and donations but that will by swelled many fold when all the sponsorship money and online entry money rolls into the Sport Relief
coffers.

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Honiton Runners were out in force at the Grizzly race on Sunday being the largest team to compete with 35 competitors on the start line. There were excellent performances by the Honiton runners across the board on this most gruelling of races. Notable runs were had by Fran Bond and Ceri Oak who ran together for much of the way and finished in front of all the Honiton men except Geoff Foster who led the pack from the gun.   Steve Boyes, Bruce Strawbridge and Guy Paddon had excellent runs. Leisa Lavender, Sarah Lowman and Dennis Costello finished well in their debut's at the event.  In the cub run Claire Pomeroy led the way home while Vanessa Glyn Jones came in first in her age grouping. Tracey Davey started the Cub but unfortunately suffered a fall and broke her wrist. Honiton finishers: 125 Geoff Foster 2.59.49; 180 Fran Bond 3.06.27; 197 Ceri Oak 3.08.44; 201 Paul Davey 3.09.03; 214 Steve Boyes 3.10.46; 260 Julian Gigg 3.15.41; 292 Bruce Strawbridge 3.18.45; 295 Steve Davey 3.19.17; 318 Guy Paddon 3.20.58; 333 Judy Davey 3.22.48; 342 Roger Saunders 3.23.11; 500 Richard Harvey 3.36.15; 515 Grant Boyd 3.37.21; 570 Leisa Lavender 3.41.57; 736 Sarah Lowman 3.55.57; 742 John Burgess 3.56.12; 793 Nick Thorpe 4.01.04; 837 Denis Costello 4.04.47; 952 Warren Oak 4.13.35; 1130 Bill Garvey 4.37.08; 1133 Pete Lyus 4.37.10.  Cub Run: 34 Claire Pomeroy 1.33.27; 59 Pippa Westall 1.42.10; 82 Brent Dicks 1.49.31; 88 Anne Ephraums 1.50.23; 90 Louise Saunders 1.50.46; 116 Vanessa Glyn Jones 1.57.31; 148 Jackie Costello 2.05.38; 152 Mickie Dicks 2.06.15; 160 Pat Croucher 2.07.03; 185 Tracey Dingle 2.13.58; 186 Wendy Graham 2.14.03.

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Honiton runners are at the start of a string of race weekends that saw ten of the best take the trip to the Bideford half-marathon on Sunday. On a breezy but sunny day Kevin Hawker saw the chance to test out his legs after several months hard training for the London Marathon. And the training must have been going well as Kevin came home in 11th place with a club record time of 1.16.50 which was a very pleasing run and sees him in the form to run well under 3 hours in London. Next home was Paul Davey in 95th place just beating the 90 minute mark with 1.29.55. Other Honiton runners were: 152 Richard Harvey 1.33.21; 162 Roger Saunders 1.34.25; 170 Guy Paddon 1.35.00; 183 Bruce Strawbridge 1.35.41; 184 Steve Davey 1.35.32; 247 Judy Davey 1.39.56; 541 Alan Rowe 1.55.07; 757 Tracey Strawbridge 2.13.54;

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Honiton Running Club held its Annual General Meeting and prize presentations at the Holt on last Wednesday evening. The Club President Alan Rowe and 41 members were present along with Judy Burgess who was signing for two deaf club members.

Club Chairman Paul Lowman started by saying that the club had broken the 100 barrier for members – with 104 at the last count. The 100^th member, Louise Saunders, was welcomed only last week and was presented with a bottle of Champagne by Honiton Treasurer Roger Saunders.

Paul said that club members took part in over 50 different race events last year and that numbers in each race were also rising. The 7^th Honiton 12K Race went off very well and a  record number entered the fun run and many fully involved themselves with the Fancy Dress idea. The Honiton 750 Run in July was also a great success. He thanked John Burgess and Ian Jeeves for all their hard work in organising the event.

Paul stated that the number of coaches has risen dramatically since 2007 and the Club now has 15 at various levels. The starting up of the ‘Junior Section’ in recent months has been a big bonus and he thanked John Burgess and everyone involved in getting this off the ground. There is clear enthusiasm shown within Honiton as junior membership is now up to 27. With a limit of 30, it is likely that a waiting list will be needed soon.

Paul stated that charities continue to be an important feature for the Club. The Sport Relief event is due to be held in Honiton on Sunday 16^th March  and much money was raised last year by the club’s London Marathon runners with Bruce and Tracey Strawbridge – our chosen representatives – running for Hospiscare in this year’s race.

On Social matters, Paul thanked Nick Thorpe for organising a number of events over the year, but especially the successful Christmas Party. He understood that with increasing membership larger premises will be necessary for the 2008 event. Paul also thanked Sandra Thorpe with Pat and Kevin Croucher for putting on the breakfast runs. These have been appreciated by all participants.

Paul thanked the Committee very much for all of their hard work over the year, but with new events coming up he knows that there will plenty of demands in 2008.

Club Secretary Alan Nicholls talked of the new athletics administration, England Athletics, and the amount of correspondence that had been received over the year concerning the changing hierarchy. 2007 had seen the busiest year yet with the increase in the number of coaches, the setting up of a Junior Section, more races being entered, more time being spent on integrating everyone and the re-introduction of the Handicap Run. Training and running schedules continue to be organised by Alan Nicholls (Mondays) and John Burgess (Wednesdays), but it was hoped that other coaches will soon obtain experience by taking some of these sessions.

Club Treasurer Roger Saunders stated that the finances of the Club continued to be in good shape even though there had been considerable outlay on coaches training and race costs.. The Committee were re-elected and  will be Chairman:  Paul Lowman; Honorary Secretary: Alan Nicholls; Honorary Treasurer:Roger Saunders;  Club Captain:  Richard Harvey General Committee: John Burgess, Ian Hatch, Ian Jeeves, Jo Lowman, Helen Mugford, Jennie Sleeman, Nick Thorpe and Sandra Thorpe.                                        

Club awards were presented and John Burgess, Richard Harvey, Helen Mugford, Paul Lowman and Alan Nicholls all gave accounts of the deeds and worthiness of many members considered in each category. It was clear from the number of names mentioned, together with two trophies being shared, how much effort many members had put in over the year.

The awards this year went to the following members: Club Member of the Year Award (joint):         John Burgess and Tracey Strawbridge; Captain’s Trophy: Male: Steve Davey, Female: Fran Bond; Chairman’s Trophy (‘Good Egg’ Award): Ian Jeeves; Most Improved Runner Trophy: Bruce Strawbridge; Point’s Trophy (joint): Geoff Foster, Bruce Strawbridge, Tony Whiteley; Handicap Trophy: Fran Bond. In addition, the Chairman was pleased to give Devon County Athletics Association awards to 3 members for outstanding performances in the county over the year. These were: Stephen Boyes, Tim Legg and Heather Foundling-Hawker.

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Sunday saw the annual running of the Dalwood Three Hills Challenge races for seniors and juniors. As the name suggests the course covers three hills - Dalwood, Daneshill and Horner. This ten mile run is popular with over 146 runners of all levels making the start line this year., Alongside the Three Hills Challenge is a Children's Fun Run, which is over a course of 1.5 miles.
Honiton runners were out in force with twelve seniors but there was also a significant milestone in Honiton Running Club history when three members of the recently formed junior section put on their racing shoes to join their senior club mates. And the juniors showed that they will be grabbing their share of the headlines in future by posting impressive results. Young Jake Harvey made light work of the terrain and sped around the course finishing first in his under 11 age group. Sam Urquart was second in the under 13's and Katie Davey waved the flag for the Honiton girls by finishing fourth in the under 13 girls event.
In the senior event Geoff Foster shrugged of the trials of last weeks Sidmouth four trigs 15 mile race to lead the Honiton runners home in 21st in 1.22.51. Next home was Fran Bond who has been improving with every race since her introduction to running last year. Fran blew away all the other Honiton opposition by steadily moving through the field, catching Richard Harvey on the second hill from home and then passing Paul Davey on the last hill to finish in 26th place overall and second lady finisher in 1.26.33. Paul finished 32nd in 1.27.54 with Richard 35th in 1.29.10. Ceri Oak seems to be on track for a good Grizzly run in two weeks time by finishing 43rd in 1.31.36 with Guy Paddon just behind in 45th in 1.31.58 and Steve Davey 46th in 1.36.29. Next through the finish for Honiton was Leisa Lavender who is coming back to fitness and racing with a pleasing placing of 63rd in 1.36.29. Recent additions to the Honiton ranks Louise Saunders and Nikki Campbell ran with Annie Ephraums to finish together in 123rd in a time of just over two hours with young Emily Matthews making a rare racing appearance in 134th with 2.07.21.

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Three Honiton Running Club  members competed in the Torrington Torment  half marathon last week. This is a very tough event with described as having 9 hills, but 4 of them are ok.  However the other 5 are horrendous with most of the major climbing in the first half of the run. Steve Boyes led the Honiton team home with a great time of 1.40.58 in 16th place. Claire Pomeroy and Simon Hall ran together for the first 7 miles at about 10 minutes per mile. However Claire then pushed on to clock a positive split in the second half and get her time under 2 hours with 1.58.11 in 45th place. Simon kept going well but slipped back a little and finished 48th in 2.00.24.

On Sunday Paul Davey, Guy Paddon, Julian Gigg and Geoff Foster took on another tough challenge at the Four Trigs race around Sidmouth. The quartet used the race as a training run but Geoff made sure that the pace was lively. Unfortunately Geoff didn't have the map so had to wait for the others several times, but it was a lovely crisp morning to take in the views so Geoff didn't mind too much. The course was drier than last year but just as tough so a finish time of about 3 hours was a good workout and all were pleased with their run and the pastie and cake which followed.

(Appended by PL)

It is not often that our athletes cross borders for their weekend runs but sound of the “Hestercombe Humdinger” was too much too resist for the intrepid club adventurers. Ignoring a very hard frost a team of runners headed to Hestercombe, Somerset, on Sunday to try their luck at this rural event and the opportunity to check out the house & gardens after. From a particularly challenging race as one would expect, the results permeated back to Honiton slowly and are still fairly sketchy. However the Ladies Team, consisting of Fran Bond, Judy Davey, Ceri Oak & Jennie Sleeman managed to destroy all opposition and romped home in first place with the added bonus that Fran was also placed second lady home. Other participating club members, on hand to celebrate the victory, were Steve Davey, Warren Oak, Vanessa Glyn-Jones, Bruce & Tracey Strawbridge.
Amongst Honiton RC’s many activities, the annual Race4Life dates have now been published and so the club will once again be holding another fully coached course this year. More details will be published soon but while the race is open only to ladies, gentlemen will be welcome to attend the course.

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Honiton ladies win at Dawlish Obelisk 10 mile.

Despite a windy and wet Sunday morning Honiton runners were out in force at Dawlish to run the annual Obelisk 10 mile multi-terrain race. The route had changed a little from previous years so the runners didn't actually run past the Portland Stone monument which was built by Thomas Balle in 1742 in order to provide a navigation aid for sailors in the Exe estuary. The race is a serious challenge with some difficult hills to negotiate along the way but the runners were rewarded with some excellent views. Vernon Gillard found the terrain to his liking after last weeks South West Cross Country champs at Bicton. Vernon started steadily and kept a good pace throughout the race to finish 34th out of 314 finishers, a great result for the Honiton Master runner. Richard Harvey kept with Vernon for the first half but couldn't quite match him on the uphills so had to watch him pull away steadily on the second half finishing 58th in 1.26.22.  Richard became aware of another Honiton runner steadily catching him in the last few miles in the shape of Fran Bond who had won the Axmouth Challenge the week before. But the finish came before Fran could overhaul Richard but she was very happy to be so close finishing one place and 5 seconds behind him. Bruce Strawbridge won one of the club places for the London Marathon in December and since then must have been putting in the training as he is making great strides through the ranks of Honiton runners. Bruce finished well in 72nd place in 1.28.39 well in front of Steve Davey, who finished 76th in 1.29.15, after last weeks close duel between the two at Axmouth. Judy Davey was next home with a solid finish in 89th in 1.31.39 not far in front of Ceri Oak in 111th in 1.33.25 who completed a jubilant winning ladies team for Honiton.  John Burgess finished 157th in 1.40.09 while  Jon Bartholomew sustained a hip injury during the race but managed to struggle home in 197th in 1.45.36. Tony Whiteley also had a testing race but finished 283rd in 2.03.52 while club stalwart Tracey Strawbridge battled around against the hills and elements to complete in 297th with a time of 2.12.06.

The new Honiton Running Club junior section started last week and was an instant hit with fifteen young athletes attending. Any interested juniors should contact John Burgess on 01404 42341 for details of the Tuesday evening sessions. There are hopes that the junior section will grow in similar fashion to the very successful senior club which will hopefully pass a memorable milestone by signing up its hundredth member of the year in the next couple of weeks.

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New Honiton Junior Running Club - (Dated 10th January 2008)

Honiton Running Club has started a Junior Section. The first meeting took place last Tuesday evening with 13 young people between the ages of 11 and 16 and with others already booked in to join. The club have been working towards this point for almost a year following a survey of the members which showed a large majority in favour of starting a Junior Section. Ten members of the club took a Level 1 coaching course in September to provide plenty of assistant coaches, but the main leaders are all level 2 coaches. Several coaches have also visited the very successful junior clubs run by Axe Valley Runners and Sidmouth Running Club. The chief coach, Richard Harvey, has been coaching young runners at Exeter Arena for the last three years.

Honiton Junior Runners is open to young people of any ability. The first aim will be for the members to have fun while at the same time developing their running talents. The club night will be Tuesday and in due course there will be opportunities for running at the weekend. There are also a growing number of local fun runs and other running events in which the members will be able to take part.

There is a national accreditation system for junior sports clubs called Clubmark which has the following aims:
Ensure the well-being of young people whilst in the care of adults, other than their legal parent(s)/carer(s).
Enthuse young people to enjoy sport and active recreation to build a healthy and active lifestyle.
Enable young people to use their leisure time creatively.
Allow young people to optimise their talents and personal ability.
Identify and support the development of the most talented young people.

The Junior Section will be following the procedures required to become a Clubmark accredited club.
One problem that the club faces in Honiton is finding a suitable safe place to train. The club’s first meeting took place at Cameron-Fuller’s car park on the Heathpark industrial estate by kind permission of the owners. The area is safe and secure but lacks cover. There are possibilities of using the playground and a classroom of a local school but security issues and booking arrangements means that this is not straightforward. Neither do we have the large car parks that are available in the seaside towns of Seaton and Sidmouth. Honiton does not even have a large all weather playing surface, as the Hockey Club know to their cost, let alone a running track. Local people have been trying to improve the sports facilities in the town for years and the junior running club is another reason for doing so. In the meantime we must do the best we can with what we have.

Anyone wishing to join the club should visit the Honiton Running Club website www.honitonrc.com , go to the Juniors Section page where the Welcome Pack can be accessed. The website also gives the meeting place and time. Enquires can be made to the administrator, John Burgess, via email or phone 01404 42341.

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Honiton runners have been busy over the Christmas and New Year period at several races. The club coaches have also been making preparations for the long-awaited opening of the Honiton junior section which will  be operating every Tuesday evening from this week.

The Sunday before Christmas is the traditional day for the Wellington Monument Race. Starting in Hemyock, the six mile race takes the road out of the village up to the Wellington Monument and back again.  Having battled upwards with aching lungs and tired legs for over 500ft the 200 runners have the compensation of the descent when gravity is on their side. It was a cold, clear day and 11 Honiton Running Club hopefuls turned up to pit themselves against the famous climb. The race was won in 35.17 by Peter Monaghan of Torbay AC.  Star Honiton performers were Kevin Hawker, a past winner, who came in fourth in a time of 36.36 and Fran Bond who was 5th lady in a time of 44:38. Julian Gigg was the second Honiton Runner in 43:15 and together with Kevin, Steve Davey (56^th in 45:56) and Bruce Strawbridge (68^th in 46:51) helped Honiton to 3^rd place in the team competition. It was good to see Grant Boyd (75^th in 47:22) out for the club again and he was followed by Judy Davey (88^th:49:15) who was almost caught on the line by veteran John Burgess. New member Greg Axsell had a good first outing for the club (109^th 51:13) and the final club placings were Nikki Gigg (147^th 54:22) and Tracey Strawbridge (191^st 65:26)

The last Sunday of the year was cool and windless, ideal conditions for The Exeter Last Chance 10K, and resulted in a clutch of personal best times for Honiton Runners. This is a popular race along the canal towpath from Haven Banks and attracted a capacity entry of over 500 runners, including fifteen from Honiton. The race was won by duathlete Kairn Stone in the excellent time of 31:40 just two seconds ahead of Tavistock's Peter Freedman. The Honiton pack was led home by Paul Davey (56^th) in a time of 40:20, half a minute faster than last year, followed by Julian Gigg (61^st) in one of his best performances at 40:41. Julian will be pleased to have run Paul so close after doing few races this year. Then came a battle between the next four Honiton runners; Guy Paddon (86^th) managed to hold off Fran Bond (89^th) by 12 seconds in 42:03 but Fran was pleased to improve on her personal best 10K time by nearly 3 minutes and was 4th in her category. Steve Davey (91^st in 42:29 also a PB) had a tussle with Fran before she got ahead and he in turn was pursued closely by Stephen Boyes (99^th 42:48). Perhaps the performance of the day was Bruce Strawbridge who ran 58:04 last year but knocked an astonishing 13:30 off that time and came in 130th. Judy Davey was chasing Bruce but just lost touch in the last mile. Nevertheless she was very pleased to achieve a PB time of 45:10 and finished in 141^st place and was 4^th in her category. John Burgess (166^th 46:24) had a battle with Simon Hall (181^st 47:10) and Claire Pomeroy (187^th 47:17) but managed to get ahead at the 5K mark and stay there. John was also 2^nd in the 60+ male category. Gary Enticott running his second race for the club also improved on his previous 10K time (233^rd 49:48) but there was no PB for Tony Whitley (373^rd 56:49) who was suffering from a back strain and still feeling the after-effects of Christmas. Two more PB’s rounded off a good day for Honiton with Tracey Strawbridge (453^rd 01:01:31), an improvement of over three minutes and Mickie Dicks (455^th 01:01:40) who was an excellent nine minutes faster than her best 2006 10K time.

Last Sunday saw the club enter runners in the prestigious South West Cross Country Champs for the first time in their history. County and club teams from all across the South West met at Bicton Park, Exeter, to race around a challenging cross country course. There were races for runners of all age groups so next year might see some Honiton juniors toeing the start line. The senior mens race was run over 7590 metres and entailed running two short and two long laps around the park. The underfoot conditions were very good so some fast times and great racing was seen. As expected the elite county runners took off at a suicidal rate but amazingly managed to maintain the pace throughout with a sprint finish for the line for first and second, Bristol & West clubmates, Robbie Bugden for Cornwall and Kevin Heywood for Devon who were seperated by just a metre at the tape in 21.44. The Honiton lads finished a little behind the leaders but all enjoyed the race. Tim Legg and Geoff Foster were to the fore for Honiton from the start with Tim pulling slowly away from Geoff after a mile or so. Tim kept up a strong pace and finished in a time of 26.39 with Geoff on 28.01.  Vernon Gillard has been running well on the roads for some time now but didn't find the country quite as easy for his natural style. Vernon was looking over his shoulder most of the way at Roger Saunders who was having and excellent run but who couldn't quite get on  terms with the hundred metre gap. Vernon finished in 30.15 with Roger just 39 seconds back. Steve Boyes held on to Roger and Vernon for the first three laps but slipped back slightly on the last lap to finish in 31.31. The men have now finished teams in the Devon and South West Champs so may now take a crack at the National Cross Country Champs in March.

Fran Bond is getting better with every race and had been asked to run for Devon at Bicton but instead ran in the Axmouth Challenge. Fran finished first lady and 8th overall in 72.04 in a small field of 41 runners mostly comprised of AVR runners. Steve Davey and Bruce Strawbridge finished 14th and 15th respectively in 74.07 while Judy Davey was just behind in 20th with 75.50. Claire Pomeroy finished off Honiton's interest with 29th place in 85.46

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