Go to Top

Go to Top

Go to Top

Go to Top

Go to Top

Go to Top

Sundays first running of the Honi-ten road race and 3k fun run went off smoothly and was a great credit to the organising team led by race manager Ian Jeeves. The autumn sun shone on the athletes as they made their way around the undulating course in ideal conditions which took in Gittisham, Fenny Bridges and Buckerall before returning to Honiton via Weston.  Turnout of 102 runners was a little disappointing in the main race which clashed with the Exmoor Stagger and the Dartmoor Vale half marathon and marathon events. This may have affected the quality at the sharp end of the field as the winner, Martin Colwill of Bideford AAS, was probably surprised that his finish time, that just failed to duck under the hour by two seconds, was good enough to lead through the tape. It was a close finish as Owen Evans was just 6 seconds behind at the finish in 60.07 with Chris Miller  a further minute behind in third with 61.14. Shona McIntosh who, judging by her club name, Hunters Bog Trotters, sounds like she is more used to mud than tarmac, may also have been surprised with her win in 65.16 and eighth place overall. Second lady was Jessica Watkins of local club Sidmouth RC in a time of 71.02 while Rosemary Cullimore or Yeovil Town RRC was third in 73.37.  Honiton runners were thin on the ground as they were manning marshall points, water stations and officiating at the start and finish but several did put on their racing shoes to test out the new course. Milan Gok ran a good race and was near the front all the way round and finished in sixth place with 63.06. Gregory Morris only joined Honiton this week but showed that he can run a bit as he came home 20th with 73.52  while young Tom Dunn tried a longer race for the first time and finished in 29th with 75.48. Pippa Westall finished well in 51st place with 80.25 and was escorted around the course by New York Marathon bound Richard Harris who used the race as a final warmup before crossing the Pond.  Club Secretary Alan Nicholls had a race of two halves as he found his training limit at 5 miles but was pleased with a finish time of 81.29 in 55th place. Nick Thorpe caught Alan at 8 miles but couldn't quite snap the string and came in alongside him with the same time. Laura Pyle had a good run and finished in 67th with a time of 86.47  while Nick Bradley- Carter tried the longer distance for the first time and finished just two places and two seconds behind Laura.  Olivia Higginson is another newcomer to the club having been one of this years crop of "Race for Life" trainees. She has graduated well and finished the race in 95th with a time of 96.31 just in front of Bill Garvey who finished gamely in 98th with 1.40.38. 

IMPRESSIVE TURNOUT FOR HONITON FUN RUN

The HoniTEN Fun Run attracted a good field of 60 junior runners for this year’s event. The course was a full 3K, starting with a charge along the High St, followed by a hilly loop through Littletown and finishing with a final sprint along New St. There was a great race for first spot between Cameron Souter-Frost of Exeter Harriers and Reuben Heeleer-Frood of Honiton Running Club. Cameron got the best of it in a time of 11:58, but it was another impressive performance from Reuben who is running very well this autumn. Next in was the first girl, Annabel Arnold a talented young runner from Yeovil Olympiads, in a time of 12:43. Despite the twisting, hilly nature of the course there were some very good performances by the Honiton club members, with some running even quicker than on their recent visit to the Exeter track, most notably Kieran Anderson who knocked almost a minute of his 3K time. The run was well supported by Honiton Town Youth Football club who took 4 of the first 8 places and by the Fitkidz club from Exeter.

Local primary schools had been invited to send teams and Offwell primary were the first winners of the Alan Rowe Cup, which was kindly donated by the Honiton Running Club President. The team prize for the U11/U16 runners was won by Honiton Running Club who took their share of the category prizes as follows: Ella Harvey 3rd U11G; Reuben Heeler-Frood 1st U13B; Keiran Anderson 2nd U13B; Katie Davey 1st U13B;

Jodie Williams 2nd U13G; Dale Kingston 2nd U16B.

Go to Top

The New Forest basked in glorious sunshine last weekend and over 2000 runners and their supporters converged on the town of New Milton for the annual marathon and half-marathon races. 14 members of Honiton Running Club joined the throng, including three ladies hoping to retain the Marathon Ladies Team Prize. First away was the half-marathon but very soon disaster struck for Jackie Costello who had to pull out with a calf strain. The route heads steadily uphill for 2 miles before hitting the open moorland and the full force of the sun. The water stops were very welcome with half going down the throat and the other half over the head. Marion Broom ran an excellent race leading the Honiton Runners home in a new PB time of 1:45:11 and was 9^th out of 136 runners in her category. Next in was club captain Nick Thorpe in 1:48:07 which was faster than his Bristol time of three weeks ago and is at last close to his best after over a year of battling injury. Laura Pyle ran her first half-marathon on this course last year and returned hoping to get in under 2 hours. She did this magnificently in a time of 1:56:38, over 17 minutes quicker than last year. Jackie’s husband Dennis had a sore calf and started steadily but picked up the pace, finishing in 1:52:59. Next in was Nick’s wife Sandra on 2:06:52, who also beat her Bristol time. Tracey Strawbridge can also be very pleased to get very close to her PB on such a hilly course with a time of 2:16:16. The race was won in 1:15:50 by Steve Jeffery of Basingstoke and first female was Valerie Sesto of new Forest Runners in 1:26:10. There were 1874 finishers.

Honiton Results:

Marion Broom, 01:45:11. 371^st: Nick Thorpe, 01:48:07, 480^th: Laura Pyle, 01:56:38, 853rd Denis Costello, 01:57:02, 879^th: Sandra Thorpe, 02:06:52, 1244^th: Tracey Strawbridge, 02:16:16, 1499^th

The full marathon course adds a very scenic loop to the half-marathon route, taking in the village of Burley and 3 miles of footpath and forest trails. Brian Charters was running his first marathon and unknown to him a sweepstake was held on his time. Would he get under 3 hours was the question? He came very close, finishing 13^th in 3:04:55 and the winning prediction was by Marion’s husband Trevor with 3:06:20. Heather Foundling-Hawker was running only a week after being part of the victorious British women’s 100K team but still managed to be 2^nd lady in a time of 3:12:34 and first in her category. A marathon is 42K so what brings most runners to their knees is just a training run for Heather. Another great performance came from Honiton garage owner, Richard Harris who was aiming to break 3:30 and beat his London marathon PB. His time of 3:23:57 was an amazing improvement and was good enough to gain 2^nd place in his category. Fran Bond ran her first marathon here last year and was over 13 minutes quicker and 3^rd in her category. Next in was Bruce Strawbridge, running his second marathon and recording a very good time of 3:32:27. Judy Davey has been working hard on her preparation for this her third marathon and came in a minute quicker than last year in 3:40:51. John Burgess was pleased to be able to run most of the race after severe cramp last year and was happy with his time of 4:10:30. Vernon Gillard who normally runs about 3:30 was hit with a hip injury at 15 miles and had to walk and jog in, finishing in 4:16:46.

Congratulations to Judy, Fran and Heather, who easily retained the ladies team prize. All three of them placed higher than the first runner in the next team. They have to go for a hat-trick next year. The race was won by Jo Corbett in 2:46:44 and first lady was Jennie Moore of Wells in 2:57:18. There were 514 finishers.

Honiton Results:

Brian Charters, 03:04:55, 13^th : Heather Foundling-Hawker,, 03:12:34, 21^st : Richard Harris,, 03:23:57, 43^rd Frances Bond,, 03:25:32, 50^th : Bruce Strawbridge,, 03:32:37, 71^st : Judy Davey,, 03:40:51, 108^th John Burgess,, 04:11:08, 282^nd :Vernon Gillard,, 04:16:46, 312^th club’s “Tough Runner” award took part in her first race and can be very pleased with another tough performance.

Go to Top

Honiton runners have been busy competing over the last couple of weeks in several races.

The Woodland Relays are contested between several local clubs and were hosted by the Met Office at Woodbury Common.  Historically Honiton have finished third in this event but this time they led the field from the off and won  with a handsome margin. Brian Charters was first off for Honiton and was soon to the fore, finishing in 10.58 in the second fastest time of the evening and one of only two under 11 minutes. Paul Davey took over for the second leg and ran a solid 11.52 with Tim Legg next in 11.28 and Richard Harris to finish victorious in 12.10. A Junior Ladies team of Katie Davey, 16.13, Rosie Lyus, 20.19, Harrie Maris, 17.51 and Robyn Moyse, 17.49, ran an enthusiastic race to finish in 1.12.12.  Honiton B team of Tom Dunn, 12.33, Bruce Strawbridge, 12.21, Greg Axel, 13.12, and Gary Enticott 13.40 finished in 51.46. Only two ladies appeared for the event so Judy Davey, 14.00, and Fran Bond, 12.34, teamed up with Pete Lyus, 16.14, and Alan Nicholls, 15.13, to  finish in 58.01.

Last Wednesday was the final 5k event at Yeovilton with some good times recorded by the Honiton runners. Tim Legg stormed around the course to sixth place with a seasons best time of 17.03. Richard Harris may have at last settled to a consistent time with 20.02 after such strong improvements over the year.  Thomas Dunn was pleased to push his time to 20.35, and back down towards his early season level, but he was pushed all the way to the line by Ceri Oak who ran a seasons best of 20.36 to equal her personal best for the course.  Brent Dicks has improved in every race this season and was once again in new territory as he hung onto Ceri and Thomas to record a sub 21 minute finish time in 20.41 to end an excellent series which began in April with 24.11.  Alan Nicholls is getting a bit faster at 21.49  with a 90 second improvement on his last run as he gave Judy Davey a fright at 4k when he overtook her briefly. Judy fought back to finish  in 21.44.  Simon Hall ran another mid 22 with 22.25 while Nick Thorpe was a little tired after his weekend jaunt around the Bristol Half Marathon but still managed a solid 22.29. Claire Pomeroy is a consistent 23 performer, this time with 23.50 while Rod Warren ran 24.16.

On Sunday, Ash Primary School together with Yeovil Town Running Club offered a choice of 4 races of varying lengths. Firstly, there was their ‘Excellent 8’ which consisted of 8 multi-terrain miles. Runners could also have opted for the ‘Fearsome 5’, the 3k race or the fun run. Three Honiton runners chose the longest route which was unusually clear of mud this year, although (again unusually) summer had finally come and runners had to contend with hot temperatures. Bruce Strawbridge was still able to post an excellent time of 59:12 and 20^th place. Judy Davey was next home in 1:06;07 and 53^rd place which was very similar to last year. Tracey found the going tough but managed 1:31:02 and 138^th place. There were 148 runners in this race. Katie Davey completed the 3k junior race producing an improved time from last year of 18:07 and 22^nd place. 

The Musbury Castle Challenge celebrated its 10^th anniversary on Sunday with glorious weather. To mark the occasion the race was extended to 10 miles and an extra 500ft of climb was thrown in for good measure. The route twisted and turned so much that it appeared to have been designed by a drunkard. The runners left the village on a steady climb round the side of The Castle hill but soon found themselves staggering up its steep side. 320 feet of climb later and a gradient of 20% in places was enough hill for any runner but there was much more and worse to come. By the time the exhausted runners had staggered over the finish line they had tackled six climbs with a total ascent of over 2100ft. The gradients were so steep that many stopped for a rest part way up. Richard Harvey of Honiton Running Club was pleased to be back racing after recovering from and operation a few weeks ago. He set off too quickly but the first hill soon slowed him down. Both he and Judy Davey were wrongly directed at about 7 miles and when they got back on the route found themselves at the front of the race, having missed out a mile of the course. They re-joined further down the field and Judy was third lady home and also won a category prize. John Burgess tried to take things easy but there was no easy way up the hills and Marie Wadey reckoned it was the hardest race she had ever done. Vanessa Glynn-Jones showed that age is no barrier to even the fiercest of courses by wining the ladies over 60 prize. The race was won by Addam Stobbs of Exeter Harriers in a excellent time of 1:17:02 and first lady was Eleanor Wood of Axe Valley Runners who finished 12^th in 1:34:43

Richard Harvey, 13^th, 01:35:29: Judy Davey 28^th 01:44:30: John Burgess 38^th 01:50:15:

Maria Wadey 45^th 01:52:58: Simon Hall  48^th 01:55:14: Pete Lyus 70^th 02:18:41:

Vanessa Glyn Jones, 75^th 02:32:31

Go to Top

A big turnout of supporters encouraged the Honiton runners who made the dash up the M4 to the Bristol Half Marathon on Sunday to make it a great running occasion. The weather was kind  and a fairly flat course saw some good runs from the Honiton team. Richard Harris proved once again that his training  is on course with a time of 1.31.07 in 557th so he is still on target for a sub 3.30 for the New Forest Marathon. Roger Saunders suffered a little from 9 miles so he was disappointed with his time of 1.38.05 while John Caswell pushed him all the way to the line with 1.38.21. Nick Thorpe has been steadily getting fitter and his time of 1.50.39 reflects that as he finished just in front of Gary Enticott who was timed at 1.51.35.  John Burgess struggled from the first mile with a calf pain which niggled all the way around the course and leaves him doubtful for the New Forest Marathon later in the month. John finished in 1.53.48.  Brent Dicks has been improving his short game by knocking chunks out of his 5k times all year but had a tough time of it over the 13 mile distance and finished in 1.58.39. Tony Whiteley has been getting back into the distances lately and just failed to get under 2 hours with 2.04.25 while Sandra Thorpe was pleased that there were no mountains this week and finished in 2.07.38. Alison Caswell ran a respectable 2.11.20 while Claire Nuttall finished off the proceedings with a gritty 2.39.34. 

Last Monday Judy Davey  and John Burgess did the The Quarryman Trail from Bampton - a 10K off-road.  Judy did 54:23 and was 3rd Lady (won a cup) and John did 54:45 and was 1st V60 and won a bottle of wine. 

Honiton Running Club promotes its annual road race and Fun Run on Sunday 18^th October. This year, however, in order to mark the 10^th anniversary of the Club, the distance of the main race  has lengthened to 10 miles with an undulating figure-of-eight course through town and country. In addition, the Fun Run is also longer being just over 3 kilometres. The main race starts in the High St. then goes through Heathpark to Gittisham and onto Fenny Bridges via the old A30 at Iron Bridge. The runners will then turn right to Buckerell and Weston and then into town by the Tesco stores and finishing in New Street. The Fun Run starts at about 10.35 am in the High Street near to Clapper Lane.

Entry for affiliated athletics club runners is £6 and for non- club runners £8 with an extra £1 for entries on the day by 9.45 am. Send to The Race Secretary, 11 Moor Park, Honiton, EX14 2PF. The Fun Run entry costs £3.

There are prizes for the first three men and ladies as well as those for the first men’s and ladies’ teams comprising 3 members. There will also be medals to all finishers and spot prizes. The main sponsor for this year’s race is Warrenpark car sales.

Go to Top

Honiton runners had the choice of two races last Wednesday evening. There was a fast flat 5k at Yeovilton and a hard hilly 10k at Dalwood. Both races have their merits and it was down to personal preference which athletes ran at which event.
Dalwood lies in a valley and the only way out seems to be up long hills but despite this the race was an enjoyable mix of road and country and as it was a circular route there must have been as much down as up - but it never feels like it. The runners set off at a steady trot up the first mile long hill and were soon strung out along the road. Honiton star runner Kevin Hawker hung back for a while and watched the leaders push up the first hill before making a move which was to prove decisive. Kevin steadily moved past the early contenders and ran away from the front and extended his lead throughout the race to finish in a pleasing 40.34. Richard Harris seems to improve every race and also seems to enjoy the hills. His seventh place finish in 48.22 led home the rest of the Honiton runners who crossed the line to applause every minute or so. Bruce Strawbridge finished well in 9th with 49.04 and Vernon Gillard was just behind, 11th in 50.05. Judy Davey was next home in 17th with 53.25 well clear of John Burgess in 29th place who shared the same time as Nick Thorpe in 30th of 56.12. David Gage was just one place and 3 seconds down on this pair. Alan Nicholls enjoyed the run but just missed the hour in 42nd place with 61.51 while Pete Lyus ran well in 46th with 64.04. Gerry Evans also finished in a respectable 66.11 but the best finishing sprint of the race was reserved by Tracey Strawbridge who had obviously been inspired by Usain Bolt as she blasted the last hundred metres to the tape. A thoroughly enjoyable race was had by all which ended at the pub with a curry supper.

Meanwhile at Yeovilton the speed merchants were testing their anaerobic fitness with a lung-bursting flat 5k burn-up. James Denne pushed himself to 4th place with a 20 second improvement on his July run in 16.05. Brian Charters improved his best performance to 17.29 in 15th while Milan Goc is also pushing the envelope with a 10 second improvement to 17.46 in 20th. While husband Kevin was winning at Dalwood his wife Heather made the Yeovilton trip and posted an excellent time of 18.07 for 29th which is a good turn of speed for someone who will be doing the Commomwealth 100km champs at Keswick in a few weeks time. The next two home must have had a good battle as they were only 2 seconds apart. Gary Enticott finished 68th in 20.48 while young Tom Dun was next home in 20.50. Brent Dicks has run all five races at Yeovilton this year and has improved at each one. This time he chipped another 41 seconds from his time and finished 71st in 21.01 so the pressure is on next month for him to finish the season in style with a sub 21 minute performance. Marion Broom was the final Honiton runner across the line in 89th place. Marion is a very consistent runner and posted her fifth consecutive 22 minute time with 22.41 this outing. Maybe she will hang on to Brent next time and they will both get a sub 21.

Go to Top

Summer came to Sidmouth on Sunday for the Sidmouth Festival 10k. A unique run that starts above Jacob’s Ladder with a nearly 1km climb up Peak Hill then an undulating run with the fast last km back down the hill to finish.
Nine Honiton Runners ventured forth in the heat to take part. Milan Goc lead the pack home in 10th place in a time of 43.56 with Tim Legg (44.50) not far behind and a little disappointed not to have beaten him. Next home, and very pleased with his position of 27th, Bruce Strawbridge in a time of 48.54. Alan Rowe was our last male home in 1.05.43. Nick Bradley Carter very sensibly withdrew after pulling a muscle during the uphill section. Hope you get better soon Nick. First lady home for Honiton was Marion Broom, also very pleased with her position of 88th in a time of 58.53. Next came Laura Pyle, cheered on by her parents, to come in at 1.01.59. Then came Tracey Strawbridge 1.13.12, who like the other Honiton ladies, felt she struggled with the first half but picked up and ran stronger in the second, overtaking several runners. Next, Olivia Higginson, one of our newest members, who impressed fellow runners by finishing in 1.16.09 after clubbing until 4am that morning (oh to be young!)
The runners were cheered on by Steve and Judy Davey, who had rushed home, driving all night, from their holiday in France to give encouragement. (Though Judy did say if she’d known the race started at 11am, she would have run it! Marion was pleased she didn’t!)

Go to Top

30 Honiton Running Club members on Saturday. The six groups set off at 9.30 for a social run over the routes of between 6 and 8 miles devised by organiser Ian Jeeves. The sun smiled on the occasion and the runners converged on Honiton centre at around 11.00 to the welcome of cold drinks and cake as a reward for their efforts.

Pic1 Pic2 Pic3

After running the 8 mile route from Shute to Honiton on Saturday John Burgess had an exhausting run on Sunday in the Exmoor Seaview 17 race from Countisbury to Minehead. The 17 is supposed to be the number of miles but everyone knows it is actually 20. Except this year the old route to the finish could not be followed so they tacked on YET ANOTHER MILE! Despite that, John's time of 3:50 was a slightly faster pace than last year. Heather Foundling Hawker decided she needed to do a longish run ahead of her 100K Commonwealth race around Lake Thirlmere in August. She said she set off at an easy pace and only picked up the speed once she had done the ferocious climb up Bossington Hill (14 miles). She finished in 3:02!!

Last Friday evening James Denne travelled down to Chudleigh to compete in the Chudleigh Carnival 6 Mile Road Race. The race involved a series of long climbs and downhill sections. With a few fast local runners in the field James decided to start off slowly and work his way through the field. It was an uphill start with James settled in 6th place after the first mile. He gradually reeled back the lead runners and used his hill strength to settle into 5th place with a mile and a half to go. With two steep downhill sections to go to the finish James was pleased that his downhill technique allowed him to storm past the two runners and started to chase after the 2nd place athlete. However the change of pace soon took its toll and James couldn't quite catch the other 2 runners and finished in 3rd place in a time of 31.15.

Go to Top

The Blackdown Beauty, organised by Honiton Running Club, run over 18 miles of  footpaths, was enjoyed by 46 country enthusiasts from across Devon and Somerset last Saturday. This was a totally different type of event from those normally hosted by running clubs. There was no entry fee but the runners paid £1.50 for a superb illustrated booklet, with maps of the course and sketches that Wainwright would have been proud of, which was produced by John Burgess. Then there was £2.50 for a cream tea at Stapley with the £90 profits going to the Macmillan Nurses charity. There was also the matter of five pubs on route and a fish and chip supper at the end which helped to keep the energy levels up.  The race had been marked sparingly with small white pins to aid navigation by course designer and organiser Alan Nicholls and, on the whole, the runners managed to find their way around without too many mishaps. An excellent event which will hopefully grow in popularity and one to mark down for next year.

Go to Top

Charmouth Challenge
Honiton runners ran the 8 mile Charmouth Challenge organised in aid of Charmouth School last Saturday. Brian Charters led the Honiton group home in a time of 58:50 and 15th place. He was followed by Richard Harris who, having just played midwife to an alpaca, arrived just in time for the race. He obviously needed to get back in a hurry too as he knocked 6 minutes off last year’s time with 1:04:22 and 36th place. Bruce Strawbridge was next home 61st in 68.23 with Steve Davey 65th in 68.48. Steve’s wife Judy came in next, 99th in 73.06 having overtaken a suffering Guy Paddon who didn’t enjoy the race at all but finishing 107th in 73.42. Simon Hall was next home 154th in 79.52 while Tracey Strawbridge managed to knock 4 minutes off last year finishing in 225th in 94.33 which should keep her on top of the points trophy.
Some of the juniors took part in the 2 ½ mile fun run. Patrick Moyse came in 28th place in 22:05, Jake Harvey came 34th in 22:43 and Katie Davey came 62nd in 25:07. Their positions were all very creditable as there were 225 finishers in this race.

Feniton Frolic
Last year's Feniton Fun Day was a washout due to bad weather so Nikki Campbel and paul davey decided to organize a race for the event. The 10k multi terrain race was started by olympic athlete and local girl Jo Pavey who, being five months pregnant, isn't racing at the moment. The start was outside the football club and with Jo counting down she sounded the air horn and the runners were off. This is the first time that Honiton has managed to get their top four runners to a race together and it was very pleasing to see them at the head of the field. James Denne set the pace from the start and by the first mile he already had a comfortable lead. Next came Kevin Hawker closely followed by Tim Legg with Brian Charters up with them too. The runners headed to Buckerall then sharp left to Curscombe and on to the muddy part which was very sticky in places. After that they reappeared in Cheriton where they did a loop and headed back to Feniton through the lanes and into the fields to the finish. James came in at 38.42 followed by Kevin 39.30 and Tim placed third in 41.20. The ladies race was a lot tighter and was eventually won by South West Road Runner Karen Cook in 47.46 who seems to get faster with age. Next home was Honiton's Ceri Oak who is running well at the moment and was pipped to the post by under 30 seconds to finish in 48.09. Third lady was again from Honiton, Sarah Wheeler, she too had a great run and finished in 49.30. Further down the field was the battle between Steve Davey, Bruce Strawbridge and Guy Paddon who ended in that order. Honiton Finishers: James Denne 38.42; Kevin Hawker 39.30; Tim Legg 41.20; Brian Charters 42.57; Steve Davey 46.40; ,Julian Gigg 47.52; Ceri Oak 48.09; Bruce Strawbridge 48.31; Vernon Gillard 49.03; Sarah Wheeler 49.30; Guy Paddon 50.01; Gary Enticott; Judy Davey 51.10; John burgess 53.01; Malcolm Hall 53.21; Laura Pyle 54.56; Nick Thorpe 55.24; Claire Pomeroy 56.25; Jennie Sleeman 56.39; Simon Hall 58.04; Sandra Thorpe 1.01.28; Joanne Davey 1.01. 47; Louise Saunders 1.02.14; Klara Bodfish 1.03.06; Anne Ephraums 1.04.46; Olivia Higginson 1.07.47; Tony Whitely 1.08.21 and Tracey Strawbridge 1.09.04. Nikki and Paul would like to thank all the runners who entered for their support and Honiton Running Club's Paul Lowman, Ian Jeeves and John Burgess for the help they gave.

Yeovilton 5k.
Last Wednesday was the usual trip to Yeovilton for Honiton runners for the latest round of the 5k series. Some good performances all through the field for the Honiton squad led by James Denne who sped round in 16.25 to take third place. Tim Legg was not quite at his best but was still pleased with 11th in 17.26 followed by Milan Gok , 20th in 18.05. There were only 3 Honiton ladies out this time of the 16 runners who made the trip. Ceri Oak was 74th with 20.58 with Judy Davey 92nd in 22.09 and Nikki Gigg 108th in 23.25. Two personal best times were set on the night. Richard Harris is still trimming his times every race. This time it was by 25 seconds to go under 20 minutes for the first time to 19.38 for 53rd place. Brent Dicks has also been improving every race this year and was rewarded with a 37 second improvement in 21.42 in 85th. Other Honiton finishers: 41. Paul Davey 19.10; 50 Steve Davey 19.32; 55 Gary Enticott 19.45; 80 Thomas Dunn 21.28; 81 John Burgess 21.35; 107 Alan Nicholls 23.17; 112 Nick Bradley Carter 23.44; 114 Rod Warren 24.13.  

Go to Top

The prospect of glorious views over Exmoor enticed four Honiton runners, along with about 140 other like-minded souls, to take part in the first running of the Yeo Mill Yomp, a 10 ½ mile multi-terrain race, organised by Tiverton Harriers. The runners were not disappointed and the views made up for the tough course that begins with three miles of hill. The race includes a river crossing and starts at West Anstey with money raised going towards the village hall. Steve Davey was first home for Honiton coming 16th in a time of 1.24.38 followed far too closely for Steve’s liking by Bruce Strawbridge who came 18th in 1.25.30. Judy Davey was next home coming 39th in a time of 1.32.04 and she was pleased to win a bottle of wine for coming first in her category. Bruce’s better half, Tracey, who said there was far more up than there was down, came in with a very respectable time of 2.05.16 and 127th place.
Saturday saw the annual running of the Killerton Kanter multi terrain race at Exeter. Honiton had a good turnout of eleven runners. Tim Legg led the Honiton runners home in 13th place in 42.11 while fast improving Richard Harris stormed around the course in 45.31 for an impressive 24th place. Ceri Oak was first Honiton lady home, 31st in 47.17. Finishers: 32 Chris Wadey 47.21; 57 Brent Dicks 53.09; 80 Jennie Sleeman 56.35; 101 Marie Wadey 62.07; 103 Claire Pomeroy 62.07; 103 Simon Hall 62.07; 118 Kim Werner 67.26; 119 Vanessa Glyn Jones 67.33.
Over the past two weekends James Denne has been busy representing Honion RC. He ran the Ninesprings 9K which consisted of 2 laps of a hilly multi terrain parkland course. After leading for the first 2 kilometers his lack of fitness kicked in and Chris Burton of Yeovil Town Road Running Club pulled away to eventually win the race while James dug in and came home in 2nd place in a time of 35.51. Last weekend James raced in the Martock 10K against very good opposition and managed a strong finish to take 4th place in a time of 35.14.
Kevin Hawker ran the Exeter 5k series last week which consisted of two laps in the Exeter Canal with just a couple short hills. Kevin was very pleased with his fourth place in 16:53 and he is in full Marathon Training.

Crewkerne 9, Edinburgh Marathon, Forde Abbey & Run the Wild (Dated 08/06/2009)

Photo is of Honiton runners at Forde Abbey

Crewkerne 9 mile challenge

Sunday 31st May was the hottest day of the year so far and despite an early start of 10am the temperature was already beginning to soar when the Crewkerne 9 mile race got under way.  A drive around Crewkerne , out to Hinton, Dinnington, and surrounding area and from the comfort of the car seat it does not appear to be that daunting as a running route. However once on foot the reality of the terrain becomes clearer.  Described as hilly rather than undulating, this is a challenging course at the best of times. Vernon Gillard led the Honiton contingent home, a little over two minutes ahead of Steve Davey.  Steve belied his aversion to heat to maintain his pace in the latter stages, opening what was quite a close gap at around 6 miles from Bruce Strawbridge and Judy Davey, to around a minute and two minutes respectively.  But Judy, with a time of 1.09.31 took first place in her age category, which is well deserved for all the hard work and improvement that she has made in the last year.  She was not for once chased down by John Burgess, with some fairly clear daylight between them, although John did his normal thing of gaining many places in the latter stages of the race.  John Caswell made a rare but welcome race appearance.  One of the highlights from a performance point of view was from Sarah Warren who just got ahead of Marion Broom who seems to have fully recovered from injury.  And to put their performances into perspective Marion achieved over a 4 minute improvement from last year.  The impromptu drinks station organised by Simon Hall at around 6 miles was a welcome refreshment, taken up by most of the remaining finishers, adding to what was a well organised event.  Jenny Sleeman, Denis and Jackie Costello, Tracey Strawbridge, Gerry Evans and Vanessa Glyn-Jones completed the Honiton line up, with some notable time improvements, especially from Tracey at over 5 minutes quicker. Results: 40 Vernon Gillard, 1:05:11; 50 Steve Davey, 1:07:32; 55 Bruce Strawbridge, 1:08:22; 62 Judy Davey, 1:09:31; 75 John Burgess 1:11:20; 80 JohnCaswell, 1:12:26; 92 Sarah Warren, 1:14:47; 94 Marion Broom1:14:58; 121 Jenny Sleeman, 1:23:13; 124 Denis Costello, 1:24:19; 141 Jackie Costello, 1:30:55; 148 Tracey Strawbridge, 1:32:33; 149 Gerry Evans, 1:32:37; 155 Vanessa Glyn Jones, 1:34:00.

Marathon runners

Sunday also saw two Honiton stalwarts running marathons. England International Heather Foundling Hawker finished 5th lady and 136th overall at the Edinburgh Marathon in a time of 3.01.02  while Steve Boyes came home 28th in the Needles Marathon in 4.10.06.

Forde Abbey

The Forde Abbey race is a popular fixture on the Honiton Running Club calendar and 20 turned out for this year’s race. Starting and finishing on the lawn in front of the house and tackling the local hills and woods the course has stunning views, if you have time to take them in. There are too many stiles and gates to clamber over for some but the two deep crossings of the River Axe in the final mile add an extra spice. After the race some rounded off a good evening by enjoying a picnic in the late evening sunshine.  Honiton Results: Steve Davey, 32^nd, 00:44:57: Gary Enticott, 50^th, 00:47:02: Richard Harris, 51^st, 00:47:05 Bruce Strawbridge, 52^nd, 00:47:22: Ceri Oak, 54^th, 00:47:32: Roger Saunders, 66^th, 00:48:34; Maria Wadey, 76^th, 00:49:22: John Burgess, 83^rd, 00:49:52: Judy Davey, 84^th, 00:50:16

Brent Dicks, 100^th, 00:52:26: Simon Hall, 105^th, 00:53:18: Marion Broom, 109^th, 00:54:02 Nicola Gigg, 118^th, 00:54:27: Nick Thorpe, 130^th, 00:56:08: Sarah Warren, 138^th, 00:57:05 Claire Pomeroy, 142^nd, 00:57:27: Rod Warren, 161^st, 01:00:57: Jennie Sleeman, 164^th, 01:01:34 Sandra Thorpe, 188^th, 01:05:29: Tracey Stawbridge, 203^rd, 01:08:33; 233 finishers

Run in the Wild

 Cricket St Thomas provided a scenic backdrop to the Run in The Wild race this Sunday. This is a new 10K off-road race devised by Chard Road Runners. The course took the runners up hill and down dale, along woodland trails and up grassy rural rides.  It was a tough challenge but it received an enthusiastic thumbs-up from the Honiton runners.  These were lead home by Brian Charters who started from the back of the field just to give himself an extra challenge. Steve Davey and Bruce Strawbridge both had good runs with Bruce please to keep Steve in sight for most of the way. The next round of the Judy Davey, John Burgess contest went to John who just found himself having a very good run. He also won a bottle of wine for coming 2^nd in his category. Judy on the other hand won a bottle of champagne as the best female runner in three local races this week. It is good to see Marion Broom, Nick Thorpe and Tony Whitely returning to nearer their old form after long lay-offs due to injury. It was also good to see Laura Pyle donning club colours after completing her university course.   The race was won by Martin Cox of Salford Harriers in the excellent time of 36:41. First lady was Jenny Moore of Wells City Harriers in 43:55.  Honiton results:

Brian Charters;, 19^th, 0;44;28: Steve Davey;, 41^st, 0;48;16: Bruce Strawbridge;, 56^th, 0;49;26

John Burgess;, 72^nd, 0;52;07: Judy Davey;, 78^th, 0;53;27: Marion Broom;, 108^th, 0;57;02 Nick Thorpe;, 111^th, 0;57;37: Sarah Warren;, 126^th, 0;59;23: Laura Pyle;, 131^st, 0;59;52 Tony Whiteley;, 155^th, 1;02;19: Jennie Sleeman;, 159^th, 1;03;11: Rod Warren;, 176^th, 1.05.41 Vanessa Glyn Jones;, 197^th, 1;09;18: Tracey Strawbridge;, 207th, 1.10.33

253 finishers

Go to Top

Honiton runners have been busy competing locally in the past couple of weeks.  

Three ladies turned up in stormy weather to tackle the Taunton Deane novice triathlon at Wellington Sports Centre. The weather was atrocious but fortunately the novices were sent off first and  competed in the one relatively dry hour of the day. Ex HRC member Sally Hutter did really well to get back in under an hour  while Vanessa Glyn Jones and Pat Croucher came away very pleased with their efforts as it was their  first such event.  On the bike section the girls all had stoppages for various reasons: Sally’s chain came off, Vanessa had to adjust her shoes, and Pat was overdressed for the section and had to rearrange layers. Finish times were: Sally, 1st vet 40, 58:19; Vanessa, 1st vet 60, 1:06:20; Pat, 2nd vet 50, 1:12:31.

Twenty-two Honiton Running Club members donned their trainers for the Ottery St Mary 10K. Despite an early morning downpour and threatening skies the race got under way in the dry and the first runners crossed the line before the driving rain returned making life difficult for those still on the course. Two of Honiton’s speed merchants, Kevin Hawker and Tim Legg, were in the battle for the front spot but Paul Duff pulled away in the final miles to finish in 35:13 with Kevin second in 35:26 and Tim third in 35:58 - both excellent times. The ladies race was won by Karen Cook in 41:55 with Honiton’s Ceri Oak getting second place in 42:36 with a new PB by over 3 minutes.

Paul Davey, 39.55, had a very good run but not quite a PB, Steve Davey, 41.41,  lowered his PB by 48 seconds.  Roger  Saunders, 42.52, had a good run but couldn't stay with Ceri when she went past in the second mile, but was close to his PB. Judy Davey, 44.22, broke her PB again and which she has done in each of her three road 10K’s this year.  John Burgess, 44.40,  was under 45 minutes for the first time. Newcomer Sarah Wheeler, 45.06,  was next home so we shall be looking for great things from her in later runs. Greg Axel, 45.30, knocked a whopping 9 minutes off his time for this run in 2007 while Maria Wadey, 45.42, was also very pleased to score a PB.  There were also good PB's for Warren Oak, 47.08, and Marion Broom, 48.01, while Lubos Obornik, 50.04,in his first  10K had a very good time. Tony Whiteley, 51.36, was also delighted with his run with a new PB by over 2 min 30 sec and is very pleased to be back running again after injury problems ruined last year for him. Rebecca Corney, 53.31,  was well-pleased with her time while Blanka Obornik made a 10k debut with 62.16  and Dan Brown jogged around with friends to finish in 64.27. There was a great finish between Tracey Strawbridge, 59.51  and and Liz Corney, 59.53, but they were both  delighted to have cracked the hour mark. Whimple ladies Sarah Evans, 54.00,  Janet Leach, 56.42, and Maggie Richards, 61.59 enjoyed their run and will hopefully be joining training runs with the Honiton crowd in coming runs.

James Denne travelled  to Brickfields in Plymouth to represent Honiton RC in the Devon County Track and Field Championships.  He opted to race 5000m to gauge his fitness and to help gain selection for the Exeter Harriers team for the opening British Athletics League match in Edinburgh in 4 weeks time.  James has been carrying an injury to his right foot  so knew it was  going to be a struggle.  However he came home in 3rd place in a time of 16.20 which considering all the problems was not too bad.

Honiton RC President Alan Rowe has been helping with the organisation of the Farway Run (Over The Hill And Farway 10K) for the local school, The aim is to raise the profile of the school and at the same time  raise much needed funds. The course starting from the Village Hall will be a good challenge with one steepish  hill of about 800yds after 3/4  mile followed by about 2 miles of downhill into Northleigh, a loop around and back into Northleigh, finishing back at the Farway Village  Hall. The date for the run is June 21st starting at 10.45 from the Village  Hall.

Go to Top

Wednesday evening saw another great turnout of Honiton runners at  Yeovilton for the 5K race. It was good to see Heather Foundling Hawker  as she zipped round the course in great style and she was second lady home, just beaten to the line by a few seconds. Brian Charters was 2 seconds quicker than April and many other new PB's were recorded. Steve Davey smashed through the 20 minute barrier with a 19.39 clocking  and  Gary Enticott had a great run chasing after Steve on the final stretch to record 19.42. Richard Harris continues to amaze with yet another huge slice off his previous best, now down to 20.03. Ceri Oak prefers mud under her feet and a nice steep hill to climb but is steadily improving her speed with a 20.36 clocking just 5 seconds behind a fast improving Thomas Dunn. Roger Saunders struggled round in 21.09 with John Burgess just  was 2 seconds outside his PB in 21.19.  Judy Davey finished in 21.35 just in front of Maria Wadey in 21.48. Simon Hall had an impressive new PB in 22.14 and must have been pleased with his progress. Nikki Gigg in 22.48 just had the better of Marion Broom, 22.53,  this month and is approaching her PB time, but Brent Dicks on his second outing to the race had an excellent run with a very impressive improvement to 22.54. Newcomer Nick Bradley-Carter in his first race finished with  Nick Thorpe in 24.26 not yet near his best but  still over a minute quicker than last month. Marie Kingston set an excellent new time of 25.35 while Sandra Thorpe, 25.48 was not  quite at her PB form but almost a minute quicker than April . It was a similar story for Vanessa Glyn Jones, 26.46, a very good improvement on April but still not quite up to her PB. Alan Nicholls also started but had to pull out in the first straight with an injury - a pity as this is one of his favorite events.

The Umborne Ug had a good turn out of Honiton runners last Sunday. The weather was perfect for running, sunny but not too hot. The hospitality of the cakes and drinks ladies was unsurpassed and the scenery was glorious. The Honiton contingent was led home by Kevin Hawker. It should be said that Garry Perratt who was having a good race with Gareth Hurst and Kevin, had noticed a marker out of place and stopped to set it right. Kevin very decently did not take advantage of Garry's good turn and finished just behind him in third with 42.17.  The main Honiton pack was headed by Steve Davey, 50.11,  with Bruce Starwbridge, 51.19 and Ceri Oak, 51.45, close behind. Supervet John Burgess was next home with an excellent run in 53.15   just in front of Thomas Dunn, 53.29.  Judy Davey, 54.38,  just managed to hold off Greg Axsel, 54.53,  who is  is getting very speedy these days. Leisa Lavendar finished in 55.13 while Gary Enticott, 56.06, who  had spent the previous night celebrating his birthday  was not impressed by the nice day and would have much preferred a nice lie-in. Simon Hall, 57.27,  was  next home just in front of Warren Oak, 58.23, getting well under the hour for the first time. Claire Pomeroy, 63.34,  just made a PB and Pete Lyus, 70.23,  knocked a good slice off his while TraceyStrawbridge, 74.59, rounded the day off for the Honiton crew. 

There was an excellent turnout for the  "Race For Life"  training course on Monday evening which will continue for the next 8 weeks. Anyone who missed the first session is welcome to join in next Monday at Honiton Sports Centre from 6.00pm. Contact Secretary at 01823 601298.

Go to Top

Victory

Sunday was a pleasant day for a run so several Honiton runners had a go at the Great West Run half marathon at Exeter. On a hilly course Honiton International runner Heather Foundling Hawker found the going to her liking and zipped around the thirteen miles in a sharp 1 hour 23 minutes to lead the ladies race home. Heather has set her sights on the Edinburgh Marathon as her next race and hopes to  finish in a good time well under 3 hours.  Second Honiton runner home was Richard Harris fresh after last weeks London Marathon  run. Richard finished 179th in 1.35.05. Bruce Strawbridge was next in with a solid performance in 252nd in 1.38.17 with John Caswell 423rd in 1.42.22 and newcomer Jennie Read not far behind, 796th in 1.50.07. Club President Alan Rowe showed a good turn of speed to finish 1268 and just beating the 2 hour mark in 1.59.47. Grant Boyd paced his wife Helen to her debut half marathon finish of 2.13.24 while Honiton stalwart Tracey Strawbridge finished in 1871 with 2.16.06.

James Denne represented the Honiton Running Club at a British Milers Club Regional 800metres on the track at Exeter on Tuesday in his first race over the distance. After a chaotic  start with lots of bumping and barging and elbows galore and a mad dash for the first 200 metres James lead the field through in 63 seconds after 400m and then just tried to hang on.  James was overtaken on the back straight but came through strongly in the last 100 meters to finish 2nd in a time of 2.08.09.

Go to Top

The Flora London Marathon (Dated 26/04/2009)

London Marathon weekend is always a highlight of the running year as runners congregate from all over the world to celebrate this annual festival which unites the worlds of serious running with spectacular charity fundraising. The twenty-ninth running of the event was the culmination of winter training of ten Honiton Running Club members with some excellent times being witnessed by the Honiton supporters who had travelled on the day to add their voices to the thousands on the route at Tower Bridge.

Fran Bond has only been running competitively for a few years so was a little daunted when she got a club ticket to run the marathon. The low-key New Forest marathon last summer was her first run at this distance but the London was going to be a whole different ball game. Fran had set a target of 3 hours 30 minutes and had based her training on this time and had run some promising races on the way to the day. After the initial crowded start Fran settled into a good rhythm and steadily knocked off each 5k split at 24 minutes to finish in an excellent new personal best of 3.24.34.  While Fran ran a consistent pace Richard Harris, another relative marathon novice had set off a little speedier and soon settled to a sustainable pace but still led the Honiton pack until 25k.  Richard, who has only been running for 18 months, completed last years London in about 4.30 and the New York Marathon last November in about 3.50. Although he  slowed a little towards the end of the run he came home overjoyed at smashing his best time by 20 minutes to finish in 3.30.15.  Judy Davey has been a racer for a couple of years and has been consistently chipping away at her finish times since she started running. After a slow start Judy also settled to a steady pace which she managed to maintain throughout the 26 miles to also finish with a best time of 3.38.35. Marie Wadey has had a turbulent year but the birth of a baby last summer didn't stop her entering London. After steadily coming back to form recently Marie had a good race to finish in an excellent 3.45.00. John Burgess was a little disapointed with his run after some good results in recent racing and training but felt better than on any of his previous marathons. His pacing was better although the section through Canary Warf was difficult and he lost his sub-9 min/mile pace at about 17-18 miles and thought he was not going to break 4 hours but at 20 miles he realised that a sub-4 was still on so he kept plugging away.  The last mile seemed to go on for ever but John was very pleased to see the clock on 4.01 at the finish as he knew then that his personal time must be under 4 hours after several attempts to break that  barrier. Sarah Lowman also got a club place in the marathon and trained steadily through the spring to get to the start line in good shape. Sarah started at a good pace but steadily slowed throughout the race to finish in a respectable time of 4.20.13. Nikki Campbell set off at a sensible pace and maintained it throughout the race with about a 30 second difference for each 5k split. This is the most economic way to run a marathon and Nikki was rewarded with a time of 4.19.57. Tracey Dingle and Tina Stevens have been training steadily throughout the winter for their first ever marathon. They managed a gentle pace thoughout the run but slowed slightly towards the finish in 5.18.46 for Tracey and 5.24.44 for Tina.  Mickie Dicks was another marathon virgin who, like many of the other Honiton ladies, came to running via the Race For Life training. Three years ago Mickie would have thought it impossible to even consider running a marathon but there she was on Sunday morning lining up with 36000 others to see if she could  realise the dream. After a steady start Mickie had to wait 15 minutes in a queue for the loo but wasn't worried about a finish time so just enjoyed the run and soaked up the atmosphere. She finished with sore feet but with lots of lovely memories in a time of 5.49.36.

Go to Top

Go to Top

Two member's of Honiton Running Club decided to do something a bit different last weekend by doing the Jurassic Coast Challenge. Guy Paddon wanted a challenge for his big 40th birthday, so after plying clubmate Paul Davey with alcohol, he then asked him if he would do the J.C.C. with him. Paul naturally said yes, but regretted it a few day's later when Guy told him what it entailed. It was three marathons over three days along the Jurassic Coast and, as the organisers said on day one, it is a challenge not a race. So Guy and Paul trained hard for the event for the last five months, some weeks totalling 60 milers.

Day one started at Lyme Regis on the cobb, they set off and, with backpack's on, started the climb out of Lyme. After a hiccup in the woods and losing the trail they were soon up with the rest of the field, on to Charmouth, Seatown, Chesil Beach before coming inland around Abbotsbury and then in to Chickeral in a time of 5hrs 7minutes. They were quite pleased with the days run and after a  massage  shower, food and bag packed ready for day two they set down to  getting some sleep.

Day two started at Chickeral after breakfast. Thinking day two would be the hardest they set off and were pleased how their leg's felt early on.  Keeping a steady pace they headed along to Portland where they ran up, over, then looped back towards Weymouth and with some coast paths closed this caused a bit of confusion.  They had to enter the town and being a self navigatonal course with no marshal's they went off track again before picking up the trail, but as with day one what's an extra mile when you are doing 26.2 anyway. On then to more hilly terrain and the stunning coast around Durdle Door before finishing down the long steep decent which killed the leg 's and finishing at  Lullworth Cove. Day two  ended up 27 miles and they were pleased to do it quicker than day one in 5hrs 2minutes.

Day three started back at Lulworth and it was clear from the start that it was going to hurt.  Around the cove and on toward's Lulworth Tank Ranges were some of the worst hills, taking an hour and a half  to complete 6 miles.  The sun was beating down as they headed on to Kimeridge Bay to a check point where they were told that due to recent land slides the coast path was closed and they had to go inland and join up with the coast path later, which added on a further 4 miles. Paul and Guy were really pleased to be told this. Back on the coast path they carried on along the stunning coastline spotting a couple dolphins just before Swanage. The  run turned to a  jog, amble, then crawl before they got back to some lovely hills in the last couple of mile's. Then  along the golden sandy beach to Studland Bay where they were very glad to be met by some enthusiastic family and friends. After recieving the medal, massage and food they reflected on what they had achieved and had the blisters to prove it. Thirty miles for day three in a time of 6hrs 22minutes meant they finished in the top thirty out of a hundred and fifty,would they do it again?. Paul did tell guy that there was an Atlantic Coast Challenge from Padstow to Landsend but  we can't print guy's answer.

Sunday saw a large group of Honiton runners pop over the Blackdowns to take on the challenge of the Taunton Half Marathon and Marathon events. Pride of place went to Tim Legg  who rolled back the years by getting round the course in 79:31. Looking back in his diaries Tim found that it was nine years since he last ran a half-marathon that fast, in which time his age had increased by 25%.  Tim said "Conditions were good, and I have been feeling fit these past few months (I think my fitness improved when I started to take up triathlon!).  I paced it about right, with enough energy left for a minor spurt in the closing couple of miles.  So I was quite chuffed with this,  four minutes quicker than Taunton last year.  I was 24th overall, but unfortunately there seems to be a surplus of good runners of my age in this
area of the country - I was merely the sixth finisher in the M45 age group, whereas had I claimed to still be an M40 I would have been third in that category."

Road specialist Vernon Gillard was next home, 113th in 1.30.22. This is probably Vernon's best time for some years but he must have been watching the clock annoyingly tick past 90 minutes as he approached the finish. Nicola Campbell was next home in 597th with 1.52.19 with London Marathon prospect Sarah Lowman close behind in 650th with 1.54.30. Club President Alan Rowe showed good form to get under 2 hours in 1.56.42 in 706th. Louise Saunders finished 837th in 2.04.58 with Anne Ephraums 987th in 2.11.31. Two more London Marathon trainees finished together 992nd in 2.12.02 while Kim Werner breezed around  to finish 1024th in 2.14.14. Jill Wood finished 1059th in 2.18 and Sarah Spence  was 1108th in 2.24.38. Mickie Dicks, another London Marathoner finished the day in 1142nd in 2.31.17.

Go to Top

FOD_AR

On Sunday March 15th, Alan Rowe, club president, and Jennie Sleeman enjoyed running in the bright spring sunshine amongst the trees in the Forest of Dean with 1738 others. The route followed woodland tracks and the disused railway lines, with several road crossings crowded with cheering spectators. At about 9 miles, after a steady climb, weary runners were rewarded with stunning views from the highest point. More welcome, though, at 12 miles was the sharp decline, giving runners chance for a final burst for the downhill slope to the finish. At the end? Sunbathing on the grass in the car park! Jennie finished in 711th with a time of 1.55.16 while Alan was 829th in 1.59.27.

GREAT NIGHT AT THE TRACK BY HONITON JUNIORS

Last Wednesday saw the final running of the Winter 3K series at Exeter Arena and Honiton Running Club Juniors were once again there in force, and the largest junior club. This was the fifth in a series of races that started last October and several Honiton Runners were in contention for category prizes. There was also the incentive of chocolate bars for those running a personal best time. All the runners did very well and the head coach, Richard Harvey, will have to provide no less than 8 bars of chocolate for some very hard fought PB’s.

The first race saw chocolate going to Robyn Moyse and Katie Davey who both ran very hard with Katie also coming 3rd in the U13 girls category. Sean Kingston joined his brother Dale in the series for the first time and both had good races. In the second race Jake Harvey had a good battle with the front runners and eventually came out on top with a new PB by 3 seconds. Daisy Flanagan has not run much recently but was in contention for a category prize and pushed herself hard, as did Sophie Keywood. Even though they couldn’t quite hit their best form Daisy still achieved 3rd place in the U15 girls category. The third race was contested by newcomer Josh Turner who ran an excellent debut, and Reuben Heeler-Frood. Reuben was up with the leading group for most of the race but couldn’t quite manage to hang on to 3rd place in the final sprint despite registering a great new PB by 32 seconds. The 4th race was run at a very fast pace for juniors and saw some great battles. Steven Trenchard managed to hold off a determined Kit Grierson of Sidmouth by just a stride and equalled his PB (half a bar of chocolate?). Then came the battle between Tom Dunn of Honiton and Emma Keirnon of Axe Valley which was standing at two victories each. They matched each other stride for stride on the last lap and there was a great sprint finish with Tom being victor by just 1 second. But Emma had pushed him so hard that he sliced 19 seconds off his PB. Finally there was the battle between Sam Urquart and Lily Helston who have been competing strongly other over several races this year. It was very close going into the last lap with Lily just ahead. Lily manages to find another gear just when other runners are tiring but Sam stayed with her. In a thrilling finish Lily caught and passed too other runners and Sam came in just behind. They had pushed each other to new Pb’s by over 20 seconds. Lily gained 1st place in the U13 Girls category and Sam was 3rd in U13 Boys. Sam deserves a special mention for being the only Honiton Junior to record a new PB in each of his five races.

With 4 category prizes, 8 PBs and one PB equalled it was a tremendous performance from the Honiton Junior Club which has only been in existence for just over a year. For more details and full results go to the Honiton RC Juniors website via the links at www.honitonrc.com .

Go to Top

JUNIORS HAVE A GREAT FINISH TO CROSS-COUNTRY SERIES

The final race of the East Devon Junior cross-country series was held in Morganhayes Wood near Colyton last Saturday. It was a crisp sunny day but still enough mud to satisfy the 34 runners from Axe Valley, Sidmouth and Honiton running clubs. First away were the uunder-10’s who dashed off from the start on a downhill track with great energy. They soon met a stony climb which slowed them down a bit but they ran on well and the first runners were soon heading through the mud to the finish and the cheering crowd of mum’s and dads.  First in was Joe Urquart in 11:13 followed by Isabel Helston in 12:11. Special mention should be made of the youngest runner, Max Helston who finished 3^rd , not far behind his sister and also of Dominic Walker who crossed the line in stocking feet having lost his trainers in the mud 20 yards from the finish.

Next away was the U13 race over 3.5K with 14 runners. This was a very competitive group and we expected a hard fought finish. What we did not expect was to see two runners charging for the line from the wrong direction. It turned out that a marshal had not been placed at a key point and the front runners did not see the arrow pointing them on the right route. However the spectators saw a great finish with Sam Urquart (HRC) stealing it on the line from Grey Grierson (SRC). Other runners followed them home but then Sidmouth’s Nick Smith was seen coming in along the correct and longer route and a few minutes later so did Katie Davey of Honiton. Nick had won the previous two races in the series and it was decided to award the race to him. First girl was Ellie Stone of Sidmouth followed by Layla Felgate (AVR) who both represented Devon at the inter-counties race near Nottingham last week.

With a marshal now in place the U15 runners followed their 4.5K course with no problems. The first three boys made a good race of it but Kit Grierson (SRC) pulled away to win, with team mate James Rampersad getting second spot by just 4 seconds from Steven Trechard (HRC). There were only two girls in this race and Sophie Keywood (HRC) was first in followed by team mate Robyn Moyse .

The U17 race only had three runners but they had a testing 6K course which they all ran well with AVR’s Dan Clapp a very good winner in 30:10.

Fine hand-carved wooden sculptures of the Olympic flame were presented as team prizes for the whole series.  Girls: 1^st Axe Valley, 2^nd Honiton 3^rd Sidmouth, Boys: 1^st SRC, 2^nd Honiton, 3^rd AVR

Go to Top

Grizzly Team (Part) / James

Honiton runners once again hit the Grizzly race in numbers on Sunday with twenty-one finishing the main race and thirteen in the Cub. Kevin Hawker kept up his excellent recent record by leading the Honiton pack home in 12th place in 2.39.17. Paul Davey and Guy Paddon were next home and look on course with their training for the Jurassic Coast Marathon (3 marathons in 3 days) but Paul did not feel he had his best Grizzly. Paul finished 129th in 3.06.28 with Guy 139th in 3.08.14. The next runner home was Judy Davey with a superb run in 248th, third in her age category, her London Marathon training paying dividends. Judy finished in 3.19.58 just in front of her husband Steve who had been running very well until the final few miles. Steve finished very tired in 284th with 3.22.56. Ceri Oak had a great run last year but was disappointed not to have been able to do enough training for this year's race. She still managed a good time in 294th with 3.24.11. The bog exceeded all bogs in recent memory as it was probably 150 yards of calf-deep and knee-deep thick mud. Runners were clutching the guide ropes, trees and each other in order to stay upright - some didn't. Many had to be pulled out by marshals. This probably contributed to the many runners who succumbed to cramp after that trial and who had a painful few miles to the finish. Other finishers: 328 Vernon Gillard 3.26.17; 353 Bruce Strawbridge 3.29.15; 361 Julian Gigg 2.29.45; 413 Geoff Foster 3.33.36; 419 Richard Harris 3.34.20; 632 Maria Wadey 3.50.32; 673 Grant Boyd 3.53.05; 682 John Burgess 3.53.24; 751 Sarah Lowman 3.57.41; 858 David Gage 4.06.24; 871 Simon Hall 4.08.34; 1006 Gary Enticott 4.18.41; 1051 Claire Pomeroy 4.22.35; 1170 Pete Lyus 4.36.48. Vanessa Glyn Jones and Tracey Strawbridge also finished.
The organisers managed to shock the cub runners by starting them with the main race all down the beach and then right back down the Esplanade through the start again. There were also good performances for Honiton with Leisa Lavender leading them home in 29th place in a time of 1.24.25 followed by Sarah Warren in 60th with 1.34.41. Pippa Westall made an excellent return to racing, finishing 69th in 1.36.18. Pippa was closely followed by club chairman Paul Lowman in 74th with 1.36.48. Other results: 106 Nicola Campbell 1.43.12; 108 Louise Saunders 1.43.46; 109 Anne Ephraums 1.44.22; 141 Sandra Thorpe 1.50.05; 155 Kim Werner 1.53.33; 162 Sarah Spence 1.54.56; 170 Jackie Costello 1.56.38; 181 Pat Croucher 1.58.19.

Heather Foundling Hawker decided to avoid the mud at Seaton and ran the very windy Duchy Marathon where she won in and excellent time of 3:05:15 and was third runner home. Prolific marathon racer Stephen Boyes also made the trip and topped up his suntan with windburn coming home second in his category with a satisfying time of 3:37:11.

On Saturday James Denne represented Devon at the Inter Counties Cross Country Champs in Nottingham. There were a number of races for various age groups with the showpiece event being the senior mens 12000m cross country race around the beautiful grounds of Wollaton Park. With over 300 of the best county runners in UK, this was never going to be an easy race with Great Britain athletes such as Frank Tickner, Andy Vernon and Tom Lancashire involved. The first few hundred meters involved a climb up to Wollaton House, which was more like a sprint to get into a decent position with elbows flying everywhere. The course was very up and down with some boggy areas but bone dry in others which was very tiring on the legs. After four laps of the gruelling course James came home in 238th place in a time of 44.51 being pleased with the performance but hopes to come higher up the field in future years.

Go to Top

Bideford Team

James Denne ran the Combe St Nicholas 10K on Sunday  morning instead of Bideford Half.  The race was very up and down and there was a fast start with 4 runners running away from the field. At the 4K point James was over 100 metres behind the leaders but managed to claw his way back through the field using the hills to his advantage to win by around 30 seconds in a new course record of 35.50.  James said "there were some reasonable runners at the race and the organisation was brilliant. I know I  beat Peter Monaghan who is flying at the moment and our times are pretty similar so I'm well pleased". 

Go to Top

 Photo_1  Photo_2  Photo_3

Sunday was a great day out in sunny Dalwood for the racers of Honiton Running Club. The Dalwood Three Hills Challenge is described as being ten miles of off-road running with only three hills, but each one is over 500 feet high. But the organisers fail to mention the other small hill and the severity of the gradients, or the water crossings, or the beautiful scenery and the views, if you managed to get a look, which were stunning.
Honiton stalwart John Burgess said "It was a great day for a race. As the course loops back into Dalwood after 4 miles you get a nice cheer from the spectators before taking off on the hardest bit. Lots of mud and water and hills, and the best finish of any race I've done - plunging through the stream to the finish on the opposite bank. Then there was the tea and cakes, so all in all a great day"

Honiton fielded the largest team with 15 runners and it was a good day for James Denne who won the mens race and for Fran Bond who led the ladies home. James continued his winning ways with a storming run from the front of the pack and finished in 1.12.40 well away from his pursuers. Fran finished in 1.29.17 and 38th overall and demonstrated that her London Marathon training is progressing well. Results: 1. James Denne 1.12.40; 32 Steve Davey 1.27.11; 38 Frances Bond 1.29.17; 53 Vernon Gillard 1.32.39; 58 Ceri Oak 1.33.35; 59; Judy Davey 1.33.42; 63 Richard Harvey 1.35.15; 64 Gary Enticott 1.35.15; 65 Richard Harris 1.35.18; 66 Maria Wadey 1.35.21; 70 John Burgess 1.35.54; 105 Warren Oak 1.48.47; 119 Sarah Warren 1.53.00; 139 Pete Lyus 2.02.15; 147 Vanessa Glyn Jones 2.10.28.

The Honiton Juniors were also out in force. Last year this was the first race that the juniors took part in but on Sunday there were 7 of them. There were not many runners in the different junior categories but Lily Helston and Jake Harvey won their categories. Results: 3 Sam Urquhart 8.48 u/15; 4 Lily Helston 8.48 u/13; 6 Patrick Moyse 9.16 u/17; 10 Jake Harvey 9.37 u/13; 16 Katie Davey u/13; 19 Robyn Moyse 12.20 u/15; 21 Jennie Dobie 12.50 u/13; 22 Ella Harvey 13.08 u/11.

The previous Sunday James Denne travelled to Ilchester to compete in the Inca Trail multi terrain race. On turning up, the athletes found out that a lot of the course was under water and it had to be rerouted which added a further mile to the race making it 8 miles instead of 7. The first mile involved a flat road section down to a very muddy track with puddles 3 feet deep in places. Other sections of the course included running for over 100 metres through deep water and a very steep climb. After the climb James had established a substantial lead over the other competitors and eased back a little for the second half of the race. James came through to win the race in a time of 51.52.
This Wednesday evening (25th February) is the Honiton Running Club AGM and awards which is at Club 102 in Honiton High Street from 8.00pm.

Go to Top

James Denne and Gary Enticott travelled to Exmouth for the Fulfords GWR 5 Mile Race on Sunday. On what turned out to be a very chilly and windy day, athletes from all over the region turned up for the race including some high calibre athletes. The race started with a short 1.5 mile loop followed by a long 3.5 mile loop which included a long stretch into a strong wind along Exmouth Seafront. The leaders went off at a fast pace with James clocking 4.44 for the first mile with the leading pack. Once along the seafront on the second lap, the lead pack spread rapidly due to strong winds, this utimately had an effect on some of the times, however it didn't seem to affect the winner, Tom Merson from South West Road Runners in a super quick time of 25.26. James Denne was the first Honiton runner home in 7th place with a time of 27.59 which is the best time he has done in 4 years over the distance and knows that if it hadn't been for the strong winds then he would of easily gone a lot quicker and broken his personal best. Gary Enticott followed a few minutes later in 67th place with a time of 34.39 showing that he is still improving impressively.

The Hestercombe Humdinger is a challenging 9.5 mile figure of eight race was also run on Sunday entirely on quiet Somerset country roads. Set in the wonderful Quantock Hills in the heart of Somerset with start and finish at the delightful Hestercombe Gardens it attracted a small group of Honiton runners who braved the cold and windy course. Newcomer to the Honiton ranks Milan Gok showed his pedigree as he zipped around the course to come home 10th in 61.16. Milan will be a useful addition at the front end of the Honiton pack which has started to make inroads into the dominance of the more established local running clubs. Steve Davey was next home for Honiton in 51st and a clocking of 69.48, showing a clean pair of heels to his club rival Bruce Strawbridge who finished 64th in 72.31. John Caswell was 113 in 77.32 while first lady was Sarah Warren 178 in 84.18. Jennie Sleeman was just behind Sarah with 84.40 in 180th while Vanessa Glyn Jones put in another solid run with a finish of 1.40.49 in 280th. John Collar rounded off the Honiton interest in 308th with a time of 1.52.13.

The 17th Blackmoor Vale half marathon also saw Honiton runners out on the roads putting in some good times. Chris Wadey led them home with an excellent finish in 97th with 1.33.08 while his wife Marie is coming back to form and posted a personal best time of 1.40.30 in 173rd. Simon Hall scored a rare victory over Claire Pomeroy with a time of 1.51.54 in 307th with Claire finishing on a time of 1.55.28 in 351st. John Burgess was hoping for a good run but was struck down with a stomach bug and pulled out after 9 miles.

Meanwhile many club runners who are training for the London Marathon and the Grizzly got their shoes on and hit the roads to put in the training miles. Paul Davey and Guy Paddon had run around the Sidmouth 4 trigs course of 17 miles on Saturday but still had enough energy to lead Fran Bond around a flat ten mile time trial on the Blackdowns. Fran achieved her aim of 70.44 for the distance which puts her in line for a good marathon time in April.  

Go to Top

Heather bursts back onto the International Ultra Scene (Dated 26/01/2009)

Heather Foundling Hawker defied the odds on Sunday by winning the 50k British Road Race Championships at Boddington, Gloucester.

Heather has been more or less out of action for the past eighteen months with a catalogue of injuries which could have seen her away from the sport for good. She jogged around the Exmoor Stagger race in October to see if her legs would hold out and was astounded to come away from that race as a winner despite not having put on a pair of training shoes for over a year. Since then she has done a lot of swimming and just one two hour session on a treadmill last week. So to come home the winner in the British trial was far  beyond her expectations and has set her an interesting dilemma on where to go from here. Heather's time through 20 miles was 2hours 18 minutes with the marathon passing in 2.59 and the 50k finish in 3 hours 41 minutes. That's just 11 minutes slower than her best ever performance for the distance.  As a result of the win Heather has qualified to compete in the 100k Anglo Celtic Plate on 28 March 2009, a home countries international between Ireland, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. She also qualifies for the 100 km World Cup and 100 km European Championship on June 19th at the city of Torhout (Belgium). But there is another race which is also in her sights which may see her a Commonwealth Champion in the  first ever  Ultra-distance and Mountain Running Commonwealth Championship.  The events are fully supported by the IAAF  and are to be held September 17^th- 20^th  in Keswick. Her final qualification is for the IAU Trophy race at Gibralter in November.  Heather has now to think about whether to train on the roads for these events or to just keep swimming to protect her legs from any damage.

Go to Top

James Denne has been representing Honiton Running Club with style in the past few weeks. He represented Devon in the South West Counties Cross Country Championship at Bicton College. He qualified for that event after finishing 8th in the Devon Cross Country Championships in December. At the South West Cross Country he finished as 29th overall in the main senior race which was 7.5k in distance and was 19th in his age group. James was not best pleased with the performance but very bumpy and ground a rock hard surface didn't help his run. From these two races he will be representing Devon and the club at the National Inter Counties at Wollaton Park in Nottingham on March 7th.
After a Saturday evening at the HRC Christmas party this weekend several runners decided it would be a good hangover cure to compete in a ten mile race the next day at Axmouth or Dawlish.

AXMOUTH CHALLENGE - by John Burgess
Sunday morning saw a welcome rise in temperature for the 47 runners attempting the 10 mile Axmouth Challenge. After a flat half-mile along the estuary the route turned up the coast path and the runners were faced with a 1 in 5 climb to the Axecliffe Golf Course with lungs and legs protesting strongly at every stride. Having done this climb from Seaton, five miles later the runners had to do it again from Axmouth, but fortunately with an easier gradient. In compensation, for every mile up there was a mile down and opportunity to let gravity take over and for tired legs to recover. Honiton Running Club had nine runners on the main challenge. James Denne had an impressive victory by over six minutes over Luke Reed of Axe Valley, but Luke had sustained an injury at four miles which certainly affected his performance. There were some interesting individual battles for the Honiton team. Vernon Gillard was the second Honiton runner home just holding off Chris Wadey from Chard. Steve Davey got the better of Bruce Strawbridge despite Steve’s partying the night before, and Bruce had another battle staying in front of Eleanor Wood of AVR and Ceri Oak his team mate; Eleanor and Ceri ran very well to finish first and second in the ladies’ race. Judy Davey the next club member home had a good run but just failed to make third lady. John Burgess had his own contest with two other veteran men and managed to come out on top in the last mile but he couldn’t hold off Marie Wadey who sprinted passed him with 400 metres to go. Warren Oak was last Honiton runner home well pleased with his run.

Honiton Results
1st James Denne, 01:03:21: 10th Vernon Gillard, 01:16:40: 13th Steve Davey, 01:17:04:
19th Bruce Strawbridge, 01:19:26: 22nd Ceri Oak, 01:20:22: 28th Judy Davey, 01:23:45:
30th Maria Wadey, 1:27:04: 31st John Burgess, 01:27:09: 36th Warren Oak, 01:32:47

The mini-challenge was half the length of the main run and Tracey Strawbridge came in 8th in 1:05:02.

Honiton Junior runners competed in the 3 mile juniors’ race. This was won by Charles Sweetland in 19:06 but Honiton’s Tom Dunn gave him a very good race and finished second only 9 seconds behind. Jake Harvey ran well to be 1st U13 boy; Katie Davey, who never misses a race, and Sam Urquart came in not far behind Jake.

Dawlish - Oh! My Obelisk Race
Two Honiton ladies tackled this tricky run of 10 country miles from Dawlish Leisure Centre to the Obelisk monument in Haldon Forest and back. The run on Sunday was mostly run on green lanes, forest tracks and country lanes and was very hilly and muddy! Vanessa Glyn Jones finished 215th in 2.04.51 while London Marathon trainee Mickie Dicks was 221st in 2.15.52.
 

Go to Top

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.

Go to Top