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Honiton Running Club - Press Reports
The majority of these reports have been sent to the local media by Alan
Nicholls & Juniors by John Burgess. They are in chronologically descending order (New Entries at the top).
Some of these reports never made it into print due to the vagaries of the press.
This page reflects much effort and of course; is a permanent record for you and
the club. Click on the "Press Archive" button to check reports and
results of previous years.
Note. The
articles below were submitted to "The Midweek Herald" & "View from
Honiton" sports sections but, due to the vagaries of the press, did not always appear in print.
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Ford Abbey & The Midsummer Dream (Dated 22ndJune 2008)
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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Yeovilton Summer Series and Bampton (Dated 15th June 2008)
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.
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Talaton Trotter & Killerton Kanter (Dated 9th June 2008)
On
WEDNESDAY 18TH 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.
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Edinburgh, Woodland Relays & Crewkerne - (Dated 2nd June 2008)
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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Paris Marathon, Malaga Half, Taunton Half, Yeovilton 5K - (Dated 16th March 2008)
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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Sainsbury's Honiton Sport Relief Mile
2008 - (Dated 16th March 2008)
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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The Grizzly 2008 - (Dated 10th March 2008)
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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Bideford Half Marathon - (Dated 3rd March 2008)
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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Annual General Meeting report - (Dated 29th February 2008)
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 100th 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 7th 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 16th 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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Dalwood Three Hills Challenge - (Dated 24th February 2008) -
Juniors & Seniors
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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Torrington Torment,
Four Trigs & Hestercombe Humdinger - (Dated 18th
February 2008)
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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Dawlish
Obelisk (Dated 13th January 2008)
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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Axmouth
Challenge, South West C.C., Last Chance & Wellington
Monument (Dated 6th January 2008)
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 (56th in 45:56) and Bruce Strawbridge
(68th in 46:51) helped Honiton to 3rd
place in the team competition. It was good to see Grant Boyd
(75th in 47:22) out for the club again and he was
followed by Judy Davey (88th: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 (109th
51:13) and the final club placings were Nikki Gigg
(147th 54:22) and Tracey Strawbridge (191st
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 (56th) in a time of 40:20, half a
minute faster than last year, followed by Julian Gigg (61st)
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 (86th) managed to hold off
Fran Bond (89th) 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
(91st 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 (99th 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 141st
place and was 4th in her category. John Burgess
(166th 46:24) had a battle with Simon Hall (181st
47:10) and Claire Pomeroy (187th 47:17) but
managed to get ahead at the 5K mark and stay there. John was
also 2nd in the 60+ male category. Gary Enticott
running his second race for the club also improved on his
previous 10K time (233rd 49:48) but there was no
PB for Tony Whitley (373rd 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 (453rd
01:01:31), an improvement of over three minutes and Mickie
Dicks (455th 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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