Last Thursday evening, several Honiton Running Club members took part in what turned out to be a very eventful race at Forde Abbey. Set in the heart of West Dorset the 10km cross country race rolls through woodlands, meadows and rivers on the stunning Forde Abbey Estate. The route includes mud, rocky tracks, hills, spectacular views, more hills and usually two river crossings near to the end, after some more hills.

The lead up to the evening had been very wet and Thursday itself was an extremely wet day. As competitors travelled to the event it was pouring with rain but luckily although the race began wet, the rain did stop mid run. The weather meant that the first, particularly tough, river crossing was cancelled with the route diverted slightly to take runners over the bridge. The second river crossing did go ahead but runners reported that it was hard to keep your feet and the rope provided by organisers to grab hold of was much needed.

Unfortunately, the arrows marking the route left a lot to be desired at various points which meant that a large middle group of runners took a wrong turn taking an accidental short cut. This group rejoined the correct route later in the race having cut the race short by over half a mile. The trophy was handed to the man who crossed the line first but unfortunately he had not completed the full distance. Times and positions are not available as no-one is really sure who ran the full mileage and who did not. Honiton’s first three runners back; Steve Davey, Gary Phillips and Bruce Strawbridge ran the shorter distance but finished within about a minute of each other. Steve Briggs and Rod Inglis managed the full 10k and were next back and John Burgess also stayed on track. Brent Dicks didn’t have a good race at all as he managed to get his foot stuck in a snare which put him on the floor. He did finish albeit with a very sore foot after freeing the snare. Wendy Williams was the only Honiton lady flying the flag after changing arrangements just so she could take part. 

Last Wednesday, Honiton Running Club took part in the Woodland Relays organised by Axe Valley Runners held in the woods at Morganhayes. Joining the Honiton and AVR teams to compete were Exmouth Harriers and Sidmouth Running Club. There were 3 runners in each team and 26 teams taking part. Honiton made up half of them and particularly successful were the junior boys’ and junior girls’ first teams. The boys came   5th overall and first junior team across the line in a cumulative time of 44 minutes 37 seconds. The team was made up of Henry Riddle, Jack Elsom and Iain Ross. The girls were 9th overall and 1st girls back in a time of 49:27 beating all other female teams including the adults. The team consisted of Lydia Clapp, Florence Swan and Ruth Squires. Ruth was the fastest female of the evening. Honiton’s fastest men’s team was made up of  Warren Oak, Howard Bidmead and Graham Reeves. They were 8th in 47:53. Honiton’s only adult lady team was made up of Judy Davey and daughter Jo and Olivia Higginson. They were 20th overall in 54:54. Honiton’s fastest mixed team was the fastest mixed team of the night coming 7th in 47:40 made up of Graham Reeves, Helen Davy and Richard Harvey. Well done to everyone for such a magnificent turnout but especially to the juniors for some terrific performances.

On Sunday, several Honiton RC members took part in Farway Primary School’s Over the Hill and Farway 10k. The route takes runners up the infamous Warren Hill which has a total climb of 460 ft. The first man and first lady to reach the top of the Hill were crowned King and Queen and awarded a prize. This year both prizes went to Honiton members with Graham Reeves being crowned King and Julie Payne crowned Queen. Graham was overtaken in the latter stages of the race and lost his lead with the overall winner being AVR’s Phil Bayliss in 43:31. Graham finished 3rd in 46:08. On the other hand, Julie managed to hold on to her lead and finished first lady overall in 8th place in a time of 49:28. Steve Davey finished one place after Graham in 46:42. Following a short break from racing Richard Harris was next back in 10th place in 50:32. He was followed in 13th place by Judy Davey in 51.43  who was 2nd lady. John  Burgess was next back in 17th place in 55:57. Sam Shute crossed the line wondering why she had ever thought it was a good idea and was relieved to finish in 28th place in 63:30. Despite a niggling knee injury, Wendy Williams bravely took part coming 40th in 74:07. There were 42 runners.

Rowan Westall and Thomas Lilley took part in the fun run for juniors aged 10 years and under. They were set off 10 minutes after the adult race. The first part followed the same route and with Rowan and Thomas leading the fun runners, both ran so fast they caught up the last few adults. This caused confusion for the marshals as they couldn’t believe how fast the two boys had run and they were directed up Warren Hill with the adults instead of following the route of the fun run. This meant the boys completed about 4 miles of the adult route in a very respectable time. Rowan came in ahead of Thomas by about a minute but unfortunately they could not be given race positions. Josh Foundling-Hawker was also disappointed as he was sent on the fun run route for younger children and although he won this race it was disallowed as he was too old. Nevertheless the boys enjoyed themselves and should be very proud of their performances.

Steve Briggs of Honiton Running Club took part in last week’s Plymouth Half Marathon. It was an overcast day with fine drizzle at times. A large field of around 4000 led to quite a congested first mile, however this enabled Steve to go out slow and try and pick up in the second half. He was really pleased with a time of 1 hour 47 which was 4 minutes quicker than last year. Lesley Crocker also took part and was delighted to finish in under two hours in 1:58.

Last Saturday evening saw the running of Axe Valley Runners and Umborne Hall Committee’s Umborne Ug which is a tough multi-terrain 6 mile race. It was won by Tim Lenton from Norfolk in a time of 41 minutes 27 seconds. Local Honiton runners were led home by Richard Harvey who had an amazing run to finish in 7th place in 47:24. Much to his delight and surprise, he even managed to win a bottle of wine for coming first in his age category. Steve Davey was next back in 11th place in 49:03 followed by Bruce Strawbridge in 21st place in 50:53. Judy Davey led the Honiton ladies back to finish 39th in 56:26 and she was followed by John Burgess in 48th place and a time of 58:51. Tracey Strawbridge came 71st in 1:13:15 followed just one place later by Wendy Williams in a time of 1:13:56. There was a field of 91 runners.

There was also a 2.5k fun run on offer and the Honiton juniors produced some spectacular results with Iain Ross winning the race in 11:14 followed by Jake Harvey in 2nd place in 12:38. New member Lydia Corr was 25th in 19:19 and mother and daughter Kathy and Ellen Layzell ran together to finish 28th in a time of 20:17. There were 35 runners.

Following some dreadfully wet weather earlier in the week, it was actually perfect weather conditions for running and even the barbecue afterwards took place in the dry. Thanks to everyone involved with the organization, especially Rick and Eleanor Wood and the people who made the delicious cakes!

 

On Sunday 27th May, and an uncharacteristically hot day for Scotland, the 10th Edinburgh Marathon was run and Clare Melbourne  of Honiton Running Club chose this event to take part in her first marathon. The race starts in Edinburgh but runners are quickly diverted out to the coast and along to Musselburgh. Anyone hoping for a sea breeze to cool them down en-route was disappointed as the temperature just seemed to go up and up! The course was well supported in places, but the spectators thinned towards mile 16, and as the course looped back on itself, this lasted until about mile 24. The sight of Musselburgh racecourse, and the finish line, was a welcome relief and the reunion area had a festival feel as runners relaxed on the grass with well deserved pints of Edinburgh Marathon Festival ale! All-in-all a well organised event with great weather for spectators but a little too hot for the runners! Clare was pleased to finish in 4 hours 51 seconds.

Honiton’s Stephen Boyes joined AVR’s Geoff Woodward and Steve Reynolds to complete the third Forces March which raises funds for the Veterans Charity. The challenge involves completing the equivalent of 5 marathons in 5 days. Participants make their way from Ilfracombe in the stunning North Devon coast through Exmoor, over the Quantock Hills and onwards through rural Somerset finally crossing much of Salisbury Plain to arrive at the finish point at Bulford Camp, Wiltshire. Runners found the blistering heat in the mid day sun slowed them up a bit but Steve still managed to complete the distance in an overall time of 22 hours 26mins. Donations are welcome by visiting the Just Giving web site.

Nine Honiton RC members took part in the local Talaton Trotter on Jubilee Day last Saturday and it was a relief that the temperature had cooled a bit from what it had been recently as the race starts at 12 noon and could have sapped even more of the runners’ energy than it did anyway. Steve Davey was first back for Honiton in 13th position in 53 minutes 12 seconds. His biggest rival Bruce Strawbridge was next back in exactly 55 minutes in 20th place. Roger Saunders came 26th in 57:11 followed by Judy Davey in 39th place in 1:00:22. The terrain suited Nick Bradley-Carter as there was quite a bit of road and it was undulating rather than hilly. He finished in 46th place in 1:01:50. Honiton’s newest member Yordanos Teferi definitely doesn’t do hills as he is more used to sprinting 100m for Ethiopia, his native country, rather than 7 miles but he bravely tackled the race coming 48th in 1:02:45. He’ll run it a lot faster next time! John Burgess was next in 50th place in 1:03:08. Olivia Higginson didn’t particularly enjoy her race but wore a fetching pair of Union Jack knickers over her shorts which detracted from her pain. She finished in 55th place in 1:05:29. Louise Saunders lives close to Talaton and admitted she took part because she couldn’t find a good enough excuse not to race. She completed the Honiton contingent finishing in 66th place in 1:10:40. There were 83 runners.