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.
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.