Honiton Running Club Press Releases 2024
Couch 2 5k
On Monday the 8th of January 2024, 32 new runners gathered on a dark snowy evening all excited, nervous and motivated to embark on starting their Couch to 5k journey, hosted by Honiton Running Club.
The course is designed to help anyone wishing to start running safely and effectively, returnees from injury or rehabilitation and also those getting back into their running fitness from having a break and to build confidence.
The course was led by Paula Ferris, a Level 2 running coach and her team of over 15 leaders and helpers, which is paramount to ensure the safe delivery of the course. Each week runners learned how to warm up safely, run efficiently with techniques on stride length, position, posture and breathing. Every week the course followed the couch to 5K app designed by the NHS and this would ensure runners ran twice on their own and once in a group to improve confidence, fitness, endurance and stamina. The group was very social, welcoming, and supportive creating solid friendships over the 8 weeks.
The course was a huge success with a grand finale park run at Seaton on March the 2nd and March the 9th. All finishers received a wooden medal and huge respect from the whole club.
The course was a tremendous success with a 72% pass rate and completion of course.
To build and continue their success the opportunity to join the 5 to 10Km, 7 week running course is the next challenge, designed to enable runners to reach their 10km potential at the Ottery 10K event in May.
Honiton running club welcomes all new members and design club running sessions each week which accommodate runners of all levels, speed and pace. We strive to serve the community and improve health in a social, fun and structured way.
Dalwood 3 Hills
On Sunday, 18th February the local Dalwood 3 Hills race returned after a 3 year absence. The weather, during the lead up to the event, had been extremely wet and this meant a last minute re-route to the main race. The rivers were taken out, as they were deemed too dangerous, which also meant that one of the hills went too. However, this did not disappoint runners as there were still 3 hills as the original race actually boasts 4 hills despite the name! The new course was still extremely slippery and muddy meaning lots of runners slipped over and finishing times were slower than they would have been had there been drier conditions. The original route would have measured approximately 10 miles but the diversion meant it was only 9.3 miles.
Sam Kelly won the race in a time of 1 hour 4 minutes and 1st Honiton Running Club member back was Jordan Brigden in 1:29 in 30th place. Johnny Bennett and Nick Couch followed coming 32nd and 34th in 1:30. Pete Nicholls was the next HRC runner coming 44th in 1:33. There followed a bit of gap of HRC runners but Stephen Boyes finished in 66th place in 1:41. Julian Gigg and Richard Harvey had begun the race trying to out run each other but with about 2 miles to the finish, they decided they may as well stick together and they finished 72nd and 73rd respectively in 1:43. Judy Davey was 1st HRC lady back coming 88th in 1:48. Rachel Hennessey was next back coming 117th in 2:01. Claire Staniforth and Darren Boswell-Carter ran together and finished 159th in 2:28. There were 167 finishers.
Also on offer, for the first time, was the Dalwood Dash which was a race of about 6k. This was won by Rossi Wayne in 34:20 and HRC’s Yossi Maclure came 2nd just 2 seconds later. Rafi Maclure came 4th in 34:57 and 1st female back for HRC was Mia Wills who came 7th in 39:22. Siblings Imi and Isaac Clarke came in together in 9th place in 42:01. Jenny Rawlins and Kate Clarke came 21st in 56:44 and Sean Wills completed the HRC line-up coming 24th in 59:34. There were 30 finishers.
These were great events organised by Alasdair Moffett and Tim Wigram with a number of helpers and despite the conditions, thoroughly enjoyed by competitors.
Local Running Club increases their awareness of defibrillators in town.
Honiton Running Club had a specific training evening in mind on Wednesday the 31st of Jan. This was to increase their awareness of all the local AED / Defibrillators located in Honiton. The club had recently replaced their own Defibrillator at the end of 2023 keeping in line with health and safety as a club.
Paula Ferris Chair of HRC and also a Cardiac rehabilitation exercise specialist organised a special club run to increase all club members’ awareness of defibrillators. There are over 20+ locations in Honiton where defibs can be accessed by the public, which is amazing and could make all the difference in saving a persons life, with quick reactions and knowledge of where they are, we all know time is of the essence.
With around 30,000 people each year suffering a sudden cardiac arrest it is imperative that we know where the nearest AED / Defib is held. A cardiac arrest can affect anyone at any time, from young children at school, to adults when they’re at home, work or out in public places. The statistics from the British Heart Foundation show that if a defibrillator is used within 3-5 minutes of cardiac arrest, survival rates jump from 6 per cent to 74 percent so the importance of knowing where they are is crucial.
We are very lucky as a small town to have so many available in local community places, leisure centres, shops and on our high street.
Knowledge is power and speed is paramount. Maybe you know where a few of them are and you can spot them on your walk around town.
Paula E J Ferris
First Chance 10k & Axmouth Challenge
On Sunday, 7th January, Roger Saunders took on the flat First Chance 10K along the river Exe in full spate. Luckily the heavy showers held off during the race which this year had over 500 runners. Roger ran it in a time of 51:53 which he was happy with being faster than last year. After the race George Pemberton was awarded the winner of the male under 20 category in the 2023 Instep Devon championship.
On Sunday, 14th January, Several Honiton Running Club members took the short journey to Axmouth to take part in the Axmouth Challenge. There were 4 different distances on offer, all involving a sapping steep hill start and all being a mixture of road and off road! The longest distance was the 9 mile Challenge and this was won by Wayne Loveridge in 54 minutes. Hadleigh Davies and Judy Davey had changed positions several times during the race but Hadleigh eventually led HRC runners home to come 47th in 1 hour 20. Judy finished 52nd in 1:21. Darren Boswell-Gallagher and Claire Staniforth ran the race together finishing 102nd in 1:42. There were 116 finishers which is almost twice the number of 2023.
Next was the 5 mile event which was the same route as the first few miles of the 9 miler. This was won by Simon Dimmock in 42 minutes 22 seconds. HRC’s Becky Taviner was 2nd lady home coming 5th overall in 47:29. Howard Bidmead followed just one place and 20 seconds later and he was followed one place later by Paula Ferris who was 2nd lady overall finishing in 51:42. Donna Stone came 9th in 54:10 and Steve George came 15th in 1:01:57 having opted for the shorter route mid run due to recent injury. Helen Williams came 26th in 1:12:25, Tina Duckitt 27th in 1:13:02 and Victoria Henwood 28th in 1:15:22. There were 28 finishers.
No-one from HRC took on the 3 mile event but the Davies children tried the one mile race. Zac and William finished together coming 20th in 26:26 closely followed by Olivia being pushed in her buggy by her Mum, Bernice. They finished in 27:33. Top effort pushing the buggy and child up the very steep start! There were 25 finishers and the race was won by Eli Emmett in 8:59.
On Monday the 8th of January 2024, 32 new runners gathered on a dark snowy evening all excited, nervous and motivated to embark on starting their Couch to 5k journey, hosted by Honiton Running Club.
The course is designed to help anyone wishing to start running safely and effectively, returnees from injury or rehabilitation and also those getting back into their running fitness from having a break and to build confidence.
The course was led by Paula Ferris, a Level 2 running coach and her team of over 15 leaders and helpers, which is paramount to ensure the safe delivery of the course. Each week runners learned how to warm up safely, run efficiently with techniques on stride length, position, posture and breathing. Every week the course followed the couch to 5K app designed by the NHS and this would ensure runners ran twice on their own and once in a group to improve confidence, fitness, endurance and stamina. The group was very social, welcoming, and supportive creating solid friendships over the 8 weeks.
The course was a huge success with a grand finale park run at Seaton on March the 2nd and March the 9th. All finishers received a wooden medal and huge respect from the whole club.
The course was a tremendous success with a 72% pass rate and completion of course.
To build and continue their success the opportunity to join the 5 to 10Km, 7 week running course is the next challenge, designed to enable runners to reach their 10km potential at the Ottery 10K event in May.
Honiton running club welcomes all new members and design club running sessions each week which accommodate runners of all levels, speed and pace. We strive to serve the community and improve health in a social, fun and structured way.
Dalwood 3 Hills
On Sunday, 18th February the local Dalwood 3 Hills race returned after a 3 year absence. The weather, during the lead up to the event, had been extremely wet and this meant a last minute re-route to the main race. The rivers were taken out, as they were deemed too dangerous, which also meant that one of the hills went too. However, this did not disappoint runners as there were still 3 hills as the original race actually boasts 4 hills despite the name! The new course was still extremely slippery and muddy meaning lots of runners slipped over and finishing times were slower than they would have been had there been drier conditions. The original route would have measured approximately 10 miles but the diversion meant it was only 9.3 miles.
Sam Kelly won the race in a time of 1 hour 4 minutes and 1st Honiton Running Club member back was Jordan Brigden in 1:29 in 30th place. Johnny Bennett and Nick Couch followed coming 32nd and 34th in 1:30. Pete Nicholls was the next HRC runner coming 44th in 1:33. There followed a bit of gap of HRC runners but Stephen Boyes finished in 66th place in 1:41. Julian Gigg and Richard Harvey had begun the race trying to out run each other but with about 2 miles to the finish, they decided they may as well stick together and they finished 72nd and 73rd respectively in 1:43. Judy Davey was 1st HRC lady back coming 88th in 1:48. Rachel Hennessey was next back coming 117th in 2:01. Claire Staniforth and Darren Boswell-Carter ran together and finished 159th in 2:28. There were 167 finishers.
Also on offer, for the first time, was the Dalwood Dash which was a race of about 6k. This was won by Rossi Wayne in 34:20 and HRC’s Yossi Maclure came 2nd just 2 seconds later. Rafi Maclure came 4th in 34:57 and 1st female back for HRC was Mia Wills who came 7th in 39:22. Siblings Imi and Isaac Clarke came in together in 9th place in 42:01. Jenny Rawlins and Kate Clarke came 21st in 56:44 and Sean Wills completed the HRC line-up coming 24th in 59:34. There were 30 finishers.
These were great events organised by Alasdair Moffett and Tim Wigram with a number of helpers and despite the conditions, thoroughly enjoyed by competitors.
Local Running Club increases their awareness of defibrillators in town.
Honiton Running Club had a specific training evening in mind on Wednesday the 31st of Jan. This was to increase their awareness of all the local AED / Defibrillators located in Honiton. The club had recently replaced their own Defibrillator at the end of 2023 keeping in line with health and safety as a club.
Paula Ferris Chair of HRC and also a Cardiac rehabilitation exercise specialist organised a special club run to increase all club members’ awareness of defibrillators. There are over 20+ locations in Honiton where defibs can be accessed by the public, which is amazing and could make all the difference in saving a persons life, with quick reactions and knowledge of where they are, we all know time is of the essence.
With around 30,000 people each year suffering a sudden cardiac arrest it is imperative that we know where the nearest AED / Defib is held. A cardiac arrest can affect anyone at any time, from young children at school, to adults when they’re at home, work or out in public places. The statistics from the British Heart Foundation show that if a defibrillator is used within 3-5 minutes of cardiac arrest, survival rates jump from 6 per cent to 74 percent so the importance of knowing where they are is crucial.
We are very lucky as a small town to have so many available in local community places, leisure centres, shops and on our high street.
Knowledge is power and speed is paramount. Maybe you know where a few of them are and you can spot them on your walk around town.
Paula E J Ferris
First Chance 10k & Axmouth Challenge
On Sunday, 7th January, Roger Saunders took on the flat First Chance 10K along the river Exe in full spate. Luckily the heavy showers held off during the race which this year had over 500 runners. Roger ran it in a time of 51:53 which he was happy with being faster than last year. After the race George Pemberton was awarded the winner of the male under 20 category in the 2023 Instep Devon championship.
On Sunday, 14th January, Several Honiton Running Club members took the short journey to Axmouth to take part in the Axmouth Challenge. There were 4 different distances on offer, all involving a sapping steep hill start and all being a mixture of road and off road! The longest distance was the 9 mile Challenge and this was won by Wayne Loveridge in 54 minutes. Hadleigh Davies and Judy Davey had changed positions several times during the race but Hadleigh eventually led HRC runners home to come 47th in 1 hour 20. Judy finished 52nd in 1:21. Darren Boswell-Gallagher and Claire Staniforth ran the race together finishing 102nd in 1:42. There were 116 finishers which is almost twice the number of 2023.
Next was the 5 mile event which was the same route as the first few miles of the 9 miler. This was won by Simon Dimmock in 42 minutes 22 seconds. HRC’s Becky Taviner was 2nd lady home coming 5th overall in 47:29. Howard Bidmead followed just one place and 20 seconds later and he was followed one place later by Paula Ferris who was 2nd lady overall finishing in 51:42. Donna Stone came 9th in 54:10 and Steve George came 15th in 1:01:57 having opted for the shorter route mid run due to recent injury. Helen Williams came 26th in 1:12:25, Tina Duckitt 27th in 1:13:02 and Victoria Henwood 28th in 1:15:22. There were 28 finishers.
No-one from HRC took on the 3 mile event but the Davies children tried the one mile race. Zac and William finished together coming 20th in 26:26 closely followed by Olivia being pushed in her buggy by her Mum, Bernice. They finished in 27:33. Top effort pushing the buggy and child up the very steep start! There were 25 finishers and the race was won by Eli Emmett in 8:59.