Mike Musgrove not only led the Harriers home but also all but one of the runners in the main 10k Umborne Ug race on Saturday June 9th, as he finished 2nd overall. In addition, and in true pied-piper manner, he has inspired lots of youngsters from his village of Lympstone to have a go at running by starting up a running club at the local primary school, and many of these children competed in the shorter 4k fun run on Saturday evening.
In the main race, the 4 competing Harriers - Mike and Nic Musgrove, and Martin and Diana Richards - got a bit of a surprise as they thought the Ug was a fairly flat course... not quite so! It infact boasts nearly 1000ft of climb over a distance of just 10k. The going underfoot was not always easy either as, after a gentle start down the country lane, the route veers off into fields where the runners had to plough their way through waist high wet grass. The route then rises up to some woods, from where there are some stunning views over the Axe Valley for any who want to take time to admire them, before it descends back down along some muddy tracks and fields and back into the village.
Mike came a bit of a cropper when he took a wrong turning on the course. He confesses to having "a bad habit of ignoring directional signs', but I guess when you are running as fast as he is, it's easily done, so we'll let you off! Despite this small navigational mishap, which he estimates cost him about 90 seconds, Mike still secured a solid 2nd place overall, in a time of 45:00, 3 1/2 minutes behind the winner, Tim Lenton of Norfolk Gazelles. Mike was also top MV40.
Next Harrier was Martin Richards who completed the tough multi-terrain course in under the hour, with 59:12 for 49th place and 8th MV40. Martin's wife Diana was not that far behind him, coming in just over 3 minutes later in 59th place overall in 1:03:21. This gave her 13th female overall and 3rd FV45.
Nic Mugrove completed the Harriers' contingent with a very fine time of 1:11:48 for 70th position overall and 20th female. Not forgetting that Nic is relative novice to running and certainly to competing, this is looking very promising for the summer season!
There were 92 finishers in the main event.
In the fun run 5 famililes from Lympstone were competing. Some of them are not runners at all and some are very new to it - no doubt having been coerced into trying it by Mike!. All had a really fun evening and enjoyed the run and the friendly atmosphere that is so characteristic of these Axe Valley Runners' East Devon Race Series events.
In the main race, the 4 competing Harriers - Mike and Nic Musgrove, and Martin and Diana Richards - got a bit of a surprise as they thought the Ug was a fairly flat course... not quite so! It infact boasts nearly 1000ft of climb over a distance of just 10k. The going underfoot was not always easy either as, after a gentle start down the country lane, the route veers off into fields where the runners had to plough their way through waist high wet grass. The route then rises up to some woods, from where there are some stunning views over the Axe Valley for any who want to take time to admire them, before it descends back down along some muddy tracks and fields and back into the village.
Mike came a bit of a cropper when he took a wrong turning on the course. He confesses to having "a bad habit of ignoring directional signs', but I guess when you are running as fast as he is, it's easily done, so we'll let you off! Despite this small navigational mishap, which he estimates cost him about 90 seconds, Mike still secured a solid 2nd place overall, in a time of 45:00, 3 1/2 minutes behind the winner, Tim Lenton of Norfolk Gazelles. Mike was also top MV40.
Next Harrier was Martin Richards who completed the tough multi-terrain course in under the hour, with 59:12 for 49th place and 8th MV40. Martin's wife Diana was not that far behind him, coming in just over 3 minutes later in 59th place overall in 1:03:21. This gave her 13th female overall and 3rd FV45.
Nic Mugrove completed the Harriers' contingent with a very fine time of 1:11:48 for 70th position overall and 20th female. Not forgetting that Nic is relative novice to running and certainly to competing, this is looking very promising for the summer season!
There were 92 finishers in the main event.
In the fun run 5 famililes from Lympstone were competing. Some of them are not runners at all and some are very new to it - no doubt having been coerced into trying it by Mike!. All had a really fun evening and enjoyed the run and the friendly atmosphere that is so characteristic of these Axe Valley Runners' East Devon Race Series events.
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