Tony tops the (very large) podium at Lustleigh!

With plenty of races on offer over the bank holiday weekend, with 3 in the local area on the Monday alone, Tony Hatchard and Lorraine Croome opted for a tough off road 10k and ran the Lustleigh Show 10k on the fringes of Dartmoor. Just because the event takes place as part of the local village fayre does not mean that it in any way offers a leisurely, sedate fun run. Quite the opposite! This is a tough, hilly off-road race that always attracts a competitive field. This year was no exception and so our own Tony Hatchard did extremely well to cross the line in 1st position. This 1st being his second in as many weeks as he took the honours at the weekly Killerton parkrun event the previous weekend. 

Tony evoked the spirit of the event when he says that the 10k race “shared the spotlight with human sheep herding, ferret racing, horse and dog trials, hay bailing and the good old favourite, Morris dancers”. However, a quick check reveals that no details are provide of the Champion Ferrett at all so Tony remains alone atop an Olympic sized Lustleigh podium, having taken a few quality scalps in the process to get there. 

Lorraine Croome is never one to shy from challenging off-road races and will have given it her all in her usual gutsy fashion to finish well up the women's field, if not top of her vet category. 

As yet the results link on the show website is not working, so no times are available for the moment. I will update the blog once they are received. But for now, a photo of Tony's glory moment!

In poll position, having been presented with his trophy by the village crier!

8 Harriers tackle Torbay 10k

On a very sunny Sunday evening, 25th August, 8 Harriers were on the start line for the Torbay Regatta 10k road race. Celebrating the 200th year of the Regatta itself, the road race is one of the longest standing on the Devon running calendar. A glance back over the previous haul of winners (and winning times) shows you the caliber of athlete that this race has attracted year on year. So our 8 Harriers were in esteemed company as they lined up at 6pm by the Princess Pavillions, on the sea front in Torquay, and prepared to tackle the run out to Paignton, around the Green twice, and back again to finish on the grassy area at Corbyn Head.

This is never the easiest or flattest race as runners must tackle the climbs up and out of Torquay on the outward leg and then in reverse, back out of Paignton, on the return. This year, a very very stiff headwind - that was imperceptible as a tailwind on the out leg, but sure made its presence felt at the turn around - also served further to slow the runners down on the second half of the race.

Some of the Harriers before the start of the race, by the big wheel in Torquay.

L - R: Lisa, Carly, Adam, Dawn, Stan

Missing: Hugh (warming up/beach combing for treasure); Ellie (queuing for the toilet for the 11th time), Andy (doing his own thing)

Adam Miller found himself in a quality race at the front end of a quality pack, with former winners Johny Gilby, Kairn Stone and second claim Harrier, Tom Merson (running for Bristol and West on the night) all present and correct, not to mention the Torbay AC batallion and a smattering of other handy runners. This did not phase Adam though, who set off at a good pace and put himself in the mix from the start. Although his pace dropped off in the final 2-3 miles, so did everyone's into the headwind, and so he managed to hang on for a superb 8th place overall and 2nd MV35 in a time of 36:18.

Hugh Marsden was the next Harrier home. Despite having struggled with a calf niggle all season, this did not seem to effect him on the night as he ran a sensibly paced race to finish strongly in 38:49 for 21st spot overall and a victory in the MV50 section: quite a scoop at this race, which attracts a strong field of local veteran talent.

I, Ellie Sutcliffe, was next in. I struggled quite a bit in the second half - a combination of the headwind but also not being 10k race fit at the moment. (I'm finding there's a wealth of difference between being sharp enough to run a fast 5k and having the endurance to carry that through for another 5!) I was extremely fortunate that most of the fast ladies did not turn out for this one, as I managed to scoop the first female prize. My time of 40:12, however, was slower than when I last ran this in 2011, when my sub 40 minute time was only good enough for 8th female; further highlighting that I got a lucky break this year! But, as they say, you've got to be in it to win it!!

A real podium! *Grinning from ear to ear* :-)

Mr. Consistency - A.K.A., Andy Johnson - was the next Harrier across the line. Always a fan of these longstanding, historic road races, Andy races here year on year and never gets any slower! This year he posted a time of 43:22 for 87th overall and 5th MV50, a category that he has only recently stepped into and can look to targeting some podium positions in the near future.

The ever-improving Lisa Hatchard was next across the finish line. Hoping for a PB and, ideally, a sub 46 minute time, Lisa - indeed, none of us - had not bargained for the extremely windy conditions encountered. Add the wind to the hills and this does not make for a PB friendly concoction! Lisa did extremely well, nonetheless, to finish within less than a minute of her PB, set in Ivy Bridge in May this year, with a time of 47:23 for 157th place overall, 16th female and 5th FV35.

Carly Miller and Lisa are fairly evenly matched at the moment and this is certainly leading to an exciting battle in the club championships! On this occasion, Carly was just pipped to the post by her club mate and sparring partner, but only just. Carly finished in 47:36 for 164th place overall and 18th woman. This is Carly's 3rd 47 minute clocking this year and with her 5k time now under 22 minutes, a 46 or even a 45 minute time is most definitely there for the taking, but on a much faster and more PB friendly course than this!

Ladies' captain, Dawn Teed, was not too far adrift of Lisa and Carly either, showing that once again, the Harriers females were packing in tight at the top and punching well above our weight! Dawn ran 49:13 for 188th spot overall, 22nd female and sneaking onto the category podium as 3rd FV50. Unfortunately, there was no team prize on offer at this race, but if there had been, we would surely have been the favourites with all 4 ladies in the top 22 of females, out of about 170 females who finished.

In a recent reversal of roles, this time it was Joan Mason's turn to stand on the side lines and hold the bags and car keys and watch husband Stan Mason in action. Not feeling 100%, Joan took the sensible decision not to start the race, leaving Stan - who is now back to his best, following an injury lay-off - to record one of his fastest times on the course (not stopping this year to help a damsel in distress near the finish line will have gained him a few extra seconds!!!). He ran comfortably under the hour in 57:42 for 364th spot overall and 19th MV55.

There were 499 finishers, once again highlighting the popularity of this race. Well done to all the Harriers for putting themselves into the thick of the action and doing the club colours proud!

Harriers at the finish... not too sure what's going on with Stan's cap!

A hot summer heats up the Club Championship!

All the fantastic weather we've had over the past few months has clearly drawn a lot of Exmouth Harrier runners out onto the race circuit and at the close of play at the end of August, we now have 5 men and 6 women who have already completed their club championship, with 2 months left to go.

Men's Championship

In the men's championship, Marc Cox, Rich Hawes, Adam Miller, Mike Musgrove and Dave Stone have all completed the requisite number of races across the 4 different categories. They are now in the favourable position of knowing that whatever they do now, their percentage cannot decrease, but some good performances between now and the end of October could see them increase.

Things are certainly tight at the top in that men's competition, with Dave Stone just edging it - being the only man to break the 80% age-graded average (81.15%) - with Mike Musgrove not far behind in 2nd (79.71%), followed very closely by men's captain, Adam Miller (79.34%). However, with Mike's training now focusing around his Atlantic Coast Challenge attempt in October, Adam could well sneak a few extra percent in the next couple of months to just edge past him. It could be down to the wire between those two!

However, those are by no means settled as being the top 3 in the men's championship as some other contenders, who still need to complete one or two more races, could put a spanner in the works. Both Hugh Marsden (78.55%) and Tony Hatchard (78%) were late starters to the championship, having only started their racing seasons this summer, but they are sure making up for it now. With a few more key races pencilled in, such as the Dartmouth Regatta 5 mile this coming weekend, we could see changes in those top 5 positions by the end of the week!

The overall standard in the men's competition has been high across the board, with a number of men not far behind the leading pack all averaging around 75/76%. Rich Hawes is at the top of the chasing group (76.30%), just 0.01% ahead of Jon Garrity (76.29%); however, Rich has the advantage in having completed all of his races, whereas Jon still needs to add 2 more races across 2 new categories to achieve a full portfolio.

Hot on this pair's heels are Ray Elston (75.51%) and Dave Eveleigh (75.19%). Ray needs 2 more races from 2 different categories, whilst Dave only needs one final race from either the Half-marathon, Marathon (unlikely for our 1 mile specialist!) or a wild-card distance.... Dartmouth Regatta 5m this weekend, perhaps?!

Marc Cox has completed his championship already (72.42%) and so he could now look to improve upon a couple of the results he's had at tricky races that are pulling down his overall percent. For example, finding a faster race to replace his Totnes 10k result would erase his only sub-70% mark from the board. A fast 5k at Run Exe or Yeovilton or else Woodbury 10k could do this and see Marc also creeping up to join the 75+ percenters!!

Rob Orton and Lee Russell have a bit more work to do if they are to complete their championships in the next couple of months, as at the moment they have only got races in one section (5ks) and so need 3 more races of 3 different distances to get a full set.

Women's Championship

In the women's championship, 5 of the 8 ladies have now completed. The podium positions are a little bit more settled here than they are in the men's, with Cathy Newman streaking ahead as a clear and unreachable winner. Cathy has now completed her full set of races with an astounding average age-graded percentage of 88.40%.

Second place is being occupied by myself, Ellie Sutcliffe, on an average of 79.32% - tanatlisingly close to breaking the 80% barrier, but that is unlikely to happen now with only 2 months left.

Third spot is fairly secure in the hands of Hannah Bown, who has completed on an average of 73.19%. I say "fairly" secure as ladies' captain, Dawn Teed, is not massively far behind her (71.04%) and has been enjoying a good season of racing this summer, so there is still a small chance that she could close that gap between now and the end of October. However, a good run at an autumn half marathon could also see Hannah stretch ahead again, so it's still all to play for!

After these 4, the positions are as tight as you could ever get, with the remaining 4 ladies all within 1% of each other! With her sparkling new 5K PB, Carly Miller has just stolen the advantage, in 5th spot overall (66.40%), from her sparring partner, Lisa Hatchard (66.18%): this pair have both completed their full set of races so can now work at further improving their percentages. With them being so closely matched, this little battle really will go right down to the wire!

Joan Mason (65.90%) and Emma White (née Dupain) (65.30%) are then having a battle of their own. Neither has yet completed all the required races (indeed, Joan was unfortunate not to have been able to get a score in the 10k section last Sunday as she felt unwell at Torbay and so decided not to run). Emma just needs one race in a different section to complete, whilst Joan needs 3 races across 2 different sections; one of which could be a 5k, so get yourself to a parkrun Joan!

Beginners' Championship

There still remains only the one contender in this category and that is Karen Hawes. Credit to Karen for giving this a go within her first year of running. She is doing superbly well, especially considering that she doesn't tend to target easy races! Her 2 10ks so far have been the hilly Umborne Ug and the seeringly hot Tipton Rail and River Run! She's also completed a Run Exe 5k, giving her a current average percentage of 49.89%. With one more race left to complete from a third category, we're sure that Karen could finish up on a 50% score.

She'd love to have someone else to battle with though! Yes, there's an element of competitivity to it, but it's primarily meant to be a bit of fun and to encourage people to try out different events and races. If you are new to competitive running this past year, then you can enter it. It's not too late: you only need 3 races in the next 2 months. It can still be done: just ask if you are interested but not sure and we can tell you more about it!

Well done to everyone who has given it a go this year. We will be awarding prizes and momentoes at the Christmas party to recognise your efforts. 2 months left to improve your scores, so get racing!!

Cox "coasts" to a new PB and to a 2nd place!

Marc Cox has been in superb form this year: you only need to look at the line graph on his Run Britain Ranking's page for a graphic illustration of his improvement curve! That form has continued these past two weeks with a storming run at the Exeter 10k bringing him a new PB and another strong run at the local Jurassic Coast multi-terrain 10k, in which he ran his way to a hard earned 2nd place.

On 15th August, Marc was on the startline at Haven Banks for the annual Exeter 10k. A relocated start and finish area this year made the race even faster and was better for spectators as they were both in the same place, attracting people to stay and enjoy the atmosphere.

Marc ran a well-paced race and finished strongly to record a time of 35:42 for 11th place overall out of 300+ runners. This time saw him shave just over a minute off his previous best for the distance, which was also recorded this year at the Ivy Bridge event in May. 

Just over a week later, Marc was on local turf, toeing the start line of the Jurassic Coast 10k, which starts and finishes in his home town of Budleigh Salterton. This race takes runners on a very scenic circular route, out along the river bank, turning right over White Bridge, along the cliffs to Crab Ledge, forging inland and dropping down on footpaths to Clamour Bridge and then returning back along the river bank to the finish at Lime Kiln Carpark. The route is undulating, but not as hilly as you might expect, with all of the climbing being over by half way, making for a fast closing half. 

Marc had a good battle with an unattached runner, who eventually just got the better of him on the final 1 mile run in to the finish. Marc clung on for a very creditable 2nd spot though and his time of 36:58 represented well over a minute's improvement on his time from last year. 

Marc is now excellently placed to tackle the cross country season this year and we're sure that further improvements to his times on road races are also up for grabs if he targets the right races this autumn. Well done Marc!

Return to the RAT!

The R.A.T., an acronym  for the 'Roseland August Trail', is a series of 4 races of 4 different distances, all taking place along the South West coast path in Cornwall, around the Roseland Peninsular and St. Austell Bay. I, Ellie Sutcliffe, took part in the inaugural event last year, running the shortest of what were 3 available distances on offer: 32, 20 and 11 miles. This year a new 'big daddie' of a distance was added in the form of a 64 mile (100k) 'Plague' race. My plan was to up the distance in increments each year and so this year I had entered the 20 mile event. Ongoing injury problems since February that have prevented me from increasing my training miles meant that this was no longer a feasible option, so I downgraded back to the 11 mile again; however, that was still no small ask as it would still be the longest distance I had run in one go since February... oh, and with the small matter of over 1600ft of climbing over the 11 miles too meaning this would be no walk in the park!

The 11 mile event runs from Gorran Haven back to the race village at Porthpean outdoor centre. The first 6 miles to the checkpoint at Pentewan are relatively easy with hills a plenty, but all highly runable, then the fun starts in the last 5 miles, with a roller-coaster profile of steep descents and climbs, jacobs ladders (one section has well over a 100 steps to negotiate!), wooden bridges, styles, and oodles and oodles of mud glorious mud! Last year's race was a total mud bath and on the steep climbs it was difficult to get traction. I was looking forward to a firmer underfoot surface this year following a much drier summer, but an overnight downpour that abated briefly in the morning but then started again about 2 hours before the race start ensured that that wasn't to be the case. If anything, the surface mud, churned up by all the runners, made it even slipperier than last year!

On the coach on the the way out the the start I was feeling sick with nerves. I was so anxious that I would be even up to the distance as I had not done it for 8 months and I worried how my achillies would fair on all the punishing climbs. I do, however, know that it fairs better off road and, with the terrain as it is, you have no choice but to walk some of the jacob's ladder sections, which means mixing up the rhythm.

The race starts as it means to go on, with a sharp uphill climb out of Gorran. Immediately, a group of 5 of us - 4 blokes and myself - shot off the front and we had gained a 100m advantage by the time we turned the first corner. I suspected that unless I drastically blew up or injured myself, this is the position I would end up in. A glance back after a long open field section about 1/2 a mile in confirmed that there were no other challengers in sight and so I settled into my rhythm and started to enjoy the amazing scenery back in my old home patch of St. Austell Bay.

Start of the RAT 11 mile on the beach at Gorran Haven

The race has a unique format in that the starts for the different race distances are staggered to try and get everyone converging on the finish within a few consolidated hours, so this means that from the moment the hooter sounds, you begin to pick off runners from the other, longer routes, who started out earlier but are going at a slower pace. Everyone was really supportive of each other and I tried to lavish praise on anyone I passed wearing a green vest as these were 'Plague' runners who had already been out since midnight (it was now 1pm!) and were on the last 11 miles of their 64 mile run: incomprehensible!

Pressing on and taking advantage of one of only 3, short flat tarmac sections, at Portmellon.

As I approached the checkpoint at Pentewan, I realised that I was about 5 minutes up on my time from last year. I had no idea how this could have happened and worried that I had gone off like a lunatic and would pay for it in the harder second half. This is one reason why I didn't want to repeat the same 11 mile distance: when you return to a race, you have expectations of yourself and, even though I knew I had done no appropriate training for this - no hills, no long runs - and knew that I wasn't in the same shape as last year, a part of me - the hard task-master, competitive part - still wanted to improve upon last year's time. As I got to the last steep descent before the final climb into the race village I could see that my watch was reading 1h34 and I had less than a quarter of a mile to go. I ran the whole thing in 1h47 last year and I simply could not fathom where I had made up so much time this year as I took the descents very cautiously in the mud and I walked all the steep uphills to save my achillies. I thought it had to be my garmin that was faulty as it read 1:37:10 as I crossed the finish line: shaving exactly 10 minutes off my 2012 time! Comparing my two garmin uploads, I had indeed run a minute faster on each mile throughout the whole race. So maybe all this hype about "rest", a subject with which people insist upon regaling me, has some, er, excuse the pun, mileage in it! I felt fresh this year. Last year, the event came at the end of a hectic racing season for me and the day was a very hot and humid one; I didn't get my fuelling strategy right and ended up keeling over at the finish line, which is the only time I have ever done so in a race. I definitely felt much more energised and up for it this year and the whole race seemed to flash by and be over too quickly as I was really enjoying myself!

I placed 5th overall and 1st lady. 3rd, 4th and myself all finished within 2 minutes of each other, then after me there was a 13 minute gap until the next athlete, so positions had remained as they were on that first hill out of Goran! A great race and hopefully next year I will be fit enough to tackle the 20 mile as you get to see double the amount of luscious Cornish coastal scenery!! The whole weekend has a festival vibe to it too, with all the runners camping at the race village, which has evening entertainment, a bar and multiple catering outlets. A great running weekend away: other Harriers should give it a try!

Receiving my rather unique trophy from Mimi Anderson, ultra-running guru extraordinaire and VIP guest at the RAT.

Dave E. is back on track at Braunton

After a testing season on the injury front with problems with his knee, Dave Eveleigh is now firmly on his way back to form. After a couple of outings at Killerton Parkrun that went well, Dave had the confidence to tackle a track race again. His destination this time was Braunton, in North Devon, and his distance was the 4 lap 1 mile event. Opportunities to run this iconic distance are few and far between these days, so Dave will have been pleased to have the fitness back to give it a go. He will also have been pleased to have posted his fastest time over the distance in recent years.

Back in June he ran 6:14:9 at the Devon Open Meeting in Tavistock and 2 months later he managed to shave exactly 3 seconds off that to record 6:11:9. He also had a bash at the 1500. Having already exerted himself over the mile, he did well to post a time of 5:37:8, just 5 seconds shy of his time at the Devon County Track Championships back in May, which he ran on fresh legs.

Going back a few years, Dave ran PBs of 4:37:8 for the mile in 1982 and 4:14:0 for the 1500m in 1983: impressive stats indeed. This weekend's outing will have been a nice confidence boost as the track season now draws to a close and Dave will turn his attentions to the cross-country.

Dawn runs fastest ever time at 'Race the Train'

If you look back through the archived posts in this blog, you will notice an annual posting about a rather quirky race in Mid-Wales called 'Race the Train', or 'Râs yr Trên', to the Welsh speakers! Two members of the Exmouth Harriers - Dawn Teed and Hugh Marden - have a soft spot for this race and make the trip up to Tywyn every August to participate.

There are 4 different distances (or "challenges") on offer, the longest of these being the "Rotary Chaellenge" which, at 14 miles long, is also the thoughest and the one that draws Dawn and Hugh back each year. The object is simple: race a steam train from the start in the town of Tywyn for 7 miles, running through muddy and rutted fields and paths alongside the railway line, then turn around and race it back. Of course, the train's speed is faster than that of the average runner, but it also stops to pick up passengers and to take on water at the halfway turnaround point, which is where competitors must seize their advantage and try to get ahead of it.

The train usually takes between 1h45 and 1h50 to make the round trip. This year it took 1h48m07s and 192 competitors (roughly 20%) managed to beat it: the last of these only just, clocking a time of 1:47:07 exactly: I wonder who was running the lowest on steam in this final sprint to the finish?!

Hugh Marsden not only manages to beat the train year on year, but usually manages to beat most of the other competitors, and certainly most - if not all - of the other runners in his vet 50 age category. This year was not exception. Despite the weather conditions being atrocious this year, making the going underfoot harder, Hugh was only 2 minutes short of his time from last year and once again managed to bag himself a podium finish in his age category. His highly respectable time of 1:40:56 gave him 73rd spot overall and 2nd MV50. Well done once again Hugh!

Hugh leading a group of runners along side the railway line. No sign of the train: must be behind him already!

However, Hugh had a lot to live up to as his partner Dawn was having an absolutely storming run a couple of miles behind him. Dawn has been having the season of her life this year, starting with her amazing win at the Falklands Marathon and continuing with PBs at 5k and course bests at Totnes. On this occasion she set another PB: her fastest time ever on the course. Bearing in mind that Dawn has been running this event every year since 2005, that is an impressive effort! Entering the vet 50 category this year has seemingly injected a whole new dimension into her running as she is getting quicker all the time! Dawn said: "My previous PB was 2:10.02 in 2010 and since then I have been around 2:16, so am over the moon to get 2.07.08!" And so she should be! That is a superb time, particularly in such tough conditions. It gave her a similar placed finish in the ladies race to where Hugh finished in the men's - 72nd - and 560th overall out of 935 finishers. Fantastic running from ladies' captain Dawn, who is proving to be a huge inspiration to the other lady Harriers.

The winner was international athlete and 6-time winner of the Snowdon Race, Andi Jones, in a staggering 1:18:42. Top female was Sarah Ridehalgh of Accrington Road Runners in 1:39:05. (Sorry Hugh: you just got "chicked"!!!)