Dave, Roger, Andy and Ellie do Exeter and Dennis does Dalwood!

For some race-hungry Harriers, competing only at the weekend simply isn't enough and so the addition of a couple of Wednesday night races in the region this week was a welcome bonus!

Exeter 10k

The Iron Bridge Runner organised Exeter 10k was a new addition to the summer running calendar this year. Originally designed to be a part of the 'Tour de Exeter', the Tour got cancelled due to lack of numbers but thankfully Pete and the organisers at Iron Bridge decided to retain the 10k race. Run over the same course as the South West Road Runner's First Chance 10k, the Exeter 10k provides a fast and flat 2 lap circuit alongside the River Exe and Exeter canal, starting and finishing at the quayside near the Haven Banks Leisure complex.

237 runners registered for the race, not bad at all for an inaugural event, and they were headed up by a strong contingent from the Bristol and West club, which included Exmouth Harrier's second claim athlete, Tom Merson. On what were perfect conditions for running - not too hot, no wind - four (and a half, counting Merson!) Harriers lined up on the start line and prepared to do battle!

Tom Merson won the event in a highly impressive time of 31.03. He was hoping to dip under the 31 minute mark but reported going off too fast in the early stages and so ran a couple of slower kilometres mid-race which just took the edge off his time. It was nevertheless an impressive run considering he'd just run hard over 10'000m the previous weekend.

I, Ellie Sutcliffe, suffered a similar fate. I went out like a raging lunatic, determined to beat my 10k PB of 39.45, set previously on this same course in January. At the half way mark I was flagging but in the lead so this spurred me to fight hard to the finish. Approaching the finish line I could see the clock ticking on towards 38 minutes. I battled to try and dip in under that time but didn't quite get there, finishing in 38.04. I was very pleased to cut 1m41s off my PB and to take victory in the women's race.

Andy Johnson was the next Harrier home in a very respectable time of 42.30. The summer 5k series he's been competing in had clearly sharpened up his legs as he crossed the finish line looking very strong indeed.

Next home was stalwart veteran runner, Roger Rowe. Still on the slow comeback trail from injury, Roger ran exceedingly well to finish in 43.33 and claim the top spot in the Vet 65 catgeory. Ever the perfectionist, Roger still professed to be dissatisfied with this performace after the race, it being a long way off the times he was clocking last year, but that is indicative of this running lark and the injury cycle: one minute you're up, the next you're down, and boy is it frustrating!

To round off the Harrier's performances, Dave Eveliegh powered on home to the finish line to clock 47.20. Utterly exhausted after the race - so exhausted he didn't even perk up when a marshall dangled his finisher's goody bag in front of his nose! - Dave had given his all and this was rewarded with this time, a personal best for him in recent years.

A good way to measure performances on an equal footing, regardless of gender or age, is to convert the times into age-graded percentages. A quick calculation of our 4 times revealed that Roger came out top!:

Roger: 79.94%
Ellie: 78.59%
Andy: 69.58%
Dave: 67.33%

Lastly, one has to spare a thought for the the poor - but who shall remain unidentified - runner who, just 2k into the race, got struck down by a very severe bout of the runner's trots... For the entire race I played cat and mouse with him as he got ahead of me, got dramatically struck down, had to dive off the path and drop all very rapidly before resuming his race and overtaking me again. This happened a total of 6 times, with him eventually finishing shortly behind me. He did the polite thing at the end of congratulating me and apologised for me having to witness all that. I said, 'Don't worry, not a problem, but I won't be shaking your hand if that's ok'! Running can be a glamorous sport at times...


Dalwood Fayre 10k
Whilst some Harriers were trying to clock PBs on a flat and fast city course, Dennis Gildea was at the other end of the spectrum, in the heart of the Devonshire countryside on a very hilly, multi-terrain course that is by no means PB friendly. The Dalwood Fayre 10k trail race takes place in the pitturesque village of Dalwood which lies in a velley between Honiton and Axminster. Not quite as brutal as the Dalwood 3 Hills Challenge which is staged in the same village in February, the 10k route is still not to be underestimated, with some brutal climbs and punishing descents.

Despite a recent "lull" in training, having been on holiday for the past few weeks and indulging in some non-sport related pleasures, Dennis ran a very strong race to finish the tough course in 12th place and a time of around 46 minutes. Dennis reported that he struggled a little bit on the climbs but the all downhill blast to the finish allowed him to use his descending skills to good effect as he picked off a few competitors on the home stretch.