And round, and round, and round and round: Exeter 10'000m track champs

What goes round and round and round and round? Answer: a runner taking part in a 10'000m race on the track. To be precise, they go around the track 25 times and so the event can be just as much a mental battle as a physical one.

This did not deter 2 Harriers, Andy Johnson and Dave Eveleigh, from signing up and towing the start line of the Iron Bridge Runner organised Exeter track champs on Wednesday (14th Sept). With nearly 50 entries, the organisers were able to stage 2 races, an A race for competitiors predicted to run around or under 40 minutes, and a B race for those with times over 40 minutes. The A race was won by the consistently good Shaun Antell of Bristol and West AC in a time of 31.52.98 - such was his performance that Antell managed to lap everyone else in the field at least once! Top woman, in fact the only woman in the A race, was SWRR's veteran Karen Cook, clocking 39.42.36.

Andy's times have been gradually improving throughout the course of the summer season, and with the series of 5k races behind him that sharpened up his legs, he ran a very respectable 41.35.7; good enough for 5th place in the B race and 2nd V/45. Dave Eveleigh's goal for the race was to get as close to the 47 minute mark as possible. Not only did he achieve this but he also managed to dip under, running 46.58.2 to claim 15th place in the B race and 5th V/55. Our 2 Harriers left the track feeling giddy with excitment at their performances... or was that giddy with dizziness from running around in 25 circles? Who knows!