Ladies' captain Lorraine leads by example at Haldon

Guess the race....!?

 'Haldon Heartbeat' is not a title for a country and western song, but the name of an off road 8.5 mile run through the Haldon Forest. This year it's in its second year of running and congratulations must go to the Haldon Trail Runners for organising an event which is likely to become a standard feature of the local running scene. The route changed slightly this year with the organisers opting to omit the initial lap of the race course service track - that was run on tarmac - in favour of heading straight out into the forest and having more of the event off road. What also changed from last year to this was the weather! At last year's event it was an unseasonably hot 28 degrees and sunny (I remember chucking entire cups of water over me at the drinks stations and still crossing the line looking like an overcooked beetroot (ed.)!). Weather this year was an unseasonably cold 6 degrees, misty and rainy.

The venue, at the Exeter Racecourse, is fun, novel and practical and with such a great location to play with, they came up with a testing but highly runnable twisty, muddy course through the forest following forest roads, footpaths and the odd 'gallop' thrown in.

The Harriers were out in force this year and Chris Dupain led them all home in a strong time for such a testing course of just over the hour: 1:00:26 in 36th place. He was closely followed by new member Pete Trapnell in a time of 1:04:29 for 62nd spot. Special mention must go to Pete who is only just getting back into running, so to finish second Harrier on his first competitive outing in many years gives us some idea of the form he may find later on in the season. 

Ben White, again supporting a strong Team Dupain contingent, also had a very solid run and managed to show girlfriend Emma the underside of his shoes again,  coming in just after Pete, 64th in 1:05:15.

Having a storming run for an old wrinkly thing (his words, ed. takes no responsibility for this particular insult!) was Terry Oldham. Terry made up the Harrier's men's team and clocked 1:07:08 for 76th place. He was soon followed by Emma Dupain (82nd in 1:07:40 and 7th female) and Emma's sister, Hannah Bown, 1:08:04 and 86th, 9th female. These latter had to eat their pre-race threats after having made it clear to Terry prior to the race that old and wrinkly things were incapable of beating them!! It seems they were wrong!

Nicolas Brown took 102nd spot in a creditable time of 1:10:30 and then Nigel Dupain clocked another solid performance for the family, 110th in 1:12:53.

Arguably the finest performance on the day came from our ladies' captain and coach, Lorraine Gilson. After having struggled with months of unfortunate injuries and niggles, Lorraine put those well and truly behind her to finish in a time of 1:14:37, 122nd place over all, but, most crucially, this gave her top spot in the FV50 category. A well earned trophey and box of chocolates, that our selfless cap shared with her fellow Harriers (... and it is rumoured that Terry may have had the lion's share...) was just reward for her hard efforts. A fine inspiration to her faithful band of ladies.

Martin Richards and Siobhan Trapnell crossed the line in swift succession, taking 139th and 140th places respectively, in times of 1:17:06 and 1:17:15. Martin's wife Diana was swiftly giving chase too, crossing the line in 1:17:57 for 144th spot.

There were quite a few new faces for the Harriers at this event, and the ladies group were showing the rest of the club that they can mix it at the races. Laura MacMahon was attempting her first trail race in a pair of road shoes, but judging by the smile on her face at the end, she seems to have taken a liking to the off road challenge. She finished in a time of 1:18:50 and 150th place.

And last but by no means least, our stalwart husband and wife pairing, Stan and Joan Mason, had a fun day out on the trails, with Stan finishing in a time of1:25:32 for 184th place and Joan very close behind in 1:26:16 for 190th.

Harriers were out in force at the Haldon Heartbeat, and a force to be reckoned with they were!

Ladies' captain, Lorraine Gilson, with her prizes for placing top vet 50!