Oh my Obelisk!

Whilst a battalion of Harriers were in action on the north coast of Devon on Sunday 13th January, a smaller squadron of them converged upon the south coast, at Dawlish, for the Oh My Obelisk! multi-terrain race. The only similarity to the Westward Ho! XC meet was that both events contained an exclamation mark in their title, as otherwise, these were 2 very different types of races, but equally tough in their own right.

Although billed as a 10 mile run, the Obelisk event usually measures in over that distance at 10.7 miles. However, this year, due to the extreme rainfall preceding the event, the route had to be changed and took the runners further up one of the main climbs, making the route not only tougher but also longer: it came in at 11.5 miles on the Garmin. So times from previous years are well down and not to be compared.

Run over a varied mix of terrains, which include tarmac country lanes, boggy fields, muddy tracks, green lanes and twisting forest paths with tree roots and stones to negotiate, this race is multi-terrain in every sense.  Runners climb up for most of the first half, to the Obelisk monument way up in Haldon Forest, and the latter half of the race is predominantly downhill to the finish at the Dawlish Leisure Centre.

I knew this would be a tough test of fitness for me, Ellie, as I had just returned from a 3 week holiday, during which I virtually had a complete break from running. My fitness level wasn't too bad but my endurance certainly wasn't there and my legs felt heavy and tired just 2 miles into the race. I managed to get around on my usual mix of determination and competitive spirit and I successfully negotiated all the technical off-road sections, but then, just 2 miles from the finish, I turned my ankle on a pothole on one of the few tarmac stretches and went crashing into the hedge! I managed to get home on it but slowed dramatically, dropping several positions overall to 22nd, but thankfully managing to hold on to the top female spot in a time of 86:20.

Next in was Nicholas Brown. Always up for a tough, off-road challenge, Nicholas didn't let the very muddy conditions bother him and got stuck in - quite literally - to the course to finish in 81st overall in 1:40:40.

Lisa Hatchard, fast gaining a reputation as the Harriers' multi-terrain queen, finished just over a minute behind Nicholas, 86th overall and 10th female. 

Alison Milborrow was 150th overall, so in the top 75% of runners, and comfortably inside two hours in 1:57:53.

We thought we should have had a chance at the team prize, with 3 ladies to count, but after discovered that one of us (we won't name and shame!!!) hadn't put their E.A. number on the entry form and this being an E.A. licensed event, with an E.A. referee in attendance, this was a fixed requirement to count for a team. However, now that more and more Harrier ladies are regularly competing, we're sure that it won't be too long before we are once again in the mix for team prizes.

There were 213 finishers which included a large female field of nearly 80.

The race was won by David Tomlin of the Teignbridge Trotters in just under 1h15.

3 happy Harriers ready to tackle some serious hills and mud!