6 Harriers, 16 miles, 4 Trigs, infinite mud!

If we half-marathoners were berating the overnight downpour of rain, then you can well imagine how the 6 Exmouth Harrier members who had signed up to compete in the muddy, off-road challenge, 'The 4 Trigs' felt upon waking that morning! The ground was already saturated after months of wet weather and this new deluge did nothing to make a tough course any easier.

Organised by Sidmouth Running Club, the 4 Trigs is a self-navigation event of approximately 16 miles (if runners are on the money with their navigating skills!) which, due to the level of climb involved (approx. 3000ft / the same height as Mount Snowdon!), is often categorised as a long cat. B fell race. Participants must run to the 4 Trig points that are situated on the 4 hills that surround and overlook Sidmouth: Weston, Buckton, Fire Beacon and High Peak. The route rotates direction each year, with this year's being anti-clockwise, starting with Weston and finishing with High Peak. Runners can take any route they like between the trig points (as long as it's not using too many roads), though to get a good time runners usually follow a similar direct route that brings the total mileage in at the minimal possible.

None of the Harriers participating were strangers to tough, off-road events, but Lisa Hatchard was a first-timer to this event. And boy did she pick a good year to give it a go! It was the 13th running of the race and the organisers say that the conditions this year were by far the worst encountered.... 13 ay? Unlucky for some?

And it sadly proved to be highly unlucky for Lorraine Gilson, who took a very heavy fall not far into the race, near Weston, landed heavily, shook herself up, and so took the decision to call it a day, given that further falls may be likely in the slippery conditions.

But what of the others? Well, they all ploughed on through the mud, up and down the hills, over the styles, and duly ticked off each check point, one by one. The speediest Harrier to bag all 4 was competent off-roader, Jon Croome. Jon, along with his wife Lorraine, has completed this event many times and so knowledge of the course and the best lines / routes will have been an advantage. He crossed the line in a creditable 9th place in a superb time of 2:46:50. To put it in perspective, this was less than 20 minutes behind the winners - the Axe Valley pairing of Alex Todd and Tim Lenton, both of them accomplished fell runners, so Jon's performance was excellent.

Not to be out-shone by her husband, Lorraine Croome also had a fantastic run, taking 3:36:12 to cover the 16+ hilly, muddy miles and claiming 33rd place overall and a well-deserved 3rd place in the female race.

Not far behind Lorraine was Harriers' chairman, Bob Keast. Like most of the race participants, Bob is in his element when knee deep in energy-sapping mud, and so he did not let the heavy rains effect him at all as he stormed around the course in a time of 3:37:24 for 374th place overall. Despite the unfavourable conditions this year, Bob's time was a staggering 26 minutes up on his time from 2011 - the last time the route was in this direction!

Running together and supporting each other through the tough conditions were Terry Oldham and Lisa Hatchard. Terry is no stranger to this race and so was able to take most of the responsibility for the navigating, allowing first timer, Lisa, to enjoy her first 4 Trigs experience. They both found good lines through the woods, but, like the race winner, Terry's time was 13 minutes down on last year, highlighting just how tough this year's underfoot conditions were. They ran 3:57:22 for joint 53rd place.

There were 85 hardy souls who managed to successfully bag all 4 trigs, with the last finisher taking 5:35:37, so for all 5 Harriers to be under 4 hours was fantastic.

And as for Scott-2 Trigs-Jordan. Well, he was originally planning to run the event, mainly to try and redeem himself from only having located 50% of the Trigs last year and to try and eradicate his nickname. However, poor Scott sustained an injury a few weeks ago and so was forced to withdraw. Now, I personally think that this injury was very badly timed as I had been planning my witty blog headline with a view to his intended participation for weeks!

So, Scot-No Trigs-Jordan, if you are reading this, rest up and get back running again soon!!