The Yeovilton summer 5 series, organised by Yeovil Town Road Runners, continued this week with the third round on Wednesday 13th June. Roger Rowe was once again on the start line for the Harriers. You might wonder why it's worth the trek up to Yeovil when Ironbridge Runner also stage a 5k series on the doorstep in Exeter. Well, whilst the Exeter course is fairly fast, the Yeovil course claims to be the fastest 5k in the country, being all on road and without a single contour in sight.
Roger is proving that he is Mr. Consistency on this course as on this, the third outing of the series, he clocked 20:53, just one second slower than the April race. He also ran an incredibly even paced run: 1st mile 6:44, last mile 6:44, overall pace 6:43.2. This gave him 58th place overall and a comfortable victory on the night in the MV65 category, however, he has moved down the placing slightly in the national rankings for this age category, dropping from 12th last month to 14th this. Roger is nothing though if not determined and so you can be sure he will try his hardest to claw his way back up again by the end of the season.
The ever-improving Shaun Antell won the race in a new PB time of 15:08. Alexandra Cutts of SWRR won the women's event in 18:56. There were 128 finishers. Next race is Wednesday 18th July, 7pm kick off!
Exe-rated runners!
The successful Harriers team, en masse, at the Erme Valley Relays, July 2013
Saturday, 16 June 2012
Thursday, 14 June 2012
Yet more relay success for the Harriers!
The Exmouth Harriers are garnering quite a reputation for themselves in the area for consistently being the top act to beat when it comes to off-road relay race events. Having come out as top dog in the past two years at the Autumn Parrett Trail Relays and having taken a comfortable victory in last summer's East Devon Way relay, this week they targeted an event for the first time: the Woodland Relays in Colyton, near Seaton. Staged by the Axe Valley Runners, this is an invitation only event and teams are made up from the local clubs of Axe Valley, Sidmouth, Honiton, the met office and our good selves.
As the name suggests, these relays were run off-road in some woods. There are three legs, so each team consists of 3 runners who each run the same 2.2 mile circuit. The legs were basically downhill with a very steep uphill towards the end which was very difficult to run due to the steepness of the gradient and slipperiness of the terrain, although some managed it (including Marc Cox!).
We had 8 runners representing the Harriers on the night, and a quick calculation revelas that 8 does not divide by 3, and so one runner had the pleasure of going round twice. This pleasure fell to Scott-Two-Triggs-Jordan, and quite right too! Call it karma: doubling up to compensate for cutting in half the required distance on a certain other recent race...! ;-)
Our men's A team, consisting of Afam Miller on leg 1 (13:19), Mike Musgrove on leg 2 (13:37) and Jamie Pearson on the third and final leg (12.42), secured victory in a cumulative time of 39:38, with a winning margin of 1 minute 13 seconds from the Axe Valley Runner's mens A team. Jamie Pearson also has the honour of running the fastest leg of the evening! Well done lads!
Axe Valley Runners Mens B placed 3rd, then our Harriers B team came in 4th, with Scott Jordan taking the opening leg (15:19), Dave Backway the middle (14:49) and Marc Cox the anchor (14:14). This gave them a total accumulative time of 44:22.
Our final men's team, Exmouth Harriers Sore (not sure how that name came about!), had Jon Garrity opening up the proceedings (13:48), Mark Thompson filling in the middle slot (15:00) and Scott Jordan running again to complete the sandwich (15:58). This gave the team an amassed time of 44:46 and placed them a well earned 6th.
There were 26 teams in total who participated and so the Harriers flew the club flag with pride, occupying 3 of the top 6 finishing spots! Unfortunately we had no ladies team, neither did many other clubs, so this will be something to aim for next time.
The event had a lovely low-key friendly atmosphere and the Harriers greatly enjoyed their evening... so much so that they might have agreed to stage the next round of the relays. (Each participating club takes it in turns to stage a similar event throughout the year). So, get your thinking caps on as to where and when we could hold it!
As the name suggests, these relays were run off-road in some woods. There are three legs, so each team consists of 3 runners who each run the same 2.2 mile circuit. The legs were basically downhill with a very steep uphill towards the end which was very difficult to run due to the steepness of the gradient and slipperiness of the terrain, although some managed it (including Marc Cox!).
We had 8 runners representing the Harriers on the night, and a quick calculation revelas that 8 does not divide by 3, and so one runner had the pleasure of going round twice. This pleasure fell to Scott-Two-Triggs-Jordan, and quite right too! Call it karma: doubling up to compensate for cutting in half the required distance on a certain other recent race...! ;-)
Our men's A team, consisting of Afam Miller on leg 1 (13:19), Mike Musgrove on leg 2 (13:37) and Jamie Pearson on the third and final leg (12.42), secured victory in a cumulative time of 39:38, with a winning margin of 1 minute 13 seconds from the Axe Valley Runner's mens A team. Jamie Pearson also has the honour of running the fastest leg of the evening! Well done lads!
Axe Valley Runners Mens B placed 3rd, then our Harriers B team came in 4th, with Scott Jordan taking the opening leg (15:19), Dave Backway the middle (14:49) and Marc Cox the anchor (14:14). This gave them a total accumulative time of 44:22.
Our final men's team, Exmouth Harriers Sore (not sure how that name came about!), had Jon Garrity opening up the proceedings (13:48), Mark Thompson filling in the middle slot (15:00) and Scott Jordan running again to complete the sandwich (15:58). This gave the team an amassed time of 44:46 and placed them a well earned 6th.
There were 26 teams in total who participated and so the Harriers flew the club flag with pride, occupying 3 of the top 6 finishing spots! Unfortunately we had no ladies team, neither did many other clubs, so this will be something to aim for next time.
The event had a lovely low-key friendly atmosphere and the Harriers greatly enjoyed their evening... so much so that they might have agreed to stage the next round of the relays. (Each participating club takes it in turns to stage a similar event throughout the year). So, get your thinking caps on as to where and when we could hold it!
All 8 Harriers who participated in the Woodland Relays in Colyton
Our victorious men's A team: Jamie (fastest leg of the night!), Mike and Adam
Monday, 11 June 2012
Good day at the D.D. office for D., D., and E!
Dartmoor Discovery 2012
Dave Wright's race: Dave has only been running for a couple of years. He took it up as the big 5-0 birthday approached after having read somewhere that if you're not fit by the time you're fifty, you never will be! Not content at just dabbling with fitness though, he threw himself in at the deep end by training for his first marathon in the autumn of 2010. Which one did he pick? Abingdon - nice and flat? Dartmoor Vale - nice and local? No! He chose the Snowdonia as his first ever marathon, so you can already see that this man likes to set himself a tough challenge! Small wonder then that he signed up for the D.D. Dave was feeling confident that he would perform well, based on his recent marathon times and on how well the training had gone. He was hoping for a finish time of around 4h40. He set off hard and went through 10k and the first major hill on the course just behind me, in about 44 mins, and he stuck to his task throughout the race, digging deep in the latter stages when every fibre of his body was screaming at him to stop, and he finished in 4:46:41 for a well earned 28th place overall. Although he didn't quite make his 4h40 target, this is a phenomenal time for a debut on this course. Most impressively, however, this placed him top man in the MV 50 category! He beat some very high quality athletes in this category, including Alan Boone from the host club, Teignbridge Trotters, so Dave should be thrilled and incredibly proud at this amazing performance.
The Dartmoor Discovery is a 32.3 mile ultra marathon organised by the Teignbridge Trotters and which starts and ends in Princetown. With this race it's not only the distance that makes this one of the most challenging races in the region, but it's also the neverending hills and the unpredictable weather conditions that have given this a fearsome reputation on the ultra running circuit. Nevertheless, 3 Harriers felt brave enough to give the thing a bash, and here's how they got on...
Weather: Some would say ideal conditions - the gale force winds of the previous days had died down, there were showers, but only light ones and not long-lasting, there was patchy sun but not too hot. Temp. about 12 degrees; though many of us found that the last 8 or so miles got quite cold as there was a head wind and our pace had dropped off by then so we weren't generating enough heat to keep the muscles warm.
Weather: Some would say ideal conditions - the gale force winds of the previous days had died down, there were showers, but only light ones and not long-lasting, there was patchy sun but not too hot. Temp. about 12 degrees; though many of us found that the last 8 or so miles got quite cold as there was a head wind and our pace had dropped off by then so we weren't generating enough heat to keep the muscles warm.
On the start line and psyching ourselves up for the colossal 32.3 mile task ahead.
(I seem to have already decided it's not going to go well and have bowed my head in resignation!)
A tired and (in my case!) almost hypothermic Dave and Ellie at the end of the race.
Dave Stone's race: Dave had an asolute stormer of a run and ran his fastest D.D. time ever of 3:43:59, on his 8th attempt at the event. Ordinarily this would be easily good enough for the win - it was about 8 minutes quicker than last year's winning time - but on this occasion someone phenomenal in the form of John Ward from Bideford AC came out of the woordwork! Dave knew that John was fast (he's a sub 2h30 marathoner!) but he hoped he would have the advantage on the stamina side, with John being a novice of ultra running and Dave being a hardened pro. However, John proved to have both speed and stamina and he stormed home to a comfortable victory and also breaking the course record, clocking 3:33:36! So Dave can take heart from knowing that he was beaten by a superb athlete. He can also take heart from the fact that he is still getting quicker, year on year. However, he was a bit frustrated that he and John are in the same MV40 category, so Dave even had to settle for 2nd place in that too!
Dave's splits:
10k: 39:05 20k: 1:16:50 30k: 2:05:47 Mara: 2:59:11 50k: 3:33:18 Finish: 3:43:59
Dave, still up with the winner, John Ward, at Newbridge (mile 10)
This looks like a man who is pleased to have sighted the finish line!
A massive new course best for Dave, an outstandingly gutsy run!
Dave with his prize (a cut glass decanter) for coming 2nd. Quick!, get the port poured out!
Ellie's race: I had a shocker! Hated every minute of it and wanted to give up about 8 miles in! Had a stinking cold all week leading up to it and threw every medicine under the sun at it which I think upset my stomach as I had bad cramps for the first half of the race. Despite being billed as the favourite I knew I wasn't the favourite and, as predicted, Isobel Wykes from Truro AC got ahead of me at the first hill at Dartmeet and I never saw her again! Disheartening to know from early on that I was running for 2nd again, so I set myself a goal of running sub 4h20. I failed at that too and struggled massively in the last 10 or so miles. I got very cold over the latter stages and my leg muscles seized up. I have never been so grateful to see a finish line in my entire life! So, I did run faster than last year by 6 minutes, but not quite the time I was hoping for with 4:27:02. 13th overall (exactly the same as last year), 2nd female, beaten very convincingly by Izzy who was only 5 minutes outside the female course record. So, like Dave, I repeated the same position as last year. With this time last year I would have won, but again, a super quality athlete popped up and ran a fantastic race, so I was at least beaten good and proper by a very deserving winner!
Ellie's splits:
10k: 43:13 20k: 1:28:08 30k: 2:24:32 Mara: 3:29:33 50k: 4:13:27 Finish: 4:27:02
(Excuse the vest! I was running on behalf of my 2nd claim club, Teignbridge, to represent the ladies team).
Mile 4 and not feeling as fresh as I would like... gonna be a long day!
Mile 21 at Widecombe and clearly enjoying myself more than I remember doing!
I've never been so grateful to see a finish line in my life!
Receiving my prize for finishing 2nd lady... my mother's already eyeing it up for her crysanths!
Dave Wright's race: Dave has only been running for a couple of years. He took it up as the big 5-0 birthday approached after having read somewhere that if you're not fit by the time you're fifty, you never will be! Not content at just dabbling with fitness though, he threw himself in at the deep end by training for his first marathon in the autumn of 2010. Which one did he pick? Abingdon - nice and flat? Dartmoor Vale - nice and local? No! He chose the Snowdonia as his first ever marathon, so you can already see that this man likes to set himself a tough challenge! Small wonder then that he signed up for the D.D. Dave was feeling confident that he would perform well, based on his recent marathon times and on how well the training had gone. He was hoping for a finish time of around 4h40. He set off hard and went through 10k and the first major hill on the course just behind me, in about 44 mins, and he stuck to his task throughout the race, digging deep in the latter stages when every fibre of his body was screaming at him to stop, and he finished in 4:46:41 for a well earned 28th place overall. Although he didn't quite make his 4h40 target, this is a phenomenal time for a debut on this course. Most impressively, however, this placed him top man in the MV 50 category! He beat some very high quality athletes in this category, including Alan Boone from the host club, Teignbridge Trotters, so Dave should be thrilled and incredibly proud at this amazing performance.
Dave's splits:
10k: 43:44 20k: 1:30:23 30k: 2:33:21 Mara: 3:45:11 50k: 4:32:29 Finish: 4:46:41
So, all 3 Harrier entrants came away with some prize money (IBR vouchers!) and tropheys. To any other Harriers who are tempted to have a bash at this iconic race next year we say: come and have a go if you think you're hard enough!!
Dave Wright, going strong at mile 4
Battling on through Buckland-in-the-Moor, mile 18
Still looking strong at the finish, setting an amazing time for a debut Discovery!
Dave with his well deserved and hard earned prize for placing 1st MV50.
Sunday, 10 June 2012
Mike is the pide-piper at the Umborne Ug!
Mike Musgrove not only led the Harriers home but also all but one of the runners in the main 10k Umborne Ug race on Saturday June 9th, as he finished 2nd overall. In addition, and in true pied-piper manner, he has inspired lots of youngsters from his village of Lympstone to have a go at running by starting up a running club at the local primary school, and many of these children competed in the shorter 4k fun run on Saturday evening.
In the main race, the 4 competing Harriers - Mike and Nic Musgrove, and Martin and Diana Richards - got a bit of a surprise as they thought the Ug was a fairly flat course... not quite so! It infact boasts nearly 1000ft of climb over a distance of just 10k. The going underfoot was not always easy either as, after a gentle start down the country lane, the route veers off into fields where the runners had to plough their way through waist high wet grass. The route then rises up to some woods, from where there are some stunning views over the Axe Valley for any who want to take time to admire them, before it descends back down along some muddy tracks and fields and back into the village.
Mike came a bit of a cropper when he took a wrong turning on the course. He confesses to having "a bad habit of ignoring directional signs', but I guess when you are running as fast as he is, it's easily done, so we'll let you off! Despite this small navigational mishap, which he estimates cost him about 90 seconds, Mike still secured a solid 2nd place overall, in a time of 45:00, 3 1/2 minutes behind the winner, Tim Lenton of Norfolk Gazelles. Mike was also top MV40.
Next Harrier was Martin Richards who completed the tough multi-terrain course in under the hour, with 59:12 for 49th place and 8th MV40. Martin's wife Diana was not that far behind him, coming in just over 3 minutes later in 59th place overall in 1:03:21. This gave her 13th female overall and 3rd FV45.
Nic Mugrove completed the Harriers' contingent with a very fine time of 1:11:48 for 70th position overall and 20th female. Not forgetting that Nic is relative novice to running and certainly to competing, this is looking very promising for the summer season!
There were 92 finishers in the main event.
In the fun run 5 famililes from Lympstone were competing. Some of them are not runners at all and some are very new to it - no doubt having been coerced into trying it by Mike!. All had a really fun evening and enjoyed the run and the friendly atmosphere that is so characteristic of these Axe Valley Runners' East Devon Race Series events.
In the main race, the 4 competing Harriers - Mike and Nic Musgrove, and Martin and Diana Richards - got a bit of a surprise as they thought the Ug was a fairly flat course... not quite so! It infact boasts nearly 1000ft of climb over a distance of just 10k. The going underfoot was not always easy either as, after a gentle start down the country lane, the route veers off into fields where the runners had to plough their way through waist high wet grass. The route then rises up to some woods, from where there are some stunning views over the Axe Valley for any who want to take time to admire them, before it descends back down along some muddy tracks and fields and back into the village.
Mike came a bit of a cropper when he took a wrong turning on the course. He confesses to having "a bad habit of ignoring directional signs', but I guess when you are running as fast as he is, it's easily done, so we'll let you off! Despite this small navigational mishap, which he estimates cost him about 90 seconds, Mike still secured a solid 2nd place overall, in a time of 45:00, 3 1/2 minutes behind the winner, Tim Lenton of Norfolk Gazelles. Mike was also top MV40.
Next Harrier was Martin Richards who completed the tough multi-terrain course in under the hour, with 59:12 for 49th place and 8th MV40. Martin's wife Diana was not that far behind him, coming in just over 3 minutes later in 59th place overall in 1:03:21. This gave her 13th female overall and 3rd FV45.
Nic Mugrove completed the Harriers' contingent with a very fine time of 1:11:48 for 70th position overall and 20th female. Not forgetting that Nic is relative novice to running and certainly to competing, this is looking very promising for the summer season!
There were 92 finishers in the main event.
In the fun run 5 famililes from Lympstone were competing. Some of them are not runners at all and some are very new to it - no doubt having been coerced into trying it by Mike!. All had a really fun evening and enjoyed the run and the friendly atmosphere that is so characteristic of these Axe Valley Runners' East Devon Race Series events.
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
Dave E. has the luck of the Irish with him!
Also in action on the Jubilee weekend, on Friday 1st June, was Harriers' press baron, Dave Eveleigh, who went international and took the trainers over the Irish Sea to Donegal Town in north-west Ireland to run a 5k road race.
Run over an undulating course around the town, Dave was targeting this race as his first sub-21 minute 5k for many years. Despite slowing drastically in the last kilometre he was still determined to achieve his sub-21 minute target time as he turned into a 50 metre run for home. However, looking at the watch it appeared that he was literally going to run himself into the ground as his legs began to buckle. Then though, as Irish luck would have it and in the very finest traditions of Irish hospitality, two local runners, Declan McCarthy and Brendan Patton, came up alongside our Dave, grabbed an arm each and hauled him the remaining 30 metres to the finish line! All three shared 46th place and clocked a time of 20:57. Dave would also like to point out that in the best traditions of Irish generosity the organising club, the Tir Chonaill Athletics Club, did not even consider a disqualification on the grounds of second-party assistance, which Dave acknowdledges was, strictly speaking, probably merited! But the clock doesn't lie: sub-21 by 3 clear seconds! Next stop, the Run Exe summer 5k series and a chance to shave some more seconds off that time!
Run over an undulating course around the town, Dave was targeting this race as his first sub-21 minute 5k for many years. Despite slowing drastically in the last kilometre he was still determined to achieve his sub-21 minute target time as he turned into a 50 metre run for home. However, looking at the watch it appeared that he was literally going to run himself into the ground as his legs began to buckle. Then though, as Irish luck would have it and in the very finest traditions of Irish hospitality, two local runners, Declan McCarthy and Brendan Patton, came up alongside our Dave, grabbed an arm each and hauled him the remaining 30 metres to the finish line! All three shared 46th place and clocked a time of 20:57. Dave would also like to point out that in the best traditions of Irish generosity the organising club, the Tir Chonaill Athletics Club, did not even consider a disqualification on the grounds of second-party assistance, which Dave acknowdledges was, strictly speaking, probably merited! But the clock doesn't lie: sub-21 by 3 clear seconds! Next stop, the Run Exe summer 5k series and a chance to shave some more seconds off that time!
Dave E. and his 2 glamourous assistants who helped him over the finish line in Ireland!
Monday, 4 June 2012
Hugh, Dawn and Trevor take on the Plymouth Half
On Sunday 3rd June the biggest race, in terms of participant numbers, on the Devon running calendar took place and that is the Plymouth Half Marathon. Very much a 'big city' type event, it comes with a 'big city' type entrace fee of £30 but also 'big city' type prize money. Whilst the high entry fee can tend to put many club level runners off, the prize fund also serves to attract some top level club entrants and also the occasional Kenyan! All of this makes for a hugely varied and interesting race with times ranging from the winner's swift posting of 66.34 to the last finisher who trailed home in 4h10m! There were 3839 finishers, several DNFs, and 3 Harrier competitors who were mixing it up with the top level club runners, first time half-marathoners, chairty fancy dress entrants, and a smattering of Ethiopian and Kenya runners.
First Harrier home in a very highly placed 86th position overall in a time of 87:00, was Hugh Marsden. Back from his travels in the southern hemisphere, Hugh has obviously kept his fitness levels up whilst away. Although this time may seem slow for our Hugh, this is by no means a fast course. There is a killer hill at mile 6 in which almost 200ft of height is gained over half a mile, and then another, slightly smaller one, a couple of miles later. The course is also very twisty and turny and upsy downsy which constantly interupts your stride and cadence. To give some persepctive on how fine a performance this was, it gave Hugh 2nd place in the competitive MV50 category, him crossing the line just 2 minutes behind 1st in this age group. A great run!
Next in was Hugh's partner, Dawn Teed. Dawn also had a very solid run on this tricky course and was only 5 minutes outside of her half-marathon PB with a 1:52:37 clocking. This gave her 1279th place overall, putting her in the top third of finishers. She also placed 161st female and 20th in her FV45 category.
The third and final Harrier home was half-marathon guru, Trevor Cope. Although he does not post the fastest of times, finishing in 2:32:37 for 3401st place and 75th MV55, Trevor rather focuses on quantity as he tots up yet another half-marathon finish, taking his total to well over 250 halves completed! That's over 3275 miles, to give you an idea!!
If you are willing to pay the £30 entrance fee, you get treated to a nice course that takes in all the main parts of the city, including the Hoe, the Barbican and Saltram Park. You also get a nice souvenir tee-shirt and bespoke quality medal, so some might argue that it's worth the money!
First Harrier home in a very highly placed 86th position overall in a time of 87:00, was Hugh Marsden. Back from his travels in the southern hemisphere, Hugh has obviously kept his fitness levels up whilst away. Although this time may seem slow for our Hugh, this is by no means a fast course. There is a killer hill at mile 6 in which almost 200ft of height is gained over half a mile, and then another, slightly smaller one, a couple of miles later. The course is also very twisty and turny and upsy downsy which constantly interupts your stride and cadence. To give some persepctive on how fine a performance this was, it gave Hugh 2nd place in the competitive MV50 category, him crossing the line just 2 minutes behind 1st in this age group. A great run!
Next in was Hugh's partner, Dawn Teed. Dawn also had a very solid run on this tricky course and was only 5 minutes outside of her half-marathon PB with a 1:52:37 clocking. This gave her 1279th place overall, putting her in the top third of finishers. She also placed 161st female and 20th in her FV45 category.
The third and final Harrier home was half-marathon guru, Trevor Cope. Although he does not post the fastest of times, finishing in 2:32:37 for 3401st place and 75th MV55, Trevor rather focuses on quantity as he tots up yet another half-marathon finish, taking his total to well over 250 halves completed! That's over 3275 miles, to give you an idea!!
If you are willing to pay the £30 entrance fee, you get treated to a nice course that takes in all the main parts of the city, including the Hoe, the Barbican and Saltram Park. You also get a nice souvenir tee-shirt and bespoke quality medal, so some might argue that it's worth the money!
7 Harriers trot 7 miles at the Talaton Trotter
On Saturday 2nd June, 7 Exmouth Harriers decided that their Jubilee weekend celebrations should incorporate some form of running activity and, as luck would have it, on the local race calendar was the 7 mile multi-terrain race, the Talaton Trotter.
Starting and finishing in the village of Talaton, near Ottery St Mary, the course is basically a figure of eight and multi-terrain in every possible sense. There are places where it becomes almost impossible to run, as steep gradients, gates, styles and river and rail crossings all need to be negotiated. Many racers, even at the front end of the field, were reduced to a walk in some places! However, there were also the more mellow country lanes, farm tracks and paths to canter along too where you could really shift. (Roger Rowe reports that his range of speed recorded on his Garmin peaked at 5:30m/m and troughed at 10m/m!) It's that kind of course that keeps your legs guessing, and working, until the end. The first half of the course is basically easy with only one nasty long grass-covered hill, whilst the hard work is saved up for the second half, which contains most of the hills. The humid temperatures on the day will have only made those hills feel even harder!! So, there's the background info, how did our Harriers fair?
Pretty darn well actually!! As is so often the case when he runs, Adam Miller was the first Harrier home in 45:42 (remember with all these times, this is 7 miles, not 10k, and 7 off-road hilly miles!). For always-the-bridesmaid-rarely-the-bride Adam though, this gave him yet another 4th place in a race whose prizes went down to 3rd... However, Adam had also run around the Parkrun with girlfriend, Carly, that morning, so on fresh legs, could he have hung onto the 2 runners in front of him that he was tail-gating the whole way round? Who knows. But you can bet that Adam will have given it everything to stay with them and this is still a very fine performance in a field of 83 hard-core off-roadie runners.
Next in, in a time of 53:05, was Andrew Johnson. This gave Andrew a highly commendable 12th place overall and 2nd in an always competitive MV45 category.
Then came the first of that family of racing snakes, the Dupain clan, in the form of Hannah Bown. This was the family's 3rd race in as many weeks and it was another successful one for Hannah on her comeback to full fitness from pregnancy. She followed up her 4th place at the Ottery 10k and her 2nd place at last week's 'Little Long Run' fell race with another 4th place amongst the female entrants here at Talaton and 21st place overall. Like Adam, Hannah is always breathing down the necks of the podium placed finishers, and as her fitness continues to develop over the summer, it is surely only a matter of time before she is up there taking the prizes herself on each outing.
Then came Roger Rowe, who, like Adam, had also raced around the Parkrun that same morning so didn't have the freshest of legs. Nevertheless, he didn't let this stop him from going out hard and asserting his authority on the field, taking 30th spot overall, easily 1st MV65 and, as always, placing very highly in the field if you were to calculate placings according to age-graded percentage. Most of all, Roger claimed to have enjoyed the run, which took in some stunning countryside and the beautiful grounds of Escot House, and he plans to head back there to enjoy the course again at a more sedate pace, as it's only 3 miles from his home.
Next in, and running together, were father and daughter team, Nigel and Emma Dupain. Emma's still coming back into fitness and recovering from her broken ribs, so chivilrous Dad Nigel ran around the course with her to keep her company! I'm sure they had a great time and they put in solid performances to boot, crossing the line in times of 1:00:41 and 1:00:42. This gave Nigel 41st place and 4th MV60 and Emma 42nd place and 10th female.
Also having a fun day out on the trails was Roger Riggs. Now recovered from his superb sub-2h half-marathon performance at the Great West Run, Roger is back to enjoying his training and running again and is trying out some of the different types of race on offer on the local circuit. At Talaton he took 1:06:27 to cover the 7 mile course and this gave him 59th place overall and a very hard earned 3rd MV55.
Not forgetting that this is Jubilee Weekend, each finisher received a specially commissioned Talaton Trotter Jubilee mug. The race was also part of the Talaton Village Day, so the friendly, low-key village atmosphere that is characteristic of so many Axe Valley organised races, made for a fun way to spend the Jubilee Satrurday afternoon.
Starting and finishing in the village of Talaton, near Ottery St Mary, the course is basically a figure of eight and multi-terrain in every possible sense. There are places where it becomes almost impossible to run, as steep gradients, gates, styles and river and rail crossings all need to be negotiated. Many racers, even at the front end of the field, were reduced to a walk in some places! However, there were also the more mellow country lanes, farm tracks and paths to canter along too where you could really shift. (Roger Rowe reports that his range of speed recorded on his Garmin peaked at 5:30m/m and troughed at 10m/m!) It's that kind of course that keeps your legs guessing, and working, until the end. The first half of the course is basically easy with only one nasty long grass-covered hill, whilst the hard work is saved up for the second half, which contains most of the hills. The humid temperatures on the day will have only made those hills feel even harder!! So, there's the background info, how did our Harriers fair?
Pretty darn well actually!! As is so often the case when he runs, Adam Miller was the first Harrier home in 45:42 (remember with all these times, this is 7 miles, not 10k, and 7 off-road hilly miles!). For always-the-bridesmaid-rarely-the-bride Adam though, this gave him yet another 4th place in a race whose prizes went down to 3rd... However, Adam had also run around the Parkrun with girlfriend, Carly, that morning, so on fresh legs, could he have hung onto the 2 runners in front of him that he was tail-gating the whole way round? Who knows. But you can bet that Adam will have given it everything to stay with them and this is still a very fine performance in a field of 83 hard-core off-roadie runners.
Next in, in a time of 53:05, was Andrew Johnson. This gave Andrew a highly commendable 12th place overall and 2nd in an always competitive MV45 category.
Then came the first of that family of racing snakes, the Dupain clan, in the form of Hannah Bown. This was the family's 3rd race in as many weeks and it was another successful one for Hannah on her comeback to full fitness from pregnancy. She followed up her 4th place at the Ottery 10k and her 2nd place at last week's 'Little Long Run' fell race with another 4th place amongst the female entrants here at Talaton and 21st place overall. Like Adam, Hannah is always breathing down the necks of the podium placed finishers, and as her fitness continues to develop over the summer, it is surely only a matter of time before she is up there taking the prizes herself on each outing.
Then came Roger Rowe, who, like Adam, had also raced around the Parkrun that same morning so didn't have the freshest of legs. Nevertheless, he didn't let this stop him from going out hard and asserting his authority on the field, taking 30th spot overall, easily 1st MV65 and, as always, placing very highly in the field if you were to calculate placings according to age-graded percentage. Most of all, Roger claimed to have enjoyed the run, which took in some stunning countryside and the beautiful grounds of Escot House, and he plans to head back there to enjoy the course again at a more sedate pace, as it's only 3 miles from his home.
Next in, and running together, were father and daughter team, Nigel and Emma Dupain. Emma's still coming back into fitness and recovering from her broken ribs, so chivilrous Dad Nigel ran around the course with her to keep her company! I'm sure they had a great time and they put in solid performances to boot, crossing the line in times of 1:00:41 and 1:00:42. This gave Nigel 41st place and 4th MV60 and Emma 42nd place and 10th female.
Also having a fun day out on the trails was Roger Riggs. Now recovered from his superb sub-2h half-marathon performance at the Great West Run, Roger is back to enjoying his training and running again and is trying out some of the different types of race on offer on the local circuit. At Talaton he took 1:06:27 to cover the 7 mile course and this gave him 59th place overall and a very hard earned 3rd MV55.
Not forgetting that this is Jubilee Weekend, each finisher received a specially commissioned Talaton Trotter Jubilee mug. The race was also part of the Talaton Village Day, so the friendly, low-key village atmosphere that is characteristic of so many Axe Valley organised races, made for a fun way to spend the Jubilee Satrurday afternoon.
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