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This race is the subject of much debate as to the
faster / easier direction ( it alternates between clockwise and anti-clockwise
each year ) and the route choice is also the subject of much discussion. Having got to Weston there is still about
13 miles of running to do, and some found that having pushed a little too hard
at the start quickly became very tired.
However, five runners who made there way to front of the field very
early on did not look as if they were going to tire easily. Ed Charlton-Weedy (1st SWRR) and
Dan Netterfield (2nd Nailsea RC) pulled away on the long climb from
Sidbury up to Whitecross on probably the muddiest section of the course. Ed running this race for the first time stuck
close to the experienced Dan right until the last trig on High Peak before
pushing for home when the route is quite straight forward. The bunch of 3 just behind consisted of
‘old-timers’ to this event and they were having a 'right old battle' up to Fire
Beacon when surprisingly Graham Hill (5th Sidmouth RC) made an error
in route choice and was never able to get back with James Jackson (3rd
Otter Valley HHH) and Jon Croome (4th Exmouth Harriers). James and Jon went into Harpford Woods
together, but somewhere in the woods James turned right and Jon turned left,
James came out ahead and kept his advantage right to the end.
Justin Ashby (6th) ran a great race and was never
far behind the front five and ran yet another personal best on this course by
over 10 minutes,looking strong at the finish; an indication that his London
Marathon training is going well. Jess
Watkins (32nd) in her first 4 Trigs (her Mum – Sarah also ran
the race for the first time) was coached around the course by her 'minder' Mark
Keast (36th). Jess was feeling strong all the way round, unlike Mark
who started to tire on the ascent to High Peak; at that point Jess left him
and ran hard to the finish - Jess was the first Sidmouth lady home.
Sidmouth Running Club had 24 runners taking part in this
race and all can be pleased with their performance. George Chalstrey (47th=) looked as if he had been for a
jog along the sea front when he finished; he had supported and encouraged the
much younger Ian Robson and Rob Dunford around the course - they both looked
completely 'wasted'when they finished together.
Nichole Madely (54th) did well and was the second
Sidmouth lady runner to finish. She probably didn’t realise her true potential
in her first outing in this event, as she was one of the runners who ran the
race tired after running the first 3 hills over-ambitiously, unlike Debbie
Marriott (56th), a seasoned campaigner of this event, who complained of
feeling tired right from the start.
Becky Robson (71st) ran with first timer Sarah Watkins (72nd)
and had a fantastic run. Running across
Muttersmoor they realised that they had the experienced Chris Robinson (73rd)
in their sights and a little bit of competitiveness surfaced - they were both
very pleased with themselves after beating Chris.
It was good to see other local 'non running club members'
taking part in this event, Mark Waters (61st) and Peter Bagwell (58th)
both got their running kit out for an airing using this as a training run for
the Grizzly, however at the finish they were both regretting their minimalist approach
to training. This was in direct contast to Carol Goddard (82nd)
who ran and finished with Sue Tubbs, both looking as fresh as daisies having
clearly very much enjoyed the race - benefitting from a good platform of training
over the winter months.
Brian Gosling (87th) apparently started with the
intention of running two of the trigs was enjoying it so much that he decided
to carry on and do all four. Cathy Keast,
Helen Palmer and Tess Stone started the race petty 'non-committal' about how many
trigs they were going to run, and in the end completed three. Kate Stamp and Libby Jarrett also ran the
first 3 trigs, but for some reason took a lift back to the sailing club from
the bottom of Fire Beacon Hill - the other three ran back!
As usual it was a great event and the icing on the cake was
the weather which made for a great post race atmosphere at the Sailing Club.
Competitors were able to enjoy a hot shower prior to refuelling with a giant
Hayman’s Pasty, and cakes provided by Upper Crust Bakery. The new balcony and benches at the club
added to the atmosphere, competitors were able to sit and relax with their food
and drinks and cheer the finishers as they crossed the finish line on the
seafront.
Other Sidmouth finishers not mentioned in the report
are: John Keast (17th),
David Palmer (22nd), Simon Morley (23rd), Don Cawthera
(42nd), Andy Shearer (57th), Ian Voce (80th),
David Welsh (81st) and John Chesters (85th)
Organisers of the event, Helen and Nick Keast, are grateful
for the food provided by sponsors Stuart Hayman and Neil Tubbs, and for the use
of the facilities at Port Royal.
They are pleased to report that they will be donating approximately £560
to local charity. Sidmouth Running Club
also boasts one of the speediest webmasters - Chris Woodcock - who took some great photos of the race ( links above ) - some of
which were 'on the web' before it had even finished!
|
YEAR |
MALE |
TIME |
FEMALE |
TIME |
|
2001 |
G
Perratt |
2.49 |
S
Rendle |
4.21 |
|
2002 |
J
Keast |
2.34 |
L
Swani |
3.22 |
|
2003 |
N
Jenkins |
2.25 |
H
F. Hawker |
3.05 |
|
2004 |
G
Perratt |
2.09 |
H
F Hawker |
2.39 |
|
2005 |
M
Bayer |
2.26 |
J
Gilland |
3.30 |
|
2006 |
M
Bayer |
2.20 |
H
F Hawker |
2.40 |
|
2007 |
M
Bayer |
2.25 |
L
Cummings |
2.47 |
|
2008 |
J
Pearce |
2.26 |
L
Cummings |
2.52 |
|
2009 |
Edd
Charlton-Weedy |
2.19 |
E
Hitchins |
2.45 |
