Parrett Trail Relay 13/10/07

Saturday saw the fifth running of the Crewkerne runners Parrett Relay. 53 miles 6 legs & 2 Counties (that's what is says on the Tee shirt). this is a great day out starting at Steart where the river Parrett meets the sea on the west coast of somerset and finishing at Cheddington (right out side the wynyards gap pub) now you see why its a good day out. This was the third year MNR had entered the event, this year saw a male only team of all first name club members how did we manage that.

Oh well I can't put this off any longer, I did the first leg mainly because no one else would get up at a silly time on a Saturday morning to get to the start for 8.30 at Steart. Having done this leg last year you would have thought it would be easy, I started well managing to keep up with Fred from Yeovil RC in fourth place but after about four miles he started to leave me behind. This was OK while we were running a long side the river, but when the trial started heading across fields I soon fond my memory of the route was not as good as I thought. not wanting to get lost I slowed to let a Crewkerne runner catch up, we ran together for some time but feeling confident I had remembered the route I set off on my own again(big mistake). I soon found my self coming out in the middle of a housing estate with no idea where I was let alone which way the finish was. more by luck than judgment I found my way back to the finish at the docks in Bridgewater, unfortunately I was approaching the finish line from completely the wrong direction. so not only having to join the hall of shame for getting lost the team could be looking at a time penalty for me crossing the line in the wrong direction. fortunately as I had lost 3 places and about 5 minutes we did not get a time penalty. But I did spend the rest of the day paying for my mistake, the only saying was even tho I got lost I still came in a head of Martin Chaffy (that I would never of lived down) Ironman to lost man in a few short weeks

Leg 2 saw Eric take over, traveling to the start with Dan had its own entertainment value. having spent some valuable time driving around and around Bridgewater they finial found the start with about 10 mins spare and Dan having to deal with a bit of road rage(whats wrong with stopping in the middle of the road to let a runner get out). Eric had a great run finishing at the Bottom of Burrow Mump, having climbed up it first looking like he could carry on to leg 3

Leg 3 was Ian's turn, he had run this 2 years ago but unlike me had not forgotten the route. he seemed to have escaped most of the mud on this section and finished in a very good time

Leg 4 and it was over to Dave C to do his best, Having spent the day before on some sort of pub craw around Exeter I was pleased he had even turned up, but again it was another quick finish.

the confusion only came trying to find where he had parked is car!!

Leg 5 over to you Dan, again there was little time to spare at the start with there combine navigating skills not quite up to the challenge (I know I am not in any position to make that sort comment) Dan not only manged to navigate the hole route, he managed to keep talking all the way as well (good job Martin was not with him)

Leg 6 What can I say Dave W took over what is probably the toughest leg of the route, but it does finish at the pub. He ran this last year and again had no problems finding his way to the finish to complete the route for MNR

The overall finish time has still to be confirmed (come on Crewkerne get the results up) By my time keeping we have an overall time of about 7hrs 30mins putting us in about 8th or 9 place out of the 21 teams.

the overall winners were Yeovil A in 6hrs 44mins first mixed team Chard RC in 6hrs 49mins and first ladies team Exmouth in 7hrs 39mins. all the above times may very to the official results, as there did seem to be some confusion prior to the winners being announced.

For the more observant of you you will have noticed there is no photo of me finishing, it wasn't only the time keeper that did not see me coming (the wrong way)

A great team effort.

Thanks Phil

Clarendon Marathon Relay

On Sunday the team of Richard, Lin, Martin and Lesley, AKA "Three Hares and a Tortoise" represented MNRC at the 10th Clarendon Marathon Relay. The route was from Salisbury to Winchester via Broughton along the Clarendon Way. I had a really funny bit about the use of the word eponymous here, but Lin advised me to remove it, so instead here are some of the pictures we took along the way.

The results are here
Individual race reports to follow:

Sleepwalker

As soon as Lesley emailed Lin the link to the Sleepwalker Midnight Marathon we knew that navigating 20 miles of steep rocky trails in the Brecon Beacon National Park at night was the perfect way to spend the first Saturday evening of the Autumn.
After an afternoon carbo-loading we started at 9:00pm, near the front of a field of 53. The pace seemed very fast, and a group of 3 or 4 runners pulled away, leaving us in a group of 5 or 6. Running at night is not something completely new to us, but we usually keep to the better paths or roads, and this was really rocky and uneven, and most of all, fast.



At first we were able to follow the lights up ahead, but after 2 or 3 miles they were no longer in sight and we were forced to do some navigation. I think we may have gone a bit off track in places, but we must have been more or less right because after 6 miles we came out on a brief road section where the first checkpoint was set up. We gave our numbers and pressed on behind a group of (Axe Valley) Runners who had opened up a gap of 100 yards on us, but kept stopping to check their maps allowing us to almost catch up.


This continued for while until they slowed a bit and we joined them. Although technically a race, this felt more like a long night-time training run, and apart from a mile or two in the middle we were always running with at least three others.


Nearing the halfway mark we still had the steepest climb ahead of us to 2000 feet. This was made more interesting and difficult by taking the wrong path (not my fault!) and having to negotiate hundreds of feet of boggy hillside including barbed wire fences and a stream or three.

The descent off the mountain involved a very tricky section where we dropped a thousand feet and a couple of the AVR team, and having reached the second checkpoint , and unaware of my well-deserved reputation for getting lost, the 3 remaining with us seemed to be quite happy to let me do the navigation. Luckily in most places the trail was fairly obvious and visibility was OK with our high-powered head-torches.

The main problem was maintaining a good pace without tripping or slipping on the steep rocky paths. Fortunately by the time we started to get really tired we were down off the mountain and the final 3 miles was on roads and finally the (seemingly interminable) towpath to the finish. By the time we finished at 12:39am (in joint 4th place, thanks to a sporting gesture by the two AV runners who waited for us at the end) we were on a real high.





What a great event, I highly recommend it! Maybe next year we can send an MNR team? It was an exciting adventure, and not exactly a walk in the park, but it was so well planned and marshalled that it was not dangerously difficult and would be achievable by most with a bit of preparation, common sense and plenty of determination. If it had been held a day later in the storm that blew in on Sunday it would have been a lot more challenging, maybe next year...

PHIL ENGLAND - TRIATHLETE!!

Ironman 2007

Congratulations to Phil for an excellent performance at Sunday's Ironman. He completed the swim in 1.20.01, the cycle in 6.51.39 and the run in an amazing 4.08.25 to finish well under his 13 hour target in 12.41.42.


About to embark on a little Sunday morning cycle ride - 112 miles of Dorset hills on a windy day!




Just starting the marathon and still smiling!



About 10 miles to go.

Phil's own race report to appear here shortly (when he has got enough energy to switch his computer on!)

21st August 2007 - Phil obviously made a quick recovery and here is his report!

Ironman 2007
I am temped to make this the shortest report ever for MNR, I did it, got the T shirt to prove it.
But after all the support I was given by you all, right from the 6.00am start in the lake. I will try and string a few words together.
After the constant rain on Saturday it was good to find it stopped on Sunday morning, the thought of having to spend 13 + hours in the rain and wind was not good. To my surprise the usual pre race nerves were not there (this could have been due to it being 4.00am and I wasn’t awake enough to notice). All the kit and bike had been handed in the day before so all I had to do was turn up and prepare for the swim which was the one bit of the event that concerned me, 1500 people all trying to swim around the lake as quickly as possible. The start of the swim was delayed for 20 minutes to make sure every one made it into the water after some parking problems (they needed Dave Webb’s expertise). But again this still did not bring on the pre race nerves and once we actually got under way it was nowhere near as difficult as I was expecting, in no time, well 1hr 20 mins, I was climbing out of the lake heading to transition for the bike ride. This was not the fastest transition of the day by any means, but when you are going to spend the best part of seven hours on a bike it’s worth preparing for it (that’s my excuse any way). By the time I came out the large group of supporters that had taken over the grounds of Sherborne Castle to see me take part in this event were thinking I had given up. But a full 13 minuets after climbing out of the lake I was on the bike heading to Dorchester for the first time. At this point I was on such a high the cycling felt effortless, this continued right though the first and second laps of the route, and as the photos prove, smiling all the way, even at the top of Lyon’s Gate where cameras were waiting to capture the pain. The final turn from Dorchester back towards Sherborne knowing I had 8 miles of hills ahead of me was tough but not enough to take that now fixed smile off my face. As I was approaching Sherborne Castle to go into transition again to prepare for the run, there were thoughts of "how am I now going to run 26.2 miles?" The swim and the bike had gone perfectly and I had enjoyed it, but could I, or would I be able to run 26.2 miles? Eight minutes later to cry’s of “what the hell have you been doing in there?” from Lin I was starting on the run and yes the smile was still there. All the advice of don’t run too quickly, start slowly, went out the window and I had soon completed the two laps in the Castle grounds at a pace I knew could not last. The pace continued though the town, if only to try and out run Martin with his camera. The footbridge with all its steps at Sherborne Hotel brought the pace right down; heading out along the A30 for the first time knowing I had to do it again was the only low point of the day. 11 miles down and 15 to go - I knew I could finish it but it was going to be hard. Having eaten and drunk enough so called energy drinks and bars to last me a life time there was only one thing left to try to boost the now depleting energy reserves, flat Coke. Not to make things worse I only tried a small amount, it went down OK but did not seem to make much difference. By the time I had reached the turn around point for the second time, about 19 miles, I had got a taste for it and was drinking it at every aid station, and by the time I got back to the dreaded foot bridge heading back to the Castle I had a complete new lease of energy - running up the steps two at a time. I don’t know if this was all down to the Coke or the fact I had worked out that I could finish in less than 13 hours, whatever it was it kept me going right to the finish line to collect the T shirt in a time of 12hr 41m under the dream time I had hoped for of 13 hrs.
I know this report is pushing towards one of the longest ever, but it would not be complete with out a big thank you from me. First of all to my family who have supported me 110%, putting up with me training up to six days a week, coming home from work and then disappearing again running, cycling or swimming, and the occasional pub run. Secondly to all of you who came out to watch the event. I was overwhelmed to see so many face right from the start of the swim to the finish line - as some of you know a friendly face and a shout of encouragement can really lift you and I got more than my fair share of that all the way round - thank you.
Will I do it again?
Jackie say’s not if it takes this long to write the report afterwards!

MAIDEN "NEWTEN" MADNESS

The third running of the Madness took place on a lovely sunny evening which encouraged 120 runners to toe the start line. Phil England, Club Chairman, and the force behind the race, did the pre race briefing and count down and his daughter (who much to the delight of Phil's family had been practicing enthusiastically all day) got the runners underway with a blast on the hunting horn.


Maiden Newton Runners being a very small club, it was great to see such whole hearted support from all it's members, especially the non-running members of the Club who don't often get caught on (our) camera. Stuart Hargreaves and John Arscott, ex Chairman of the Club, formed part of the scarily efficient result recording team, together with another former Chairman, Guy Smith, the man with many watches, not to mention Charles Le Vay who supervised procedings with military precision.

Ian Habgood, from Egdon Heath Harriers was first across the line in 36.38, followed less than a minute later by Paul Rose of Yeovil Town Road Running Club who was the first vet 40. Third place went to Mark Pittaway from Royal Manor of Portland, also a vet 40.

Previous winner, Dave Caddy, another Egdon Heath Harrier finished in 5th place and 2nd senior man and
Egdon Heath's winning streak continued with Stephanie Slade storming across the line as first senior lady in 44.01.

It was the night for local Clubs with Yeovil Town also taking the first male super vet - Nick Brooke, closely followed by Richard Orme of Egdon to claim second prize. Yeovil's Donna Elliott took the first female vet trophy home, and a special mention for Joyce Rendell of Axe Valley Runners, who not only broke the Yeovil/Egdon stranglehold on prizes but as first female super vet finished in an excellent 3rd place overall.

As well as local runners (many will recognise ex Club member Brian Mountjoy-Row pictured above) there were entrants from further afield and the competitor who travelled furthest to start the race was Henry Vales from Germany of Schwarzbier Schwarzbach. Hopefully his excellent time of 43 minutes and 17th place made it worth the trip!

On an evening when Phil had found chores for most Club members, Dan Cantrell and Jackie Webb managed to escape his notice and fly the flag for Maiden Newton both having excellent runs.

Feedback so far has been positive and hopefully the Madness will become firmly entrenched in the local racing calendar. Although there were many people roped in to help on the night, the race wouldn't take place without the organisational skills and enthusiasm of Phil England......so any complaints, send them to him!

Special thanks to everyone who helped on the night, all the marshals, entry takers, tea and cake providers, John Stark Architects who provided sponsorship, Phil's family and many friends, St John's Ambulance and if I've forgotten to mention anyone it's due to my forgetfulness and not because of lack of appreciation!

Results have been despatched to http://www.runnerswebuk.com and will be published there shortly. If anyone really can't wait to see how they did feel free to e-mail me ( lincummins@hotmail.co.uk ) and I'll send a copy in rtf format.

If anyone has anything (preferably good!) to say about the race then please log on and leave a comment on the blog. We can take constructive criticism too. (Phil has broad shoulders - specially after all the swimming he's been doing lately!).

And if you're a local runner, join the club and become part of the MADNESS!

Exmoor Seaview 17

The Exmoor Seaview presented an ideal opportunity for a weekend away......unfortunately the weather was not so ideal and spending a Saturday evening in Minehead in heavy rain is not an experience I'm keen to repeat any time soon. We did eventually find a pub which served something other than burgers, and then spent the evening trying to avoid eye contact with the hard cases who were drinking there, including one who we were convinced had an electronic tag on his wrist.

We had not booked a campsite but elected instead to drive up onto North Hill and park the van off road. By this time it was getting dark, misty and still, of course, pouring with rain. Due to the large quantity of beer that Martin had managed to consume I was driving so it was lucky that we managed to avoid the potholes and find a reasonable parking spot. It was quite spooky not being in a camp site and we were a bit anxious about being moved on by a National Park ranger, but we spent a peaceful night - apart from the rain and wind and it was worth it in the morning when we opened the van door to a beautiful sunny morning, an uninterrupted view of the sea and no-one in sight for miles around.

We had to be at Race HQ for 9.15 to get the bus across to Countisbury where the race starts. The bus trip up Porlock Hill is always a bit nerve wracking but at least we had a competent bus driver. The runners in the second bus were not so lucky and we were all kept entertained when he got the bus stuck in the car park at Countisbury. Good job Steve Eliott was there to sort him out!!!

We gathered for the obligatory group photo and the pre race speech from organiser Fred Hagan - and then we were off, a charge across the grass jostling for position on the narrow coastal path where running in single file is unavoidable. Martin and I had planned to run together but this first section is definitely a case of every man (or woman) for himself, so it wasn't until we turned inland up the first of many steep hills that we settled into a comfortable pace together. The sun had come out again now and it was beginning to get quite hot - my favourite kind of running weather but Martin (precious little flower) was already beginning to suffer from the heat and began whining quite early on about slowing down a bit now or a lot later. I did my best to ignore him and keep a reasonable pace going......

This is a beautiful section of coast - much more scenic and definitely easier going than the South Devon coast we recently experienced. I was feeling quite strong and enjoying myself, especially when we got to the first checkpoint and the marshall used my favoutire expression "Well done, you're first lady". Not what Martin wanted to hear, he knew there was far less chance of me slowing down if I was in with a chance of winning!

We turned inland to avoid a landslide - the diversion to last year's route added an extra 2 miles to the route and also threw in another very challenging hill. Martin and I ran together until we reached Porlock Weir but at this point I gradually started pulling ahead, despite Martin taking a very cheeky shortcut - and in full view of some other runners! By the time I reached the checkpoint at Bossington I could no longer see him behind me and I knew that I had now reached the toughest part of the course - the long climb up Hurlstone Point where you rise from about 90 feet above sea level to well over 900 feet in the course of a mile. I was very impressed by the two runners in front of me who managed to keep up a conversation almost the whole way. I was far too busy trying to drag some oxygen into my lungs to even think about talking!

Once you finally reach the top you know you have done all the hard work and just have 3 or 4 miles of fairly easy running to get back into Minehead. However, life is never that simple, and having overtaken one of the "talkers" in front of me, I couldn't stay with the other one and therefore had no-one to follow. The route isn't marked - you merely follow the acorns on the coastal path. What no-one told us was that as you approach Minehead you don't follow the coastal path - you keep straight on. I turned to follow a track clearly signposted "coastal path" and it wasn't long before I realised that this definitely wasn't the way I had come last year! I reached Minehead via the harbour - a detour which added some extra distance - but I wasn't the only person by any means to make the same mistake. (Martin did exactly the same thing as did many other runners)

I was tired now and also disappointed that I clearly wasn't going to beat last year's time. The worst part of the run was still ahead of me - along Minehead seafront, trying to dodge holiday makers who kept wandering across in front of me - and having made it safely across the moors and cliff path I managed to fall off the pavement at the only road crossing due to watching the traffic instead of where I was going. It was a relief to turn into the school and as there wasn't a cricket match on this year we got to short cut across the field instead of running all the way round it. I finished in 3.12.52, almost exactly 4 minutes slower than last year, but the GPS revealed that the new route was over 2 miles longer at just under 21 miles.

Martin came in soon after me in 3.22.45, followed by Richard, who was running with a 17lb back pack (ultra training - yes we've managed to convince him of the joys of the ultra event!) and Lesley finished in 4.04, looking as fresh as a daisy........and to think what a short time ago it was that she could regularly be heard saying "I DON'T do running".............

This is the best value race around - the £5 entry fee gets you the bus to the start, a fantastic run, excellent Race HQ, including showers, and last but certainly not least a fantastic spread of free sandwiches, cakes and drinks at the end. And they still make money out of the event for charity!

MOB Coast

For Maiden Newton Madness entry form and info, click here: http://maidennewtonrunningclub.blogspot.com/2007/06/maiden-newten-madness-7pm-saturday-11th.html

What an amazing experience the MOB Coast event proved to be. We realise now that we were completely unprepared for it, despite the fact that we have been training and planning towards it obsessively for the last 4 – 5 months.

Day One

After Camping overnight near Paignton, we started at Haytor on Dartmoor at 8.30am on Thursday morning – a small field of 20 runners - with 105 miles ahead of us, shivering on a cold, foggy morning.

The first 18 miles followed the Templar Way down to the coast at Teignmouth and was mostly fairly easy running. The only problem we encountered on this section was a recurrence of my calf injury which caused us to do some walking breaks even as early as 4 miles in. Eventually I managed to develop a rolling gait which made the pain bearable – or maybe it was just that the huge quantities of pain killers began to take effect!

We had to get to Teignmouth by 1pm to beat the tide as the last few miles were along the river estuary, where there was no real path, just slimy green pebbles which made the footing treacherous.

We made it without getting our feet wet, but by now the sun had come out and Martin, who had foolishly not picked up water at the previous checkpoint, had become slightly dehydrated and was starting to struggle. It was made worse because he was finding it really hard to force any food down (not a normal state for him!) and I was seriously worried that he was not going to be able to continue.

Once we picked up the South West coast path the hills were brutal and the sun was really beating down. Luckily, I was feeling really strong and I was able to help Martin, pushing him up the hills, carrying his pack at times, bullying and cajoling him to keep going when all he really wanted to do was lie down and die.

The last check point was on the front at Torquay and we knew what lay ahead of us from this point as we had walked the last few miles of the course the previous day to get to the campsite from the station. Martin began to feel slightly better and I even managed to coax him into a jog a few times. As we entered Paignton we were overtaken by two other runners, but our desire for an ice cream break overcame any competitive urges we may have been feeling.

However the ice cream must have had restorative qualities because we actually caught them up again about 500 yards from the finish and in a sprint for the campsite (or what passes for a sprint when you have competed 36 miles with a 14lb back pack) we managed to pass them and finished the first day in 8 and a half hours and joint 5th place.


Day Two

A largely sleepless night and it was actually a relief to get up at 4.10am, pack our gear, put on our damp gear and sodden running shoes, eat our instant porridge and prepare for departure.

A brief argument with the Race Director – the start was split into two stages with the “speedy” group leaving at 7am and the rest at 5am. We had been classified as “speedy” due to our high finishing position, but we wanted to leave at 5am as we felt that we would be walking most of the route. Rory was basing our progress on yesterday and thought we would be reaching the checkpoints too early. NB: Don’t argue with me at 5am when I’m wet, cold, tired and in pain. Told him if we didn’t go now we wouldn’t be going at all. He realised it was an argument which he was NOT going to win and we left at 5.10am. We were joined by Tracey who’s partner had dropped out due to his feet being “shredded”.

We started off by walking, continued by walking and very occasionally on flat or downhill bits broke into a shuffle – to describe it as a run would be misleading. Once the nerve ends in my feet went numb and my blisters no longer pained me it became a bit easier. The first checkpoint was at the ferry crossing at Kingswear and we had been told it was about 10 miles. If you ever do an Ambition Life event do NOT believe them when they tell you how far you have to go. Day 1 was supposed to be 33 miles but was 36; Day 2 was supposed to be 40 miles but we had been told the previous evening it was 44.

We eventually struggled into Kingwear with 13 miles on the GPS and already feeling like we had had enough. We were lucky that the ferry was waiting and left almost immediately. Much to the bemusement of our fellow passengers I immediately removed my left shoe and sock for Martin (he’s a lucky man!!) to perform first aid to my new blisters. Good job no one was having their breakfast as we crossed! When we got to the other side Tracey decided that she didn’t want to continue – we did our best to persuade her otherwise but she got back on the ferry to return to the check point and the soft option.

We are made of sterner stuff so we headed for the refuelling centre, i.e. Dartmouth town centre and stocked up on sandwiches, muffins and coffee, essential supplies to enable us to summon up the will to continue.

At this point two of the real “speedy” group passed us – a bit demoralizing as they had started almost 2 hours after us and had caught us up in the space of 13 miles and a ferry crossing. I guess if you’re a serious ultra runner you don’t stop to buy food and drink along the way.

The next part of the course was quite enjoyable (comparatively). The path leaves the beach at Blackpool Sands and wends across fields and lanes through the villages of Stoke Flemming and Strete – stunning though the coastline was it does begin to get tedious after 50 miles or so and this section made a welcome change.

We also enjoyed the flat section of Slapton Sands, Torcross (checkpoint) and Beesands – we were onto familiar territory now as we had run this stretch during the Endurance Life marathon in February. We had managed to average 3 miles an hour up until this point, mainly because we had run quite a lot of the flat section and we kept this pace up until we reached the next checkpoint half way between Beesands and Salcombe. After that I really started to struggle – the path is very rough and rugged and my right knee was really giving me grief.

The next checkpoint was at the ferry crossing to Salcombe and we didn’t know what time they stopped sailing so we kept pressing on, safe in the knowledge that once we got across the river we could get something to eat and then we only had 7 miles to go. At about 5pm we reached the estuary and turned in land – at this point it also started to rain and we had been on our feet for 12 hours. It was a real low point but it was about to get worse.

We reached the checkpoint at 5.45, the ferry was waiting, all we had to do was climb on, but the person at the checkpoint then told us that we had not 7 but 13 miles to go! The stage was supposed to be 44 miles and I had 37.5 miles on the GPS at this point. It was clear that the organiser’s had been economical with the truth about the real distance. I threw a bit of a tantrum – I felt sure that I wouldn’t be able to do those extra miles to reach the end. To cap our misery it was now chucking it down with rain, we were soaked, we were cold, we were exhausted and we were miserable.

We found a fish and chip shop in Salcombe and guzzled some really high quality fish and chips – lurking in the shop doorway trying to stay out of the rain. We then started walking out of the village with me desperately trying to persuade Martin that we should just book into the nearest bed and breakfast – hot shower, dry towels, soft bed – I even offered to pay - but he wasn’t having any of it and blocked my whining out by concentrating on the map.

Due to the foul weather it was already starting to get dark despite the early hour so we decided to take some liberties with the route and stay on the road, which cut off some of the mileage and made the going easier. I’m not sure at what point I managed to convince myself that I could get to the end of the stage, but as we plodded through the rain, I suddenly became determined that I would not be beaten and that we would make it to Bigbury come what may.

When we rejoined the coast path it was on a high, exposed section and the wind coming off the coast was ferocious and I was soon shivering, I don’t do cold at the best of times and this was far from that. The next few hours are somewhat of a blur, but eventually at 9.21pm we reached the finish line, which had been moved to the Sloop Inn across the river from Bigbury – the ferry stopped at 7pm and only one of the field had arrived in time to catch it across to the campsite. It had taken us over 16 hours to cover what we estimated to be about 48 miles – the battery on the GPS gave up at 42.5 miles several hours earlier.

Day 3

Long before Martin opened my tent at 4.15am I had decided that there was no way I was starting the last day. I think I had mild hypothermia – I had on a t shirt, long sleeve shirt, leggings, socks, had wrapped myself in a borrowed blanket and still I had not stopped shivering all night inside my sleeping bag. My feet were in shreds and I could hardly bend my right knee. I had had no sleep at all.

Martin could have gone on, but he immediately accepted that I wasn’t going to be able to. However we had reckoned without the persuasive powers of the race organiser…… After he had seen the early starters off at 5am, Rory decided that it was his mission in life to get us to the end. I was lifted bodily from my tent, carried to one of the support vehicles with engine running and heater on, wrapped in a blanket and fed porridge and coffee. I started to think, well maybe I could go a bit further………….My blisters were examined – infected but not so bad that I couldn’t continue, I was given some dry socks and Martin fetched my sodden running gear. Another low point when I tried to remove my T shirt and found that it had stuck to my back where it was chaffed from the ruck sack – ouch, or words to that effect.

Somehow in the space of two hours I had gone from crying on Martin’s shoulder to being ready to leave and at 6am we set off, just the two of us, to try and cover another 25 miles. The coastline continued to throw steep hills at us and to begin with we managed to jog the flat bits – mainly in an attempt to keep warm, but by the time we reached the first checkpoint at Mothercombe we were already down to a walk. We were supposed to wade a river crossing here but the tide was too high and so we got taken inland and across the river by car – a round trip of about 9 miles for the sake of 400m!

Unfortunately the 20 minutes squashed in the back of the car had given us just long enough to seize up and it was very hard to get going again. One by one the three race leaders who had left at 7am caught us up and passed us, making it look absurdly easy although even they were walking the hills.

The sun came out and we were covering about 3 miles an hour and thinking that we could make it to Plymouth by about 3 – 4pm if nothing else went wrong.

At about 10.30am my left hip suddenly went into a spasm and after that I had a pain which felt as though it was right on the point of my old fracture. It was ironic that through all the preceding miles the one thing that hadn’t given me any trouble was my hip, but this was worrying and it was getting worse. I think I could have kept going but the warning signs that I had ignored in the build up to London 2005 (resulting in a stress fracture) were flashing before my eyes…..and so we decided that enough was enough and it was time to stop. We limped to the nearest village and a lift to the finish was organised for us.

We’ve looked at results of other long distance races in the past and I’ve never understood beforehand why someone would pull out with 10 miles to go after they had already covered 95 miles – but now I do, and although we were disappointed not to finish we were also enormously proud of the distance that we managed to cover. Of the 20 starters only 8 managed to finish the course and we were the last to drop out.

The conclusion? We’ll be back to finish what we started next year – but this time we WILL be prepared!

Rescue crew at finish. Thanks, Richard and Lesley.

MAIDEN NEW"TEN" MADNESS 7PM SATURDAY 11th AUGUST

It is nearly time for the madness to start again, this will be the third New"Ten" 10k.We hope we will see as many as possible back to run again this year, with the help of JOHN STARK & CRICKMAY PARTNERSHIP ARCHITECTS of Dorchester 01305 262636 who are sponsoring the event we hope it will be an enjoyable for all,so it's not to late to get your trainers out and have a go.
All profits from the event go to local groups & charities.
You can find an entry form of sort's below, if you can't manage to print it off you will also find the form on www.ukresults.net or Email philatwestview@btinternet.com for a form or for any question about the event
I have kept this as brief as possible to give you more time to read some of the marathon race reports posted on the blog (when you start reading you will see the marathon refers to the report not the distance)






(Approx 10K Multi-terrain Race)

SATURDAY 11th AUGUST 2007
Start 7.00pm at Maiden Newton Youth Centre
Held under UK Athletics Rules - SEAA Permit no 1408 - Entry limit 250
Race Sponsored By
JOHN STARK & CRICKMAY PARTNERSHIP ARCHITECTS
Princes St Dorchester Dorset DT1 1TW
01305 262636 Email jscp@johnstark.co.uk


The run will follow the same figure of eight multi-terrain route, on quiet country lanes, tracks and footpaths (not traffic free), taking you through some of Dorset’s beautiful undulating countryside. It is unfortunately not suitable for wheelchairs.

Memento for all finishers + Prizes for various categories

FEES
AFFILIATED CLUB RUNNERS £5.00 (£6.00 on day)
NON–AFFILIATED £7.00 (£8.00 on day)
Numbers to be collected on the day - No refunds will be given
For more information Email philatwestview@btinternet.com
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ENTRY DETAILS

First Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Surname _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Address _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Postcode _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Phone no _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Email _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Male/Female _ _ _ _ _ _ _ DOB _ _ /_ _ / _ _ Age on day of event _ _ _ (min 15)

Affiliated Club _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


I enclose Cheque for £ _ _ _ _ _ Payable to Maiden Newton runners

(Entries on day restricted if limit reached)

Disclaimer: I agree to abide by the rules of the race laid down by UK Athletics and by the organisers. I will only compete if in good health and I understand that I enter at my own risk and that the organisers will not be liable for any injury, illness or loss of property as a result of my taking part in this event.

Signature _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Date _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(Parent or Guardian if under 18)
Please send completed form, fee & SAE to:-
Phil England, West View, Cattistock, nr Dorchester, Dorset DT2 0JB

Dartmoor Discovery 2007

This is a long post, and it could have been a lot longer, because this was a long race. We were expecting the Dartmoor Discovery to be hard, and had heard lots of wise words from previous entrants, but even so I think we didn’t quite understand how just an extra 10k on top of a hilly marathon would make it qualitatively different experience from anything we had tried before.

As usual, the plan was to run it together, with me restraining Lin from going too fast too soon. In the end it was me who pushed the pace too early, but we started as slowly as we could stand, at least a minute a mile slower than our marathon pace, and the first 8 or 9 miles seemed really easy. Lin was second lady in the race after we overtook a trio of ladies at about 1 mile, including the formidable Sharon Daw, winner or many local and not so local marathon races. We thought that it might mean we were going off too fast, but we both felt fine, and that we could keep this sort of pace up all day – funny how that feeling can suddenly evaporate when you encounter a steep hill!

But meanwhile, things were going according to plan., and we had a nice chat for a couple of miles with the only 9-time runner of the race, Graham Baker, who, at nearly 60 had run 80 miles of the Grand Union canal race the previous weekend. We pulled away from him on the fast downhill into Dartmeet, but he ended up finishing only just behind at the end.

Despite being run over a scenic course, it was not a quiet one, at least at first, because of the many cars, most of which were supporters of runners. This was made worse by the actions of a couple of other runners who insisted on running 2 abreast in the middle of the road, forcing a long line of cars to idle behind them, and the line of runners behind to dodge around the cars, and breathe in their exhaust fumes and brake linings on the windy downhill section towards New Bridge. We (I) put a spurt on at this point to get past these runners, and paid for it later, but it was a relief when we passed through Ashburton, and we were now ahead of most of the supporters as we toiled up the relentless hill out of the town.

The quietest part of the course was the bit around halfway, and we were still feeling good enough to enjoy it, although the hills were starting take their toll, and especially the downhill parts which I would normally enjoy, were too steep to relax on. We passed half way and were running up towards the highest point on the course when I spotted a diminutive form a hundred yards or so down the hill, and gave Lin a bit of a nasty shock by saying that it looked as if it was a woman, probably Sharon Daw who was dressed in a black running vest. Lin didn’t think she could go any faster, and was very relieved when it turned out that the “woman in black” was actually Vet 55 prize-winning David Beattie who ended up running either just behind or just in front of us for the rest of the race.

After this, we continued down the steep lane into Widecombe, we were briefly distracted and unsettled by at one point passing the disturbingly unexpected sight of a large motor caravan precariously perched on the side of the road with 2 wheels off the ground, I have no idea why it didn’t tip over, it looked like it was frozen in the process of crashing to its side and certainly gave the impression that it could at any moment as we nervously made our way past it.

Leaving Widecombe the race was nearly two thirds over, but we still had 20k to run, and just as in a marathon the last 10k is when the race (and the pain) really starts, we were feeling about as tired as we would in a marathon at that point, but we still had twice as far to go, and it felt to me to take almost twice as long to run lat last 20k as the first 32. The worst hills were past, but there were still a few nasty little ones to come. It was tough! At various times we each wondered if we could keep going, but somehow we did, and taking it one hill at a time we reached the main road at Postbridge just past the Marathon point, and for a while we both felt that we were on the home stretch, and could relax and enjoy it. That feeling lasted about a mile until the hill out of Postbridge which is not steep, but goes on for a lot longer than you remember when you drive through it the previous day at 40mph.

At the top of this hill there was a drink station, and sign saying 5 miles to go, and we were now counting down the weary miles to the finish. Each mile seemed to take longer than the previous one; no actually it did take longer because we were slowing down. That is we were slowing down until I spotted a figure in a yellow vest rapidly gaining on us. Don’t worry; I told Lin, it is a man, I think. Actually that was partly wishful thinking, and partly logical because there were no other women in the race capable of gaining on us apart from Sharon Daw, and she had been wearing a black vest. Well, logical thinking does not always work at the best of times, let alone at the 29 mile mark. It turned out that it was the dreaded Sharon Daw, and after running 28 miles of the race as second lady, Lin had really been counting on finishing that way. But it seemed that it was not to be, and although she would still be first female newcomer, she was going to have to settle for 3rd place, because at the speed Sharon had caught us up, she was clearly in good shape, and we were almost literally on out last legs. At least I was, and from the whinging from Lin over the past few miles, about whether she could carry on at all, I was sure she was at least as shattered. I tried to remain positive, but I only half believed myself when I told Lin that she still had a chance. By the time Sharon caught me up Lin had pulled away a bit , and I thought she was being very brave to make one last effort to make Sharon work a bit to catch her, but I had not realised just how gutsy and determined Lin could be, not to mention competitive.

As I briefly chatted with Sharon I discovered that she had run a marathon 4 weeks ago, and had been doing a lot of cycling training. This made me wonder if she would have the legs to beat Lin, but even so, knowing how tired Lin was, I didn’t at this point expect that Lin would do anything more than briefly up the pace, and make Sharon work for a mile or so to pass her, and we were still well over 3 miles from home. By the time Sharon pulled away from me, with 3 miles to go, I had completely had it, and was struggling to maintain any pace at all. But Lin had opened up a lead of about 30 yards, and I was even more impressed when she gradually increased this to 50 then more as we went up the hill after two Bridges, and passed a couple of other runners. The last I saw of her was as ran over the brow of the hill, with Sharon walking, at least 100 yards behind.

Blimey I am going on a bit, but it was an amazing thing to see, and I was incredibly proud of Lin. I struggled on walking up every hill until the end finally finishing 4 minutes behind her, in 4:42: and 32nd place. Lin was 2nd Lady in 28th place overall, 4:38:50.

Those last 3 miles were probably, no definitely, physically the hardest I have ever run. I don’t know how Lin managed to run them so much faster, but that will teach me to underestimate her ability and tenacity. It was a tough, humbling experience, but we are gluttons for punishment (as well as beer), and next year, the plan is to return, and hopefully with a bit better preparation, get under four and a half hours. If anybody is thinking of trying an ultra-marathon, this is definitely the one. It was brilliantly organised, a fantastic venue, full of friendly people, and if I could only run one race a year from now on, this is the one I would choose.

Wessex Ridgeway Relay - Race Report

The day started early for Dave – who by swanning off to Italy on holiday at the crucial planning stage – found himself running Legs 1 and 2 – the longest leg and the early start! Martin and I thought we were getting up at the crack of dawn, but we did spare a thought for Dave whilst we having breakfast – he had already left Tollard Royal and was heading for Shroton, the handover point for the lucky runners who didn’t have to carry on and complete another leg.

We arrived at Okeford Beacon in plenty of time, and sad though it sounds, it was actually very exciting waiting for the first runners to appear. At last the first competitor was spotted and as he drew closer it became clear that the Dorset Doddlers had opened up an early lead. We then had a nervous wait for Dave – had he overslept?, had he got lost?, was he doing OK? We need not have worried – at exactly the time we were expecting him he came charging up the track and the first handover of the baton was safely completed. It was all a bit of a blur to begin with as I struggled to pin on my number (collected by Dave at the start!), cope with the baton and run as fast as I could – hardly surprising that I had completed half a mile or so before I remembered to start the GPS! Well it was still early………….

Leg 3 was the one I was most worried about navigating safely so I was quite glad to have some runners ahead of me. However, I soon overtook the Gillingham 3 and then shortly afterwards the Yeovil Town runner ahead of me – so from then on there was no-one in sight. I need not have worried – the tricky hill fort section passed without problem and then a welcome downhill stretch, along a stream bed (nice wet feet just before having a ploughed field to cross) and in no time at all I was approaching the next hand over at the start of Leg 4. The cry of “runner coming” went up and it was quite funny watching the assembled runners looking round trying to work out which one of them was about to start – and then sweeping past them to start Leg 4!

A long steady climb ahead of me and no more worries about getting lost – I could just concentrate on covering the ground as quickly as possible. Once through Dorset Gap (I didn’t stop to sign the visitor book!!) more climbing and then a long downhill lane to the road crossing before once again starting to climb. As I reached the top I became aware of not one but two runners behind me, so I sped up as best I could to try and hold them off. As they drew level with me I saw that one of them was Garry Perratt of Axe Valley Runner fame (aka the Lean Mean Runner Bean) so I knew I could forget about trying to keep ahead of him! Fortunately there was only about half a mile to go and it was all downhill so I really bust a gut to try and stay with them. They were both clutching their course descriptions so I had a sneaking suspicion that they might miss the tricky right turn off the well defined track we were following……..and sure enough, they raced straight ahead. Being a sporting type, I did shout at them, but as I was a bit out of breath from trying to keep up it didn’t come out very loudly…… Consequently I swept down the hill and handed over to Phil, who took off like an Olympic sprinter out of the blocks, and then had a few moments to compose myself before they both approached from the opposite direction looking a bit confused as to how I had managed to get there first! Well all’s fair in love, war and relay races …………………….

Martin and I managed to intercept Phil at a few road crossings and he was going really well. Once he had gone through the hand over at Batcombe and started on his second leg, Martin and I headed over to the A37 crossing to await his arrival. At this point we had caught up with the race again, and so the first runner we saw through was the Dorset Doddler – and it was 20 minutes before the second placed Poole Runner appeared. Next came the red shirt of Wimborne, and then the yellow of Marlborough, and then the welcome sight of the silver vest and Phil powering up the hill, having closed the gap somewhat on the team ahead.

We had hoped to be in the top 10, but to be in 5th place at half way with no other team anywhere in sight behind us was fantastic. It was Martin’s turn now to carry the baton and he hared off down the lane with an impressive display of speed. Phil and I headed over to the A356 road crossing to intercept him at about the half way point. Dorset had long since passed by but we saw the 2nd, 3rd and 4th runner go through – the Marlborough runner appeared to be struggling and Martin seemed to have made up ground. A quick swoop down into Maiden Newton to pick up Dave and then one more stop off to see Martin and refuel him with energy drink before heading over to the start of Leg 9.

An interesting development – the Marlborough runner had overtaken both Wimborne and Poole and taken his team into second place, but even better, Martin had closed the gap by another minute or two. No pressure for Dave of course……..

Next stop, Beaminster, and Dave sailed through looking comfortable, and then straight over to Sheepwash Lane to await his arrival. Once again we had caught up the race and saw Dorset Doddler go through, their impressive lead intact. I was changed and ready to go, but still with time to wait for Dave’s arrival. The Poole runner was next to appear, having pulled his team back into 2nd place, and then it was just SO exciting to see Dave sprinting down the road, having overtaken both Marlborough and Wimborne and bringing us up into 3rd place – an absolutely fantastic achievement and who was the pressure on now?!!!

It was so cool to hear the other teams saying “Well who is he? What team?” And we could proudly reply “Maiden Newton Runners !!”

The Wimborne runner was close on Dave’s heels, so I took off as fast as I could and just hoped that he wasn’t too fast. It was really hard getting going again after a break and I struggled to begin with. The Wimborne runner overtook me within the first mile, but he didn’t pull too far ahead. Much to my surprise I caught and overtook him going up Pilsdon Pen, but within half a mile he returned the complement. I managed to stay with him and as we approached the short road section at Blackdown I got past him again – just in time to impress Martin and Phil! It was short lived though – on the final stretch he proved too strong for me. I really gave it everything I had but he finished about 50 yards ahead of me and we were back in 4th place as I once again handed over to Phil.

Martin and I set off to try and give Phil some support – Dave was now travelling with Jackie and his sons (thanks for the vocal support at the end of the leg boys!). At the first road crossing, Phil had closed on the Wimborne runner and looked strong, at the second road crossing he was ahead and pulling away! At the end he had opened up a 2 minute lead and so Martin took the baton in third place and under huge pressure not to get lost! The Wimborne runner waiting to start the last leg looked about 25 years younger than Martin and worryingly fast.

Phil and I drove up to the A35 road crossing and then began a long and anxious wait. If Martin was going to get lost it would be on this first, tricky section. The Poole runner came through looking very impressive and the minutes began ticking past – they had been about 6 minutes ahead at the handover – by the time 7 minutes had ticked slowly by my nerves were in shreds – and then, what a relief, Martin appeared round the corner, looking strong, just a slight pause for traffic and then he was across and heading off down the hill, the end drawing near. Phil and I waited a couple of minutes but the next runner still hadn’t shown and so we rushed down to Up Lyme just in time to see Poole finish in 2nd place.

It was just fantastic to see Martin appear and know that we were home and safe – everyone having given it their absolute best effort, no one having got lost and we were THIRD!!! Out of 20 teams! And we were only a team of four! Next year no-one will be saying “but who are Maiden Newton Runners?”

I apologise for the number of times I’ve used the word fantastic in this report, but that’s just the sort of day it was.

The Annual Johnny Kipps Race

Only the brave and the foolish gathered at Wynford Eagle for the annual Johnny Kipps race on Sunday 13th May. The weather was a little wet to say the least - real Wessex Ridgeway Relay weather. The threatened influx of Yeovil runners didn't materialise so Phil's concern that the coveted biscuit tin might be lost to Maiden Newton for ever was unfounded.

Lord Wynford also braved the weather to start the race - a slightly unconventional start this year as people rotated on the start line unwilling to divulge which direction they were intending to run. A prompt start and Dave Webb, Phil, Martin, Richard, Lesley, Andy Staples and myself headed off on the boringly conventional clockwise circuit. Dave Carnell, Daniel and Ian set off anti clockwise.

Dave, Phil, Martin and I formed the leading group, but after the first half mile or so my marathon legs couldn't hold the pace. First Dave opened a small lead, Martin then took up the challenge and closed on Dave ,dropping Phil and myself and it wasn't long before Phil started pulling away from me too.

The rest of the race was fairly lonely for me - apart from meeting the people coming the opposite way. Firstly Di, Keith and Pauline who had set off at a sensible walking pace earlier that morning. At the top of the hill Jackie and little helpers were bravely dispensing water (well the little helpers were being very brave, Jackie, sensibly I thought, was nice and cosy in the car). Having only run 2 miles in cold, wet weather I wasn't exactly gasping for a drink, but being a polite soul I took one and discarded it once safely round the corner - well it seemed ungrateful not to!

At 2.8 miles I met Dave Carnell coming in the opposite direction and not knowing the distance assumed that we had met at about the half way point, only to discover at the end that he was already ahead of me. Ian was the next person to loom out of the rain, closely followed by Dan and then, apart from the occasional glimpse of Phil up ahead, it was a lone run for me. The loud clap of thunder in the last mile or so hastened me on my way and soon I was sprinting for the line, via the huge puddle at the bridge. I was none too pleased to see that Dave Carnell had got there before me, but my time was a few minutes up on last year so all in all a fair effort.

My first thought was to see if the biscuit tin would be returning with us for another year, but Phil immediately said that the finish had caused controversy and the winner had not yet been declared! Martin having opened a small lead with his fell running tactics down the final hill had reached the bridge and stopped, Dave already closing the gap on Martin then sprinted easily past him to the actual finishing line, leaving Martin wondering why he hadn't stopped! They were both being frightfully polite and decent, and declaring the other the winner, but the final decision rested with Phil, who had some time to think about it whilst we cheered home the other runners - first Richard, taking it easy after doing Ivybridge 10k the previous evening, then Ian, Dan and finally Lesley and Andy splashing through the flooded finish together.

We then all repaired to the convenience of the roadside barn to dry off as best we could and await Phil's decision. In the end he took the easy option and declared a draw. Martin insisted that Dave take the biscuit tin - he was really only concerned with the contents - which we all partook of before sqelching off home. Despite the awful weather it was a great turn out and thanks to everyone who came, especially the non runners who were particularly brave turning out on such an awful morning to support us.

I've just made up a new rule for next year - the winner has to do the race report for the blog - so that lets me off!

More Races: Arlington and Glastonbury

Sunday 29th April and the Westgates were at Arlington for the 10K off road race. After surviving London last week I had no intention of running it, and had only taken my trainers etc in case I felt like a short jog round the grounds………..
However it was such a nice day and after a detour to Sainsburys on the way, and being delayed by road works, we were running late, the adrenaline levels were rising, and a late decision saw me as the last entrant on the day. It was a lovely course through fields and bluebell woods, past a lake and river, with only a short stretch of lane. A few hills, which another time I would have tried to run, but this time was content to walk. Finished in just over an hour, a good 2 minutes slower than last year. However Richard’s time of 44:06 was a good improvement.
The lovely sunny day was not to be wasted. A short drive found is on the North Devon coast with excellent views as we ate our sandwiches. Another short drive took us to Woody Bay, where, after a steep downhill walk to the beach, we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon sunshine as the tide slowly crept in around the rocks we were sitting on. A timely departure, and an even steeper uphill walk to the car finished off a very enjoyable day.

Future Events

A quick update of events and pub runs coming up:-

The fourth Maiden Newton Running Club pub run will be on Wednesday 25th April at 6.30 pm, meeting at the New Inn, Cerne Abbas. Phil has agreed to plan the route and apparently has already resorted to marching his entire family round sections of it between Sunday lunch and tea. I'm sure they were thrilled!

Martin and I will be hosting a YTRRC run from the White Hart at Yetminster on the 17th May, route as yet unplanned. Yeovil are having a total White Hart month - visiting pubs of the same name at Bishops Caundle (3rd) Sherborne (10th) and Crewkerne (24th)!

As mentioned at the latest meeting - Egdon Health Harriers have pub runs on Tuesday evenings and many of their locations are very local for us. There is a complete list on their website, but here is a selection that Martin and I may try to get to:-

24th April - Brewers Arms at Martinstown
15th May - White Horse at Litton Cheney
12th June - Greyhound at Sydling St Nicholas
26th June - Halstock Golf Club
24th July - our very own Chalk and Cheese
7th August - Piddle Inn, Piddletrenthide
18th September - Lower Burton, Charminster

Right on to the serious stuff - future events:-

First of all good luck to everyone running in London next Sunday - especially Lesley who is running in aid of breast cancer (and if I didn't catch you at this month's meeting it won't be too late to sponsor her at the next one), but also to Nigel Johns who has carried his place over from last year, and to Martin who despite some very sketchy training is hoping to go sub 3 hours again - and I am sure that he will.

Other races coming up:-

6th May - Glastonbury Road Race (4th race in the Somerset Series) and also the Neolithic marathon, which Martin and I will be doing as further training for the ultra events later in the season.
13th May - the most important of all, our own Johnny Kipps, which will see Martin going for the hat trick although 2 marathons in the preceding fortnight may give the rest of you a chance!
20th May - Wessex Ridgeway relay - this year we are running a Maiden Newton team of Dave, Phil, Martin and myself, each tackling 3 legs, and desperately hoping for some better weather than we endured last May. One thing is for sure, it can't be worse.

Looking ahead to June there will be the Ninesprings 9km, 4.5km and fun run at Goldenstones on the 10th June and I will bring some entry forms to the next meeting. This is a YTRRC race so Martin and I will volunteer to help with entries and results as further practice ready for the New Ten.

I think that's probably enough to be going on with - don't forget to share your race reports on the blog!

Easter Bunnies

Easter Monday at Yeovilton Air Base is the scene of the annual Yeovil Town Road Running Club's 10k race. This year saw three MNRC members competing for a chocolate Easter Egg (each).
Lesley, paced by Richard was hoping for a new PB of sub 50 minutes for 10K distance, and Eric aiming to improve his time at the Egdon Easy 10k last year.
Lin and I were stationed at the 3k marker making sure everybody turned left into Queen Camel, and nobody was mown down by speeding motorists heading in the same direction.
After the race got under way it wasn't long before Lesley and Richard appeared, closely followed by Eric, well placed in the field of 360 entrants.
Once the sweeper with 80 year-old Harry Moore had passed, we hastened back to the start, picking up the flags and signs on the way, just in time to see the race winner finish in just over 32 minutes.

A few minutes later, Lesley and Richard came round the corner into the finishing straight, and with a final sprint for the line, Lesley was well under her target with an excellent PB of 48:40 or so.

Eric was not far behind in just over 55 minutes, again a PB.

After collecting their eggs, they posed for the picture below.

Talbot Inn Pub Run

Wednesday 4th April saw Maiden Newton runners gathering at the Talbot Inn, Benville for the third in what will hopefully be an ongoing series of organised pub runs. Unlike previous outings, not only was it light, but it was also a beautiful evening, and consequently there was a good turn out - we almost made double figures (well if you count Harvey the dog, then there were 10 of us!) We would have attracted some Yeovil runners if we hadn't managed to set the date for the same night as their monthly committee meeting (must avoid first Wednesday of the month in future!)

Martin and I had planned a scenic cross country route and at least this was one area where we weren't going to get lost. The 12 months that we recently spent living in Corscombe gave us ample opportunity to explore this beautiful section of countryside, and it was great to have an opportunity to revisit it.

After a 6 mile run we all repaired to the pub with hearty appetites and enjoyed the varied menu and cheap beer (£2 a pint - amazing!). There was discussion about the next outing and we nominated Phil to plan the route as it will be on his home ground - starting at the New Inn in Cerne Abbas, date to be decided at the April meeting.

Endurance Life Coastal Marathon

Friday afternoon saw Martin and I travelling down to South Devon through torrential rain in preparation for the Coastal Marathon at Beesands on Saturday morning. First problem encountered was when we arrived at the camp site we had booked near Kingsbridge, only to be turned away because it was waterlogged and one camper van had already become well and truly stuck! Fortunately we managed to find an alternative site fairly close by before heading into Kingsbridge for some serious carbo loading.

A sleepless night later (lying awake listening to the rain hammering down on the roof of the van) saw us up at 6.30 in order to get to the start in good time. We had to collect our "dibbers" - a trial method of time recording. These were small tags worn on a wrist strap which had to be "dibbed" at the various check points along the way. A fairly short pre race briefing then saw the race start at 9am sharp, with around 140 competitors starting.

Almost immediately we began to climb as the first 10 miles followed the coast path, east, towards Salcombe estuary. It was a mixture of very slippery mud and very slippery rock, but at least there was consistency on the gradient - it was either steeply up or steeply down! At one point I thought we had abandoned the race and taken up rock climbing instead. It was a stunning route, but not much attention could be given to the views as one step further south could have resulted in a one way plunge down the cliffs, and the sea did look very cold.

Once we reached the estuary and turned inland (not forgetting to dib our dibbers at the first check point!!) the going became slightly easier, but no less hilly as we followed quiet country lanes, very muddy bridle paths and fields. We picked the pace up a bit here and managed some fairly decent split times - especially once we rejoined the half marathon route (which had started an hour later than us) and had some other runners to pick off. Martin got a bit carried away and really started to push the pace for a while, with me struggling along behind hoping he'd soon run out of steam.

There were no marshalls on the course and we had a few anxious moments when we hadn't seen arrows or tape for a while and were worried that we had strayed off course. Also after 14 miles, when we had caught and overtaken about 6 runners who had been ahead of us, we had no-one in sight to follow.

Eventually the course wound it's way back down to the coast and turned east once more back towards Beesands. There now lay ahead a unique stretch of flat running on easy terrain, but we were too tired to appreciate it by this point and we were running directly into a strong headwind. With almost 26 miles on the GPS we thought we had nearly finished, but then discovered to our horror that the village we were approching was not Beesands butTorpoint! And worse, that there was no way around the cliff ahead of us which meant another stiff climb and descent before another long stretch into the wind and the eventual finish, which was logged at 27.7 miles!

We finished in 4.21.58, well within our 4.45 target, and in 9th and 10th places overall out of 133 finishers. The winner had finished in 3.58, which gives some indication of how hard the event was. Following on from the 4 Trigs last weekend, it's definitely the toughest challenge we've faced so far, either pre or post broken hip, so were understandably on a huge high.

We took advantage of the free post race refreshments, excellent vegetarian chilli, very spicy, just what we needed to warm us up, and stayed for the presentation, where I should have picked up a bottle of Champagne for being 3rd lady, but their supplies had not been delivered so instead I got a very fetching neck strap presumably for hanging your key on whilst running, although we're not entirely sure about that.

I apologise for the long winded report, but it was a long race, so to cut a long story short, IT WAS GREAT!

New Broom Sweeps Clean (The barrel's empty let's find a cheap replacement)

Pub Run February 21st 7.00pm

The first event for 2007 has been arranged and you guessed, it starts and finishes at a pub.
A pub run has been arranged for the 21st of February 7.00pm out side the Fox & Hounds Cattistock (I wonder where the new chair lives?)
It will be a mainly off road route of between 4 & 5 miles, please make sure you have a change of shoes, no make that a change of every thing as you will get muddy. Washing facilities are available in the form of the wishing well in the church yard, if you are brave enough to go there in the dark. Food can be ordered be for we start for those that plan to eat after. There will also be the option for those who can’t make it to eight with out a drink, to shorten the route back to the pub.