Chilly but scenic

Tuesday, January 31, 2012
12:44 PM

Three AVR members turned out for the Hestercombe Humdinger - a very tough 9.5 mile road race, but scenic .

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Laurence Bolam of Sidmouth came home first in a three way burnup down the home straight, to finish in 56:49. Robin Britton was pleased with his run, working steadily through as the hills came into play in the second half and finished 48th and first V60 in 69:57.

Geoff Woodward and Steve Retro Reynolds had a humdinger of a battle with Retro dragging Geoff through the first mile in 6min 20secs. Geoff had the better of Retro on the hills but was caught at nine miles by his flying rival. This set up a sprint up the final 400m which was won by Geoff who was 105th in 76:34 with Retro 10 seconds and two places behind.

All the finishers received a free photo and a goody bag which contained a technical tee shirt and a free entry to the Edwardian gardens which were designed by Gertrude Jekyll and Edwin Lutyens between 1904 and 1906 and are now being restored by the Hestercombe Gardens Trust. There were over 300 starters on a freezing cold morning, and at least it stayed dry for a very much a recommended race.

Lesley Adams’ latest foray in the Park Run series took her to Albert Park, Melbourne Australia. The 5K route mainly uses a gravel/sand track, as well as some minimal areas of concrete. She finished 62nd in 29:23, a long way to go for such a short run!

Another great Grizz and Cub training weekend was had by AVR. Dave Mutter took a group of seven on Saturday getting in some fastish paced training over a 15.2 mile course. Jon Day had a good group on Sunday running from Beer Head doing the 10 mile Route, who were joined by a few intrepid runners on the 5 mile route. "The Hill of Despair" which climbs up from Hole House to Branscombe Airfield got renamed by Marilyn Hughes to "The Hill of Doom", then on the way back to Beer from Branscombe she renamed the original "Stairway to Heaven" to "The Hill of Death!" Congratulations to Marilyn Hughes, Debbie Payne, Jane Bennett and Janette Mack for completing the 11 mile route that was really good Grizzly preparation.