Sunday 12 March 2017

What a Load of Races




Larmer Full and 20 Miler

Today was the Marathon and 20 miler at Larmer Tree and a few daft runners from the club managed with the Mud and Hills that WSR gave us. 

The 20 miler was a duel between three runners but Georgina took first Club place, so well done. The full results for the 20 can be seen here.

The Full had four Club runners with me taking first spot for YTRRC but Jon Crane was not far behind on a tough muddy hilly course.  The full results can be seen here.

As aways the WSR time did a great job with the planning and aid stations around the course and with free food at the end with a nice bit of bling it was a great weekend for all distances.





Larmer 10 Miler


Saturday saw the Larmer 10m park of the Imperial Series. We had a few YTRRC runners there. The full results can be found here. Due tothe Hong Kong medal collectors there was a delay with some medals but on the good news Anita posted "I have collected the Larmer 10 mile medals for Richard DodgeNathan Gardiner, Leyton Green, Sharon Masters and Helen Nesbitt. I will bring them to Tuesday night club run for you."




The Weymouth Half

Just a couple of Club runners at the Weymouth Half. Sadly both were beaten by Elvis with some Blue Suede running shoes and a dodgy haircut. 




Silverstone Half Marathon

Well done to Emily Wharton om today's Half Marathon at Silverstone.

From Emily:

Chris and I (sort of) represented the green and whites at the Silverstone Half Marathon this afternoon. An amazing race that we'd 100% recommend. A great course, amazingly well organised, loads of support, super marshals and FAB goodie bag. We weren't as speedy as Lewis H but there's always next year :) More photos to follow when we're finally home! 









The Bath Half


Finally got to run the BATHALF. The weather was very kind and there was loads of support and a number of bands around the route which made for a great atmosphere. 4 YTRRC runners completed it. Fez 1.30.07, Ollie Robotham 2.00.03, Jessica Melhuish 1.58.33 and Me 2.02.57.




The Grizzly

Well done to the two YTRRC runners at today's Grizzly:

From Darren: 

Grizzly race done in 3.49 very lucky with the weather not so lucky with all the hills and mud! Bumped into Richard Dodge on the start line but not sure what time he did.



From James New:

The Grizzly done, highly recommend about 3:33. Disappointed after 10 weeks of training but learned a lot. Now to train ðŸš‚ smart !





Great Western

Today saw the Clubs Great Western 10k. The first male club runner was Stuart Cobb with Catherine Hayden our first lady. The full results can be seen here and the Fun Run here. Both are now on the website.

Pete sent this report:

Everything started Saturday morning when a number of club members arrived at Leweston School in preparation for laying the multi-terrain course.
We split into two teams, the first team headed off and took the back track to Whitfield Field and laid the course up to the second farm.
I and my group started from the second farm all the way up to the finish.
Nick Whigham (Rotary Club) took care of the 2km Fun Run and staking out the finishing area.

Sunday started off with a fine drizzly rain but thankfully cleared in time for the race.  Plymouth Storm arrived with over thirty runners which certainly helped the numbers for this year.

For the 2km Fun Run, the adults looked more tired than the kids at the finish.  Thanks to Adam for taking charge and then running in the 10km.

There was a photographer at the race so I'm sure Lesley will provide his details so you can see if you are featured, albeit somewhat muddy.

We had three sweepers this year which helped with ensuring the course was cleared in a timely manner, thank you to Lynne, Kate and JC.

It should be noted that JC escorted Phil around the course early in the morning ensuring all of our signage was still in place.

The 10km went well with the winner recording a time of 38 minutes.

It was good to see so many smiling if through gritted teeth runners as they crossed the line.  All the comments regarding organisation, marshalling and the course layout were very positive.

So again thank you to all who contributed to making the race a success.

Last but not least a thank you to our sponsors Dorset Lettings with one of their members also taking part in the 10km.









From Kate Hatden:

20th overall and 3rd lady in the great western 10k this morning. Leon was 2nd overall in the fun run and Evie ran it . Really hard hilly cross country trail course. Huge thanks to Lesley Nesbit and Yeovil town running club and all the volunteers. — withJohn Hayden.

From Adam:

Many thanks to Lesley, Phil, Pete, and all YTRRC members who were involved with the organisation of today's Great Western 10km.
Lots of lovely mud, puddles, hills etc. and I was nearly 10 minutes quicker than last year [did someone shorten the course??]

This in from Lesley:
I ditto everything Pete has said and would like to add my thanks to everyone who turned up to help lay the course on Saturday and to help, run and clear up afterwards on Sunday. A particular thanks to Pete who, as always, took control of the risk assessment and generally making sure everything was in order, including race briefing, race licence, insurance etc etc.

I have had an email with very positive feedback:

"Our group just wanted to pass on a massive thank you to all who organised today. Such a beautiful place to run and every marshall was simply wonderful. We will definitely be back again next year.
Thank you!!!  
Pam, Kerrie and Miranda"


Photographs are already up on: http://www.terryfisherphotography.co.uk/latest

I have attached the results for the blog and website. Well done to Stuart Cobb, our first male finisher and Kate Hayden, our first lady finisher - brilliant times.

Well done and thank you everyone

Club Social Rep

From Anita:

Following tonight's YTRRC committee meeting, it would appear that I have indeed been suggested and voted in as the club social secretary. I have accepted this but am aware that I have a hard act to follow (Katie) just hoping I am up to it. 

So, after some thought I have a few suggestions for some club social events, in no particular order:


1) Evening out in Yeovil at the 'Cow & Apple' bar - burgers and cider. probably a Friday night, central Yeovil and so those who wish to continue on for the night can do so. 


2) Summer family BBQ/scavenger hunt/orienteering course on at Ham Hill Country Park. Saturday lunchtime, bring your own burgers etc.


3) Skittles night, a local pub 


4) Field Archery taster session (2 hours/max 20 people/£15-£20pp) on a Saturday morning. ?bacon butties afterwards


5) Club awards night - Friday 24/11/17 Haselbury Mill (already booked)
Please indicate your interest :)






Marathon Mike


Long-Play Trail Races (a tough run and lonely times)

This race is held annually in Withlacoochee Park, about an hour drive north of Tampa. It’s a hilly area of about 250 square miles by the Withlacoochee River, a recreational area for hiking, mountain biking, horse-riding and canoeing.  Three race distances were available, a half- marathon, a marathon, and 331/3  mile ultra- marathon. Having passed out in another part of this park during a 50k about 18 months ago with heat stroke and dehydration, which resulted in an afternoon on a drip in a local hospital, a few demons needed putting to bed, so I entered the grown-up’s race. The trail was described as “technical” (translation=hilly, twisty, uneven and see how many times you can avoid tripping over the tree roots and half-buried rocks).

            We started at 6:30 a.m., the first mile on an old railway line, now an asphalt surfaced bike path, which enabled the runners to spread out and get heart rates up a bit.



Next came a turn onto 2 miles of slightly undulating double track lane used by the forestry vehicles to get to the woods. This was 2 to 3 inches deep in fine sugar-sand and there was no way to avoid running on (in) it.


These two sections would be run again in the opposite direction on the return from the woods to the finish, i.e. from mile 30 to 33! Once among the trees there followed 20-odd miles of single track on a big loop, built up from 3 of the major hiking trails and marked with occasional pieces of orange ribbon tied to the bushes and small orange flags stuck in the ground. (Went wrong once and added about half a mile). Several longish sections were without orange markers, we were just following the coloured paint blobs on trees which depicted the general hiking trails and it was most comforting when at last an orange ribbon came into view, it would have been so easy to get lost for a long time. The meander through the pine forest included some beautiful stretches early on, twisting and turning on soft pine needles. Later parts were on gnarly, rutted track with exposed tree roots waiting to catch hold of a tired limb, really hard to see among the needles and leaves. Fell just the once resulting in a few grazes, was delighted since I usually go down more often, the record standing at 4 times. Fallen trees were encountered here and there and there were some very steep and narrow descents and ascents through deeply forested ravines which were difficult and slow to navigate.




The field had really thinned out by mid-distance and on one section I ran for more than 2 hours without seeing another competitor or hiker. One time, having drifted into a bit of a dream, I was suddenly startled when a nearby rifle shot rang out and a group of hillbilly hunters with gun dogs emerged from the undergrowth. A bit disconcerting, shades of the movie “Deliverance”, but they turned out to be quite friendly.





Aid stations were set up every 3 or 4 miles with water, pop and electrolytes; a few also had peanut butter sandwiches, snacks and gels, I had my own jam sandwiches in a drop bag at 16 miles! The volunteers at the stations were the only crowd support except for a few shouts of encouragement from weekenders when we passed through the campgrounds.

Share the trail!



Was thinking around mile 18 that 6h 15m was on, but by mile 27/28 the freshness had worn off and the revised target became to break 7 hours. However, the legs refused to run the sugar-sand between miles 30 and 32, so it was not to be.
            Overall it was a well organised and mostly enjoyable adventure with 60 finishers, one of the toughest I’ve done. The demons were put to bed, and that’s the 2 big ones in the bag for this year’s super-slam hat. 



Easter Bunny

It will soon be Easter and Bunny time, we will need loads of Marshalls so if you can help then please let Peter or I know. 

Marks Runs

GALHAMPTON PUB RUN
Between two and three orders of magnitude smaller than Southampton, we ran from Galhampton tonight. Four of us ran with J.C. at a quick pace. The lanes were well lit by the moon. There were strong reports that the moon had a ring around it tonight, but I failed to notice it. Does anyone know what such a ring is called? I could mention the 7th planet at this point, but that would be wrong. We started with a loop round the village, crossed over the A359, and ran out to a railway bridge. We turned right and ran to a second railway bridge. A small loop took us past a third railway bridge, and back to the second one. We then went up a steep hill at Coopers Ash lane. We crossed over the B3152 and A359 and went off down narrow dark muddy lanes. This took us back to the village and pub at 7.3 miles. Great fast run. Thanks J.C. and all. We got quite close to Castle Cary at one point as well.

Club Events

1. Tuesday Club Night is at  YTFC 6:15 pm 14th March.

2. Thursday Pub run is at Rose and Portcullis  Butleigh at 6:30 pm16th March. 

3.  Track night on Friday at 6:15 pm  

4.  The Sunday Run will be at Goldenstones at 9:00 am 

5. The next Championship race is Sun 19th 7 ml Butleigh (SS) 11.00 am

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