A number of Exmouth Harriers performed superbly and produced amazing results in a variety of local races with distances from 1 mile up to 100 miles in the past week. Some (Oli White, James Kelly, Hugh Marsden & Dawn Teed) of them raced twice in five days.
It all started with the Summer Solstice Fell Race, a 9.5km event started and finished at Merrivale and took in stunning countryside, including Staple Tor, Roos Tor and White Tor. Sam Kelly was the overall winner in 34.32 followed by his brother James in 25th place, Hugh Marsden in 44th and Dawn Teed in 117th.
It was a very warm and humid night when three Harriers took to the track at Exeter Arena; Cathy Newman ran in the Westcountry Mile and with her amazing time of 5.45, she is now ranked 2nd GB W60. Oli White (33.40) and Jenny Reay (45.56) raced in the Devon County AA Championships and both won Devon AA Gold Medals in their age groups.
Four Harriers raced in Greenbow AC’s tough and unique 5km Land & Sand event. The race started and finished on the sand at Orcombe Point and ran to the far end of the seafront and back with approx. 3.5km on the beach and 1.5km on the promenade. Oli White was first overall in 20.30, Alice Thomas was the next Harrier to finish in 26.42, followed by Des White in 28.33 and Alison White in 34.52.
On a very hot afternoon, Hugh Marsden & Dawn Teed raced in the latest event in the 2023 Dartmoor Fell Race series. It was a six-mile moorland run from Meavy out over Dartmoor, via Burrator Reservoir, Sheepstor Dam, Sheepstor summit (369m), Gutter Tor summit (357m) and Ringmoor Down. It had a spectacular finish with a nice cooling ford dip and a reception on the village green outside the welcoming Royal Oak. Hugh finished in 29th place in 56.34 and he was 1st M60. Dawn was 95th in 1.21.04 she was 2nd W60.
Scott Jamieson raced in the tough multi-terrain Umborne Ug 10km with 600ft of ascent for three miles after the start. It was run on challenging ground in the beautiful hills in the Colyton area. Scott finished 8th place overall in 43.58 and he was 5th M40.
The Jurassic Coast 100 is one of the toughest challenges in the Westcountry; the Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage site that spans from Old Harry Rocks, near Studland to Orcombe Point at Exmouth. The hills are severe in places with the downhills just as tricky and strength sapping as the uphills. Runners could choose one of the 5 distances from 30km up to 120 miles - one Harrier ran in the 100 mile event and four Harriers opted for the 100km event.
Chris Murrin’s first time in a 100 mile race was an epic run from Poole to Exmouth. He has planned and trained relentlessly for the challenge over the past 12 months. Chris started from Poole at 9am on Saturday on his 118th Marathon and, despite falling during the night and suffering from heatstroke, he finished in 5th position on Exmouth seafront almost 34 hours later on Sunday evening. 5th: Chris Murrin in 33 hours 41 minutes 29 seconds.
Three members of the Kelly family tackled the 100km event from Weymouth to Exmouth, with James, Alice and Nicola joined by Becky Parry starting in Weymouth at 9pm on Saturday. James led the family across the finishing line just under 12 hours later in 2nd place overall followed closely by Sister Alice who was the first Lady finisher and 4th overall and Mum Nicola. Sadly Becky had to drop out after 41 miles due to a knee injury. 2nd James Kelly in 11 hours 47 minutes 26 seconds; 4th & 1st Lady finisher Alice Kelly in 12 hours 33 minutes 5 seconds; 39th Nicola Kelly in 21 hours 53 minutes 5 seconds.
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