A real variety of events this week – with some absolutely epic races taken on and conquered by club members at either end of the country, a run in the Blackdowns with a serious focus on in-race hydration and a 10k around the beautiful grounds of Longleat (avoiding the lion enclosure).
The first epic event of the weekend was the Mudcrew Arc of Attrition, a race which is so long it has to start at lunchtime on the Friday to ensure everyone can get round before it’s time to get back to work on Monday! This extreme ultra event covers just over 100 miles and 20,000 feet of ups (and downs) of the very undulating South West Coastal Path, cicumnavigating the westerly most section of Cornwall from Coverack to Porthtowan.
The RFRC nutters toeing the starting line were the very experienced trio of Ali Bisatt, Martin Webb and Robin Upton. Each of them put in a monumental performance to complete the race and receive their coveted ‘buckle’, no mere medal for a race of this distance (although I can’t help thinking it’s much harder to show them off than hanging medals as a backdrop to your Zoom calls). It’s an incredible distance to run – but run it they did and Martin was first back in 29h20m, with Ali and Robin completing the event together in 32h53m.
Only slightly less crazy were the four club members who opted for the 50 mile version of the Arc which started on the Saturday from the wonderfully dramatic position of the coastal Minack Theatre (although it’s a devil of a climb to start with!). The quartet embarking on this brutallly challenging 50-miler were Alex Hughes, Dave Marshall, Matt Price and Sam Wharton. Sam was first club member back in 13h15m, followed by Dave in 14h43m and Matt in 14h57m. Alex took the sensible option and called it a day in St Ives after more than 10 hours on the course.
Further north in Skipton, Emma Greig was about to embark on an epic journey of her own, the 100-mile Lady Ann’s Way. This scenic but also very challenging course follows the route between Skipton and Penrith taken by the indomitable 17th century land owner Lady Anne Clifford. The website guide to the route recommends nine days for the walk, but Emma had other plans and completed the distance in just over one and a half days (38h58m). The weather was less kind in the north, with not one but two named storms passing through the area. The prevailing winds could explain why Emma had quite a tilt to her gait by the end of the race
Any running event which involves beer as part of the in-race hydration offerings is highly likely to attract RFRC club members. The hilly Blackdown Beauty hosted by Honiton Running Club which starts at Dunkeswell Aerodrome is one such event and a good collection of club members duly turned out. Not technically a race, there are no finishing times to report for the almost 17-mile route, probably a good thing given the refreshments available. ‘The Beast’ has a summertime sister event ‘The Beauty’ which is also well supported by the club, although the dryish weather of late and the reasonable weather ensured this year’s event was less beastly and more beautiful than some muddier, wetter and windier years.
Finishing off the weekend’s races on a beautiful sunny morning were Daniel Devlin, Karen Chapman and Suzanne Templeman at the Longleat 10k. Keeping with the theme of the weekend this was also a hilly course with the biggest hill completed twice for extra fun, although the one mile downhill finish went some way to make up for it. Finishing times for the crew were Karen in 1h9m, Daniel in 1h12m and Suzanne 1h18m.
Lots of parkrun activity for the club this weekend as well, the 16 RFRCers at Longrun Meadow were augmented by visitors to Burnham (1), Eastville (2), Marine Parade (1), Penryn (2), Southwick (2), Upton Court (1), Worthing (1) and the exotic sounding California Country (near Wokingham!).