Some beastly running this weekend and (Gor)Dean Bennett, he’s only gone one better than the Dartmoor Discovery! But more of that later.
There are a few races each year which really bring out the FOMO feeling for those who aren’t taking part, and one of those is definitely Albion Running’s Ham & Lyme 50k/100k trail ultra marathon. The saner individuals (no ultra runner is truly sane) participate in the 50k distance over a beautiful and hilly route from Ham Hill down to the seafront in Lyme Regis. The completely not sane 100k runners getting the pleasure of doubling up, starting in Lyme Regis then running to Ham Hill and back again!
RFRC had great representation in the 50k event, with 38 runners making it to the iconic finish along the front at Lyme. There are too many runners to reel off individually, but huge congratulations to all, especially those for whom this was their first ultra marathon.
We also had representation in the very challenging 100k event. Joanna Gavins completed her maiden 100k with the support of two club members, each keeping Joanna company by taking a 50k leg. Also running his maiden 100k race was Dean Bennett, fresh from an impressive 2nd place at the Dartmoor Discovery ultra marathon in early June. In what was a truly awesome performance Dean finished in an astounding 9h56m to take the overall victory in what is only the second sub-10 hour finishing time in the race’s history.
There was more to celebrate for RFRC on Sunday at the Quantock Beast. Serial-winner Sally Tuer continues to dominate her age category with another well earned win. The glory was then shared with Vicky Hanna, Helen Prescott and Paula Bisatt who, as a foursome with Sally, took the women’s group prize.
Congratulations also to Ben Timpson, Jamie Hill, Cathy Parmenter, Val Perigo, Sarah Holloway and Lisa Windsor!
Not all of the action was local this weekend. Emily Macaulay headed to the Leeds 10k and finished in an impressive 53m59s.
Simon Rowland was at English Riviera sprint triathlon event in Torbay, continuing his almost weekly race tempo, completing the race in 2h11m and scoring 3rd place in age category.
Participation was down a bit at Longrun Meadow parkrun on account of the Ham & Lyme ultra, but we still had 16 taking part. Tourists also visited Woodhouse Moor, Brockenhurst, Penrose, Woolacombe Dunes, Tidworth and Zuiderpark in The Hague, which sounds like it should be in Somerset!