It was another busy weekend for RFRC. First up was our marathon machine Georgina Brice in action on the Thames towpath at the Hemerodromoi Marathon. Hemerodromoi, meaning ‘day runners’ in Greek, were the running messengers of Ancient Greece. Georgina delivered her message in 5:52 and celebrated with a relatively un-Greek cider.
Closer to home was Saturday night’s Moonlit Meadow Run in Taunton’s Longrun Meadow, with a decidedly spooky theme and both a 5km and 10km option. In the 5k event Adrian Troake, cunningly disguised as The Grim Reaper, was the first club member home in 32:20, 6th overall and 1st in his age group. Katy Monk was hot on his heels in 33:51, grabbing the 2nd female position, followed by Alex Watson in 37:09, Gerry Fagan in 39:10, Kate Mackenzie in 40:42 and Kerry-Anne Chapman in 45:07. In the 10k event, James Palmer finished in 52:54 and Dan Devlin in 79:19.
Once the sun was up on Sunday morning, it was off to the Blackdowns for our very own Herepath Half Marathon. Herepaths date back to the 9th century when they were important trade and communication routes between settlements. The half marathon, actually 13.7 miles, follows the Staple Fitzpaine Herepath Trail up and around the highest point on the Blackdowns, so lots of climbing and, after the recent rain, a wide selection of mud, with none more sapping than the infamous Field of Doom. Sam Carden overcame the obstacles in 1:45:42, followed by Simon Malley in 2:10:01, Sarah Henderson in 2:21:01 with Amy Maggs right behind her in 2:21:41. Andrew Phillips reached the cake table in 2:24:03 with Richard Hill making it back in 2:49:36.
Helen Phillips headed further afield to the New Forest for a pony- and pig-strewn scenic 10 mile jaunt, finishing after numerous photo stops in 2:01:46.
We had 39 runners at Longrun Meadow for the 400th edition of the parkrun. Elsewhere, club members were in parkrun action in Cardiff, Hackney Marshes, Seaton, Burnham & Highbridge and Tidworth.