The past week has been a time of very mixed emotions for the club. On Wednesday there was a deservedly huge turnout at Taunton Crematorium to say a final goodbye to Scott Weetch, a founding member of RFRC but more importantly a thoroughly decent man who made friends wherever he went. As a result it was standing room only for a very moving service, with people from every part of Scott’s life there to pay their respects to him. Members of RFRC and Taunton Athletic, accompanied by past and present race directors of Scott’s favourite SW races, formed a guard of honour on the approach to the crematorium building proudly wearing their respective club colours.

Scott was hugely supportive of runners of all ability and would have wanted nothing more than for club members to continue to enjoy a sport he loved very much. He would certainly have been present in some capacity at the inaugural Channel Events ‘Steaming to the Coast’ race on Saturday. It’s fair to say that without Scott being a friend of the race director that the event would not have been devised. It was very poignant therefore that Channel Events announced on the day that this would become a memorial race for Scott – a wonderfully fitting tribute to him.

The red and white of RFRC was everywhere you looked in the assembled throng, who had just enjoyed a steam engine powered trip from Minehead to Bishops Lydeard, before setting off under their own steam to complete distances from 11k up to a full marathon. There are too many to mention here, but well done to everyone for supporting this new race, which looks like it will become a fixture of the spring calendar. The weather was absolutely perfect – I’m sure it will be far more ‘interesting’ in future years!

If you say marathon to most non-runners in the UK they will immediately think of London, and this year’s event saw strong club representation in the event, including a few ‘lucky’ entrants who made it through the ballot, the club ballot, charity entries and some well earned ‘good for age’ places. Congratulations go to Eleanor Perry, Ali Bisatt, Damon Butler, Isabelle Ashton, Jamie Bousfield, Nicola Kelly, Morwenna Dunstan & Nicky Chrascina.

And bucking the London trend was Georgina Brice who took her marathon completion tally to an amazing 160 by running ‘Not the London Marathon’.

Wow – what a weekend! We kicked of with ‘RFRC does parkrun’ at Longrun Meadow, where the club filled all of the volunteer roles, to ensure people got around a very splishy sploshy course!

From Taunton we have access to some of the best trail events in England & Wales. The sub-optimal winter weather has made these events tougher than ever, but enjoying these challenging conditions in Wales were Cathy Parmenter and Julie Gilbert completing the 43 mile Canum Ultra along the ‘Mon & Brec’ Canal. Also in the principality was Peter Hall for a very muddy and windy 33 mile Vale Coastal Ultra.

We had several runners taking place in events along the south coast, including the self-declared ‘brutal’ Exe to Axe 22-miler. As anyone familiar with the coast path knows, if it isn’t going up it’s going down and with a bunch of steps thrown in. Regardless, the six hardy souls of Dee Finch, Emma Biswas, Jonathan Newby, Martin Webb, Paul Parmenter & Rob Harris got the job done!

Just along the coast Chris Manley and Hannah Baker ran the Powderham Castle 10-miler, again over challenging terrain.

Still at the coast was race regular Eliza Brodie with Chris White, who took part in the Southampton Half Marathon.

Further east we had club representation in the Brighton Marathon and 10k, which despite the trek to get there is popular with the club. This year Kate Mackenzie ran the 10k, with Karen Chapman, Kirsti Nelson, Paula Bisatt, Ron Foord & Sam Cross running strongly in the marathon – including a hat trick of marathon first timers!

In London Chris White, Lucy Stancer and Sarah Holloway took part in the popular London Landmarks Half marathon, with a route that takes in much of central London.

Running under RFRC colours for the first time was Pam Beattie who completed the Brabazon Half Marathon up in Patchway, Bristol.

Also in an RFRC debut at half marathon distance was Tanya Downes who ran the Prague half marathon, one of the European Superhalfs race series.

Finally, Steven Cockram took part in an event that has captured the media’s interest joining Russ Cook ‘Hardest Geezer’ in Tunisia on his last 27 mile run to complete an epic journey across Africa!

It has been a very busy weekend for lots of club members, even with Mother’s Day many have got out onto the road or trails to represent the club.

The most popular event was the 40th Iteration of the Stoke Stampede which was originally penned in for January but delayed due to flooding. There were 33 members running and many others on the side-lines cheering and taking photos. A really impressive run from new member Stephen Cockram who was 3rd male and picked up some silverware, running in a palindromic time of 35:53. Dean Bennett ran a steady 40:11 finishing 2nd for the club and Joanna Carritt finished in 41:23 to take the 1st lady’s crown. There were also any PBs from lots of the runners who got the chance to celebrate at the end.

Jane Hardacre participated in the Grand Canal Canter, a 10km race down the Grand Canal. She finished in 2nd place overall and was 1st lady, a fantastic run. Kevin Garner, Tony knight and new member Julia Strange completed the Bideford Half Marathon. Further afield 4 amigos (Simon Denson, Fintan Murray, Mark Wilson and Robin Upton) headed for the Elche half marathon, which looking from the pictures was warmer than the UK.

This weekend there were 2 major events which club members participated in and supported from the sidelines, the Exeter half marathon and the Portland marathon. The Exeter half occurred on both the Saturday and Sunday and was a sellout on both days.

On the Saturday Michael Turk was the only participant from the club and ran a new personal best of 1:39:39, well done Mike, you have been training hard so a well-deserved PB.

On Sunday a massive 25 members of the club participated, many achieving Personal Bests, or even running their first ever half marathons. Simon Denson finished in a rapid time of 1:28:02 and picked up the 2nd Male trophy, Sam Wharton ran an also rapid time in 1:36:36 and picked up the 2nd Female trophy, well done to both of you.

Paul Parmenter decided to travel to Dorset instead of Devon and did the Portland Marathon, conditions were windy and as usual with coastal marathons there was lots of elevation gain, he finished in 5:08, well done Paul a great achievement.

Photo courtesy of Adrian Troake

Four brave members participated in the Arc50 on Saturday setting off from the Minack Theatre, Porthcurno and following 50 miles of the coast path to Porthtowan. The race has a strict 15.5-hour cut-off with additional checkpoint and safety cut-offs on route. The four members were well supported by other club members who ensured they were well stocked with water and food. First back was Rob Harris in 12:44, followed by Fintan Murray in 13:25 and close behind Andy Burgess finished in 13:30. Marcus Tuke unfortunately had to retire due to injury but still managed an incredible 39 miles, hope the ankle heals quickly.
Ali Bisatt also decided this weekend to take on a big distance by participating in The Winter Wychavon way race which is 40 miles. The race according to Ali follows the Wychavon Way from Droitwich to Broadway via Pershore with one decent hill at Brendon. He finished in an impressive time of 7 hours 52 minutes.
More locally many members participated in the Blackdown Beast, a nice local event which can either be 10 or 16 miles. Included within your entry is a pasty and a glass of cider at one of the checkpoints, which went down a storm with the runners.
If you are interested in joining an inclusive club, membership costs either £27.00 a year for EA registered members (this includes the £17 registration fee which is passed directly to EA) or £10.00 a year for non-registered members, and runs from 1st April to 31st March each year.

Despite the clocks going back, and the weather becoming less predictable, that has not stopped members of Running Forever having a productive November. At the start of the month Sarah Henderson participated in the Beacons Trail Marathon, a very challenging course with over 4000 feet of elevation gain and 95% of trail running.

Sunday 17th November saw 7 members head for the Starcross shuffle, a challenge event which runs for 7 hours, and participants can if they wish see how many of the 10km loops they can do. Peter Hall did 4 loops and in doing so completed yet another Marathon. Ali Bisatt, Paul Parmenter and Bev Collins opted for 3 loops, whilst Dan Devlin and Mike Turk did 2 to complete the Half Marathon, Lou Mackley completed 1 loop at the 10km distance.

On the 26th November the final race of the Somerset Series was held, the Brent knoll multi terrain race. It is approximately a 6-mile course which can be challenging in the mud, 6 members took part with Tom Dymott and Jo Carritt finishing 2 seconds apart with times of 47:11 and 47:13 respectively, Dan Devlin was then next back followed by Anne-Marie Crampton, Sally Tuer and Sherri Dingle. At the end of the race Jo Carritt was presented with the trophy for the leading female over the Somerset Series which started back in January.

Special mention must go to Darren Purchase who embarked on a month-long challenge to run a half-marathon every day in November to raise money for the Lily foundation which raises money to help families affected by mitochondrial diseases, he has already raised over £2000. What has been incredible is that on everyday he has been joined by a member of the running club, which shows how supportive members of the running club are, and that he is now carrying on until the 17th December as so many people have offered to run with him.

This weekend our walking group enjoyed a 12mile walk from Combe Florey to Watchet followed by a bus ride back.

On Saturday four members of the club participated in Sportiva Events – Devon Trails – 10k/Half Marathon. The forecast bad weather luckily stayed away but conditions were still wet underfoot with many flooded sections. As with many trail events the four enjoyed a good selection of snackage on route and had some cake at the end of the race. Not only did they enjoy cake but Rachael Mills, Andrew Phillips and Helen Prescott won the Club competition, well done.

On Sunday 23 members ran the Bideford 10 miler, a new distance for many. Again, the weather forecast was not great but luckily the rain stayed away, there were still some headwind to contend with on the return down alongside the river. First home was the Gazelle (Simon Denson) with a time of 1:06:35, second was Andrew Saunders in 1:10:29 and third was Sam Wharton in 1:13:54. Incredibly 13 of the runners recorded Personal Bests, well done all.

Again massive thanks to those members who came to support and take pictures, it really is appreciated.

On Saturday Dean Bennett participated in the Track 100, which is exactly that, a 100-mile race on the running track. Despite having no elevation gain this is a particularly tough event due to the distance and the repetition of the scenery. Dean finished in an incredible time of 16:42:14 and finished 3rd overall

On Sunday, 6 members of the club participated in the self-proclaimed gruelling “The Stickler” race. The Stickler is a 10.1 mile multi terrain race and takes in the Dorset three peaks which involves over 1500ft of ascent. First home was Fintan Murray with a chip time of 1:28:34, followed by Sam Wharton in 1:34:03 and closely followed by Paul Parmenter.

Further afield Ann-Marie Crampton earnt herself a Guinness by completing the Dublin Marathon in a time of 4 hours and 21 minutes. This was all the more impressive due to her returning from injury and having to train solo for the event.

Dave Marshall was the sole entrant from the club to take part in the Potter around the Otter 50 miler. The course starts on the Coast path heading west from Sidmouth and passes through Exmouth before heading up the river Exe and then looping back inland for the evening. He finished with a time of 15 hours, very impressive given all of the elevation gain.

On Saturday seven RFRC members took part in the Mendip Muddle Fell race, conditions were described by some as perfect despite the muddy conditions under foot. As usual many of the runners ran together and had a good chat along the way.

Staying more local 19 members enjoyed the local Parkrun at longrun meadow, again conditions were wet underfoot but that didn`t stop many of the runners meeting up for a well-deserved coffee and cake afterwards.