East Mill Tor Loop Fell Race
The last event in the South West Fell Runners series and Okehampton Running Clubs own fell race series took place from Belstone on Saturday 21st. Starting and finishing in the village the race has three junior distances of, 2K, 3K and 4K as well as the 6 mile senior race. The juniors were supposed to run an out and back up to and over the top of Belstone Tor however the visibility on the day was less than 10 metres and this posed the risk that numerous children may be lost on the moor. A last minute change to make a shorter, well marked and marshalled relay route kept the children in view and ensured they got home safely without giving Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team too much to do on the day.
For the seniors the route was self navigational so they were left to find their own way or get lost, it was up them. The loop took runners over Belstone Tor to Oke Tor, down the valley to East Mill Tor then Winter Tor before going back to Belstone Tor and the village.
All runners returned safely and the 1st ORC home and 3rd overall was Luke Stannus who ran the senior race as an under 19.
Results were given out for the ORC fell race series. Open to any club member the series consists of 5 races the club organises, the best 3 are counted. All the club races are achievable to run by anyone who can run 10K. Female winners were 1st Lou Duffield, 2nd Charlie Lane, 3rd Clair Watkins. Male winners were 1st Luke Stannus, 2nd Joe Lane, 3rd Charlie Temperley.
Results for the South West Fell Runners series will be given out Friday evening, October 11th at Meavy Village Hall.
Black Beacon Trail Race
A trip to Wales for the 21 mile Black Beacon Trail race was undertaken by Simon Partridge who ran the race with a friend. This was one of 4 distance races varying from 21 to 100 miles. The race starts with an amazing climb up the North Ridge of Cribyn where it meets the ultra distance runners at the top. There is a great selection of distances to suit all abilities. All the routes then head down Cribyn and up ‘Jacobs Ladder’ to the summit of Pen Y Fan. A highlight of the race is when the route takes runners under the breathtaking Sgwd Yr Eira Waterfall. A fast mile all on single-track forestry trails brings you to the finish in Pontneddfechen on the southern edge of the National Park.
This self navigational race meant Simon had to find his own way. The 1600 metres of accent and slippery paths made the going pretty slow. A late 2.30 PM start meant he finished late into the evening at 19.45.
He described the event as well organised with fab aid stations. The variety of distances attract elite athletes to novices and walkers, so it is super inclusive and he thought, very friendly.
War Horse 10K
As popular as ever this years race sold out within 31/2 hours of entries going live.
9 ORC’s braved the rain on Sunday to take part in the 6th annual War Horse event, billed as a stunning 10km race with cracking views of Dartmoor. Sadly, this was not to be the case this year, but it didn’t dampen the enthusiasm or enjoyment of the race for the competitors who were eager to get off as the heavens opened during the race briefing just before 11am!
This popular and well organised local race attracts a great following and this year it was supporting Farms for City Children and Devon Air Ambulance. The route takes the runners out of the village along the lanes, through the privately owned Ash House and Hill Farm. Around the 6k mark the dreaded ascent starts up Smytham Hill, which seems to go on forever until the descent back into the village at around 9k.
Fortunately, the rain did ease up after the start and was just light drizzle for most of the rest of the race.
ORC did very well winning 3 Vet category awards, Carole Loader FVet 50, Ian Ripper MVet60 and Paul Evison MVet70.
Oli Hunt had a great race in seventh place overall, he was the first ORC home in a time of 42:55, followed by Carole Loader third female in 47:33 who was closely followed by Ian Ripper in 48:01, Paul Evison in 48:53, Lu Walsh in 56:23, Chris Fulford-Brown in 1:00:32, Lucy Gooding 1:02:55, Jacqueline Shields 1:03:36 and Victoria Evison 1:08:24.
