South West Inter-Counties Cross Country
Omitted from last week’s report was Luke Stannus’ 4th January visit to Ilton in Somerset to represent Devon in the 2024-25 season South West Inter-Counties Cross Country event. Competitors ran a 7km course based at RNAS Merryfield. There was strong running again from Luke who flew round in 27mins placing 14th in a highly competitive under-20 male category.
Siblyback Santa Scamper
After being postponed in December due to Storm Darragh, Purple Gecko’s rescheduled Santa Scamper races took place at Siblyback Lake on 4th January. Various distances were on offer including 5km, 10km and Canicross races. Conditions were freezing on the day turning puddles around the lakeside course icy.
Three ORCs took on the 10km challenge with Chris Fulford-Brown finishing 1st MV70 in 56:18, Claire Sprague in 1:08 and Janet White 2nd FV70 in 1:23.
In the 10km Canicross race, Carole Loader and Pearl Barnes were joined by their dogs finishing 2nd and 3rd females.
Endurance Life North Cornwall
On Saturday 11th January, Lucy Skye travelled to Polzeath to take part in Endurance Life’s North Cornwall series of challenges with 10km, half marathon, marathon and ultra distances to choose from.
Opting for the 10km, Lucy’s race began on Polzeath beach and then headed north east to follow the rugged coastline around the stunning Pentire Peninsula. After the recent weather, ground conditions were unsurprisingly soggy and Lucy ended up covered in mud! The course included approx 900ft of elevation gain, but the hills were no match for Lucy who finished 2nd lady and 5th overall in 57:46.
Oh My Obelisk!
Sunday 12th January saw the return of Oh My Obelisk! organised by Dawlish Coasters. This fun event offers a 9 mile or a half marathon multi-terrain route starting and finishing at Dawlish Leisure Centre and heading up to the Obelisk at Mamhead. Dubbed “a bit of climb” this is made up for by the scenery and sense of achievement!
Lou Duffield was the sole ORC to take on the half marathon challenge this year. The course with a hefty overall elevation of approx 1500ft took in mud, hills, fields, woodland tracks and quiet country lanes with stunning views. Lou thoroughly enjoyed the race with its “good, friendly vibe with lots of encouragement” and came home in 2:17.
Westward League XC
On a busy Sunday for ORC running, Danny Heggs and Stuart Page were racing at Northam Burrows in Westward Ho! in event four of the Westward League Cross Country series. They were treated to glorious weather albeit with a stiff breeze that made half the 8km course tough going into a headwind.
Whilst this course is pretty flat, underfoot conditions were challenging with plenty of mud and many puddles! Stuart finished in 85th position and Danny 97th.
Couch to 50k: 10k finale
Also on Sunday 12th, 14 runners completed the 5k to 10k stage of the ORC Couch to 50k challenge with a 10km finale run around the Dartmoor Ring Road, high above Okehampton.
The weather was lovely and sunny but a bitter wind made standing around rather uncomfortable. Having successfully navigated themselves across the East Okement ford crossing they thought the worst was over until high up on Okement Hill they discovered the trackway was still covered in snow drifts, some knee deep. Once out of the snow, they all ran down to the finish enjoying what now felt like warm sunshine. A great achievement by all.
The next stage of the programme – 10k to half marathon – starts this week. If there are any runners who are not currently members of the club and would like to join the training programme please contact Robert Richards at coaching@okehamptonrunningclub.com
