Tamara Coast to Coast Way
On Friday morning Rob Richards set out to be the first to complete the new Tamara Coast to Coast Way non-stop for others to follow. Starting from Cremyll, this scenic route follows the River Tamar from sea to source before continuing on the South West Coast Path to finish in Morwenstow. After running throughout Friday and all night, on Saturday morning he passed Tamar Lakes but declined to run the Parkrun on this occasion! Rob had great support along the way from friends and family completing this mighty undertaking in an amazing 32hrs covering a total of 150kms with 3300m of elevation.
Rob commented: “Yes it hurts very much, but I will get over it. I was very happy with how I managed that adventure. Other than my feet… Now for some rest I think.”
Physical conditioning is only part of the story when covering ultra distances and immense mental fortitude and determination is needed to complete such a challenge. Congratulations Rob for an epic and inspiring achievement!
East Mill Tor fell race (Juniors)
On Saturday four ORC Juniors ran the final race of the summer fell running series covering distances of either 2km (U9s & U11s) or 4km (U13s & U15s) on an out and back course towards Belstone Tor. There was strong running by all the juniors in the breezy conditions with Jacob Lane finishing second MU9, Alistair Taylor finishing first MU11 closely followed by Arthur Lane second MU11 and Ellenor Taylor finishing first FU13.
Congratulations go to Jacob Lane who finished the series as U9 champion and to Ellenor Taylor as FU13 champion.
East Mill Tor loop fell race (Seniors)
For their final race of the summer fell running series the ORC Seniors ran a looped course of approx 10km around Belstone, Oke and East Mill tors. This included a strong headwind for the outward leg, steep climbs, technical sections over rocky ground, open moorland, a ford crossing and a fast downhill to the finish and all commented how much they enjoyed the course. There were some strong ORC performances with Tom Poland first home finishing 10th overall in 51:54 followed by Joe Lane in 53:30, Charlie Temperley in 54:49, Stan Wood in 55:56 (1st MU17), Claire Watkins in 1:02:58 (2nd FV40), Ross Morley-Trapnell in 1:04:47 (2nd MV50) and Will Seviour in 1:07:18.
Congratulations to Stan Wood who won the series MU17 trophy, to Charlie Temperley who finished second senior male overall in the series and to the ORC men’s team (comprising first four male finishers: Tom Poland, Joe Lane, Charlie Temperley and Stan Wood) who won the series team trophy for the third year running.
Loch Ness Marathon
The Loch Ness Marathon follows a spectacular point-to-point route alongside the south-eastern shores of the world famous Loch Ness starting in an atmospheric moorland setting and continuing through stunning Highland scenery and across the River Ness, to finish in the beautiful Highland capital of Inverness.
Two ORCs took up the challenge on Sunday and whilst both felt their race strategies didn’t go to plan on the day, they both still achieved excellent sub-3 hour times with Chris Turner finishing in 2hrs 54 and Rob Kelly in 2hrs 59. Well done both of you. Chris and Rob said the route was amazing and that the Baxters soup served to finishers went down well!
Cardiff Half Marathon
This Sunday was the 20th anniversary of the popular Cardiff half marathon; now one of Europe’s largest with up to 27,000 runners. Starting outside Cardiff Castle, this predominately flat and fast course takes runners past the capital city’s most iconic landmarks and historic buildings passing through the beautiful scenery of Cardiff Bay and Roath Park Lake before the grandstand finish at the Civic Centre. Mike Davies was the only ORC racing and had a strong run finishing in 1hr 38. He was pleased to achieve another sub-1:40 half marathon finish time this year. He thoroughly enjoyed the festival feel of the event with bands playing and fantastic crowd support and he would highly recommend it.
Barnstaple Marathon
Also on Sunday, another sole ORC, Richard Davies, travelled up to North Devon for the Barnstaple Marathon. Having previously been a North Devon Road Runners event, this was the first year the race had been managed by Children’s Hospice South West. Despite its relatively small size, the race was well organised with plenty of helpful and friendly marshals.
The marathon followed a flat course, formed generally by two out-and-back legs along the northern and then southern banks of the Taw estuary. With conditions on the day being cool and dry, this offered a great opportunity for some fast times. Richard finished first in the MV40 category and third overall with a new PB of 2:49:28. Congratulations to him on an impressive result.
