Polruan Shuffle
On Saturday morning, four ORC’s headed to Cornwall for Purple Gecko Events Polruan Shuffle. This follows a 12 mile self-navigated route along a scenic but deceptively challenging section of the South West Coast Path between Looe and Polruan.
The race is affectionately known by some as the ‘Peruvian Shuffle’ due to it having more steps than Machu Picchu!
Grateful for the glorious blue skies, sunshine and beautiful sea views, Team ORC had a tough but very enjoyable morning of running up and down the hills and steps with Mary commenting that thanks to the sunshine you could almost ignore the mud!
Claire Watkins finished as first female in 2hrs18 followed by Mary Roberts in 2hrs49, Keeley Phillips in 2hrs59 (her 5th running of the event!) and Garry Wallace in 3hrs17.
They were ably supported by ORC Carole Loader who volunteered at the start and finish and provided a live finish line photography feed to the club; thanks Carole.
Sprint Donut Duathlon
On Sunday, ORC Junior Sophie Casavieille-Lacaze took part in Sportiva’s Donut Duathlon. Based at Torbay Velopark it offers a fast, flat and completely traffic-free duathlon course.
With a range of distances on offer, the event is suitable for all ages and for beginners and seasoned athletes alike. Competitors start with a flat parkland run, followed by a fast ride on the smooth tarmac of the velodrome followed by a shorter run to finish. All finishers receive a donut alongside their medal!
Sophie opted for the Sprint distance which consists of a 5km run, a 19.5k ride and a 2.5k run. She took on her 13 laps around the velodrome in torrential rain and a headwind but despite this, still managed to knock 13 minutes off her previous finishing time back in September. She completed the Sprint in 1hr16 coming in as 7th lady and 20th overall. A great achievement Sophie.
Liverpool Half Marathon
Also on Sunday, Simon O’Neill ran the 32nd anniversary edition of the Liverpool Half Marathon. A firm favourite on the road racing calendar, the event attracts up to 15,000 runners from far and wide.
This year saw a refreshed route with a brand new start inside Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium creating an electric start line atmosphere. The first four miles of the route had also been revised take in more of the city centre and landmarks including Liverpool Town Hall, the Chinese Arch and Liverpool Cathedral.
Simon ran with his nephew and both enjoyed the amazing crowd support along the route. Simon was very pleased to put in a strong performance and finished in 1:47:28 coming in 19th out of 186 in the M60 age category. Well done Simon.
