Somerset Not Levels 50
On Saturday Pearl Barnes was running again – her third marathon/ultra race in 14 days! This time she was taking on the challenging ‘Somerset Not Levels 50’ event, a play on words as Somerset is usually known for The Levels but this route is far from flat.
Starting and finishing at Crowcombe in West Somerset the course covers 53miles around Exmoor and the Quantocks with 8,200 feet of elevation, a self-navigational event open to runners and walkers who have to complete the challenge within the 24hr time cut-off.
The route was beautiful, but brutal. Pearl found the night section particularly hard, especially as it was a very dark night. She went wrong a few times and ended up having to slow down and keep checking the route.
She was merely aiming to finish, so was delighted to come in as third lady just after midnight in a time of 15hrs 45min, unsurprisingly she said she was totally exhausted!
Lone Wolf
Two ORC’s, Ian Duffield and Rob Gooding headed to Haldon Forest on Saturday for the 24 hour Lone Wolf. Billed as a ‘Race for Everyone – From Beginners to Elite Athletes, a social run with runners helping each other – on the start line every hour.’
Runners take on a loop of just over 4miles every hour, for a full 24 hours, you need to finish the loop within 60 minutes to continue to the next lap. If you get that far, on the 24th lap, it’s a race to the finish!
Winding through the woodlands of the forest The Lone Wolf challenge promises an experience that pushes the boundaries of both physical and mental fortitude. I think both our athletes can concur with that.
Rob completed 17 laps (just over 74miles), finishing at 4am, it’s the furthest he has run to date. Ian continued to 20 laps, (a total of 85miles) finishing at 7:20am. Very well done to them both and thanks to Izzy and Deane for being their support crew.
Duchy an Dinas 5
Tom Andrew, Matt Grint and Lorna Critchlow headed down to Cornwall on Sunday for the Duchy an Dinas 5, hosted by St Austell Athletes Running Club.
It was another tough one, with around 1,000ft of climbing packed into the five-mile course. The route took runners through forest trails, around the historic Restormel Castle and up plenty of killer hills that certainly tested the legs!
It was Tom and Matt’s first time tackling the event, while Lorna, having raced it last year, knew exactly what was in store.
Tom finished in 51:43, followed closely by Lorna in 52:37, achieving a new PB and 3rd place in her age category. Matt wasn’t far behind, crossing the line in 53:57.
South Hams Marathon
Also, on Sunday Paul Trace headed to South Brent to take part in this marathon, which followed existing public rights of way, bridleways and coastal paths, as well as traversing parts of Dartmoor National Park, the beautiful South Hams countryside, and five estuaries.
Paul found himself running along with 2 other runners and they all finished together in joint 1st place in a time of 5hrs 19mins – what great teamwork!
Bournemouth 10k
Lois Rowlands travelled to Bournemouth to take part in the 10k with her daughter and partner. It was a huge field of 15,000 but a well organised event along the sea front, an out and back on 2 piers.
She was pleased with her time of 1:04:41 considering she had only just recovered from Covid.
Westward League Cross Country
This weekend saw the start of the 2026 cross country season (from October to March) with Race 1 at Newnham Park, Plymouth. This first race is a relay event and ORC entered Senior and Junior teams.
Results to follow.