Man Up & Down
On Saturday, 3 ORC’s took part in Man Up & Down, a 20k coast path trail run, organised by Purple Gecko. Runners set off from Portreath beach, navigating the iconic and rugged North Cornwall coastline to finish in Perranporth.
This event supports Man Down Cornwall, a charity which offers a safe space to meet the current emotional and mental health needs of men who are struggling to cope with the everyday pressures facing them in our modern society.
Matt Grint and Lou Duffield said they thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful route through Cornish Mining country and both finished in great times with Matt finishing in 2:24:01 and Lou finishing in 3:01:35. Keeley Phillips competed in the canicross event with her dog Loki coming in as first Female and 2nd overall in 2:38:12.
Tenacious 10 Endurance Challenge
On Saturday, Emma Brock travelled to the Brecon Beacons to take part in the Tenacious 10-hour Endurance challenge, managing an impressive 12 loops of the challenging 2.6-mile route, completing just short of 30 miles with 11,738ft elevation. This superhuman performance placed her second overall and second female, with women taking a clean sweep of the podium places.
Starting at the base of Mynydd Troed, a brutal climb takes runners to the summit, before finding some flat, followed by some very technical and steep downhills, then finally reaching some open common trails. After the first loop, runners are given the choice whether to go clockwise or anticlockwise. There is a strict 10 hour cut off to complete as many loops as possible before the final whistle. This event is open to teams of 4, pairs or solo entrants.
Bideford 10k
On Sunday, ORC runners were out in force, with 14 members competing in the Bideford 10k event and several achieving personal bests for the distance.
The course starts and finishes close to the Bideford Amateur Athletic Club clubhouse taking in the views of the Taw and Torridge estuary between Bideford and Instow. The course heads out on the road to Instow and returns on the Tarka Trail. It is moderately flat with only two small inclines.
All ORC runners put in outstanding performances, but special mentions must go to Del Matravers, Pete Roissetter and Oli Hunt who all have been training hard, managing to achieve personal bests for this distance in this event. Claudine Benstead and Steve Sincock also ran in their England vests, with Claudine finishing top of her age category as well.
Leeds Half Marathon
On Sunday, Pearl Barnes continued her back-to-back event streak with Jane Tomlinson’s Run for All Leeds Half Marathon, finishing in her second-best half marathon time of 2:09:23.
Starting at the iconic Headingly Stadium, home of Yorkshire Cricket and Rugby, Pearl wanted to do this race because she was born in Leeds and her family are from Otley. She said it was an amazing atmosphere with 10,000 runners on the HM alone. It is an undulating and hilly out and back route, heading to the Yorkshire Dales with plenty of support along the way. Pearl described it as a wonderful and amazing experience.
World Youth Skyrunning Championships
On Friday, Luke Stannus, was selected as part of the UK team to participate in the 2026 Championships Vertical event. He put in an amazing performance, competing against the worlds best, finishing in a time of 51:31. Taking place in Croatia, this gruelling 4.5km race with over 980m+ climb, earning the name of the ‘Vertical’.
The tenth edition of the annual Youth Skyrunning World Championships took place for the first time in Makarska, Croatia with the ‘Vertical’ on May 8 and the ‘Sky’ on May 10. Four categories were included: Youth A (15-16), Youth B (17-18), Youth C (19-20) and U23 (21-23), across both the Vertical and Sky events.
Event website: 2026 Youth Skyrunning World Championships – VERTICAL – The International Skyrunning Federation
Devon County Championships
On Sunday, Sophie battled the strong winds to compete in the U16 1500m at the Devon County Championships. She ran like the wind and came in 2nd, putting in a great performance.
