The Drogo 10, another very popular local race, was the main focus for our runners last weekend. Set in the grounds of Castle Drogo and the beautiful Fingle Woods that fill the valley below it, this is a tough 10 miler with a some steep climbs, most memorably the brutal Hunters Path climb with nearly 450ft of ascent between miles 8 and 9. At this time of year the compensation for this effort are the the wonderful autumn colours, made more enjoyable by the sunshine and good conditions underfoot, making it a perfect day for running. The course had been slightly adjusted this year, extending it slightly to make it the full ten miles of its title. Thirteen Okehampton runners took part, the first home for the club being Alec Robinson, finishing in 1.23.04, while the first ORC ladies were Jo Page and Karen Vallance, coming home together in 1.36.45.
Other ORC times; Mike Baker; 1.26.12, Angus Farrelly; 1.43.31, Paul Evison; !.46.51, Robert Cunnington; 1.49.03, Christine Fritsch, 1.49.40, Mags Jarvis; 1.51.17, Janet White; 2.12.34, Ali Holiday; @.12.34, Danielle Fullford Brown; 2.19.01. Jane Richardson finished her “Drogo 11” in 2.20.39, having added an extra mile after unfortunately taking a wrong path along with a group of other runners.
There was a long journey to Bury St Edmunds in Norfolk on Sunday for marathon buddies Roger Voaden and Geoff Hill to take part in the Snetterton Race Track Marathon. The course is made up of six laps of the iconic race circuit, making for a flat, smooth and fast run but being very exposed to the cold easterly wind that was blowing this weekend. Lapped courses are never as easy to run as they sound but Roger has the experience to handle any marathon and came home to 3.27.13 to be 16th overall. Geoff tackles every marathon now with the promise that this will be his last, finishing here in 3.50.26 and vowing this will be his last EVER….watch this space!
Saturday provided a warm up to Sunday’s race for Jo Page when she took part in MoRunning’s Mo 10k in Exeter. This event, held on the Riverside Valley Park supports the Movember Foundation, a charity tackling men’s health, but the race is lighthearted with fancy dress encouraged and most runners sporting moustaches of various types. Jo ran with a friend and they finished in 53.20 to become proud owners of a moustache shaped medal.
On another lighthearted note, but with an equally important reason, several ORCs took part in Friday’s Children In Need fundraising by “running” a five-legged race through Okehampton. More of a glorified pub crawl whilst tied to several friends than a race, hats off (or maybe wigs off) to Jo Burrow, Viki Hayer, Lucy Brint, Jo Bradford, Geraldine Walter, Hannah Woods, Tracey Mills and Beki Simmons who risked life and limbs to run approximately a mile in around 45mins, hopefully their slowest mile ever!
Thank you Jane for your reporting
