Happy Halloween
Released On 1st Nov 2025
Bideford 10
From Mat: Bideford 10miles race this morning. Starting outside Bideford AC club house the run takes you out on the road past Instow before turning back onto the Tarka trail finishing along side the Quay. Lovely sunny start which changed into a cool very wet and challenging run back along the estuary into a strong squally wind. Hard going today stomach cramps from halfway finishing chip time 73-40 and only second in 70s age category, winner 72-28.
Haldon Forest Night 10k.
From Steve: A hilly 2 lap course (1100 ft of climbing over 10k!)……so soon warmed up and rosey cheeks on the autumn night. A few zombies were hiding in the forest and jumped out during the race just to add a bit of jeopardy - if the hills didn’t elevate the heart rate then the zombies definitely did! I went wrong at the end of the first lap which cost me 1st in age group and I was 2nd a minute behind ….doh (17/118). Good fun and something a little bit different. Nice medal.
Reading Rivermead 10k
From Margarita: So I did my first 5 mile race last week and sitting down Sunday afternoon I came up with the idea of doing another race this weekend.... That led us to Reading Rivermead 10k - starting with a semi-disorganised start, we had 4 laps of grass, tarmac, mud, leaves, low hanging branches to dodge and a flock of geese to run through on the last lap.
It was a fun but tough race, thouroughly enjoyed it as my first 10k and it was amazing running it with Margarita. (thank you for supporting my crazy idea!)
Weekend Running
From Ann: Full monty practice with the trail gang ,Andy my self Lee and mags ran to ham to meet the others for the full monty route. we met Adrian , Connor and felicity and what a beautiful morning we had the route was definitely easier than its going to be on race day even though im still like bambie on ice in the slippy bits safe to say i think Adrian is glad he's not doing the race its self and Connor got a glipse of what race day will be like as it was his and felicity first time doing the course . Once we finished half of us ran back home great to get the miles in thats for sure even though the legs felt a little heavy at the end . Thanks guys for a great morning really enjoyed myself look forward to more trail with you all.
From Mark: Sunday Slow and Steady at Sherborne. Red Kites flying above Sandford Orcas Road. Some wet and muddy off-road, but mostly quiet lanes and some town. Finished off with tea and cake in the back garden.
From Amanda: Gorgeous morning 8 mile run, well done Gemma and Mel for being brave, thanks Rob and Lesley for your company, thanks to Helen as usual for the scrummy cake afterwards.
From Helen: What a glorious sunny November morning for our 10 miler thanks for the company all was a really enjoyable continuous run. Well done those putting in extra miles beforehand! Thanks for helping me eat all the delicious caramel shortbreads after too.
From Ali: Sunny Sunday morning social 10K group today. A route out and around West Coker and back to the cafe for cake and a cuppa.
From Ann: Cavity trays social run today and what a beautiful day for it. There was 8 of us today i do believe Phil,dave mears and marathon Mike went off together and my self ,tim,Sharon,June and chris and not forgetting hunny done a lovely 10k route out to montacte and back , definitely know the seasons have changed now soggy leaves ,loads of mud and plenty of puddles for hunny to bath in and drink.
Park Runs
From Margarita: Oxford parkrun today with Margarita Moore as they celebrated their 14th birthday. This was for our O for the alphabet and for an O for Margarita's namely, along with being my 10th parkrun. Today we did their winter route which was 3 laps, starting on a field it felt like everyone was going into battle as they ran down and funnelled onto the path. It was a mix of grass, gravel, tarmac and leafy paths.
From Steve: Well another 8 o’clock start and a lot of thunderstorms overnight left the concrete path with puddles and a lot of leaves apart from that the going was pretty good . Loads of friendly Aussies here and no rain again until after we finished and a pleasant 19 c . Only 4 park runs in the last 5 weeks running wise owing to motorcycles planes and travelling so reasonably happy with the run although missing my park run running buddy (Lindsay Saunders ). Hopefully back to do this one next Saturday if we are in the vicinity fingers crossed and see you all at the awards evening ps I will never moan about the 9 o’clock start time again in good old England as this was my other option locally.
PUB RUN – LIMINGTON – (30TH OCTOBER 2025)
From Mark: It was the night before Halloween, and the windy night gave a feel for the presence of demons. Julie, Mel, Alison, JC, and myself made up the plodding (not so fast) group tonight. Debbie, Tim, and Rob made up one of the faster groups. The other faster group was Guy and Ann. I don’t know which of those two groups had the highest average velocity. Phil ran alone.
The not so fast group set off into the spooky windy night to do the usual loop in the anti-clockwise direction. So we made our way out to the weir, through Yeovilton, and up to the junction at Costello Hill. We plodded onto the big roundabout, then into Northover. Photos were taken at both spots. We continued into Ilchester and took the back road. Then heading back to Limington, we passed the kennels. The absence of dog howls suggests it is no longer being used. We climbed the hill before reaching the village.
It's good that more people seem to be turning up for pub runs again. The food was good. Had a very nice pie. Thanks Phil for organising.
