Runners from the Exmouth Harriers took part in some Easter exercise, as the competitive juices begin flowing again for local outdoor sports.
After three months with no “real” racing during the recent Covid-19 lockdown, 12 Exmouth Harriers were excited to be lining up at the start at Exeter Racecourse on Good Friday.
The event was organised by Exeter’s City Runs team, with two 10km races in the morning and a 5km race in the afternoon.
Each race had two start “waves” five minutes apart to ensure that the Covid-19 rules regarding social distancing were applied.
The races were run on the tarmac service road around the racecourse, which can only be described as undulating. The 10km was run over three full laps plus one third of a lap, while the 5km was one full lap plus two thirds.
The weather conditions were challenging with a chilly and blustery northerly wind hampering progress on each lap, but the Exmouth Harriers all ran in the morning 10km races and there were marvellous performances from everyone.
The results for the 11 Harriers to finish were:
10th Simon Minting 34:53 1st M35
13th James Kelly 35:20 11th MSen
17th Oliver White 35:53 2nd M35
53rd Des White 40:33 1st M65
55th Hannah Bown 40:44 3rd F40
76th Jonathan Mill 43:44 14th M40
78th Chris Sharp 44:01 16th M40
88th Andrew Place 45:57 26th MSen
89th Scott Jamieson 45:59 19th M40
94th Andrew Johnson 46:41 5th M55
101st Jenny Reay 47:15 2nd F60
Unfortunately, Mike Musgrove was unable to finish the course due to a problem with his Achilles tendon.
There were 157 finishers overall in the 10km races and 91 finishers in the 5km race.
Many thanks to Mark Cowen and his City Runs team of volunteers for putting on another superb event.
The next races for Exmouth Harriers are:
The Clinic Maer 10km & Half Marathon in Exmouth on Sunday, April 25
City Runs “Turn & Burn” 5km in Exeter on Thursday, April 29.