The Philanderer
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Uncle Tom Cobley and all.....
I spent the weekend in Devon, visiting my mum in Plymouth, and do a bit of other stuff. Some of that stuff involved meeting 'off the record' Dick and his wife Gill at the Leaping Salmon in Horrabridge. It was a very pleasant luncheon, and Dick was keen to point out his two page spread featuring his Mongolian adventure, that was prominent in the FT colour supplement of the day. If only the locals had realised they had a prominent feature writer and Jack Rowell in the same pub together, we might have had free drinks all afternoon!!
The trip to the pub wax precluded by a trip to Widdecombe, and that proved to be a bit more of an adventure than planned.
Last Saturday was the Dartmoor Discovery Ultra marathon, a 32, yes 32, mile road race through the country lanes between Princetown, Ashburton, Widdecombe and back to Princetown. The winner did the race at an average speed of 7 minutes per mile, in a time of 3 hours 45 minutes, amazing when you consider there were not too many flat bits of the course.
It was not possible to close the route to traffic, as it was really the only route around Dartmoor, so to avoid the runners and the vehicles coming in the opposite direction was a bit of a mission. There were no fatalities though I am pleased to report.
Will I be entering next year? No I don't think so, I am struggling to be fit for my September 10K.
The trip to the pub wax precluded by a trip to Widdecombe, and that proved to be a bit more of an adventure than planned.
Last Saturday was the Dartmoor Discovery Ultra marathon, a 32, yes 32, mile road race through the country lanes between Princetown, Ashburton, Widdecombe and back to Princetown. The winner did the race at an average speed of 7 minutes per mile, in a time of 3 hours 45 minutes, amazing when you consider there were not too many flat bits of the course.
It was not possible to close the route to traffic, as it was really the only route around Dartmoor, so to avoid the runners and the vehicles coming in the opposite direction was a bit of a mission. There were no fatalities though I am pleased to report.
Will I be entering next year? No I don't think so, I am struggling to be fit for my September 10K.
Labels: ashburton, dartmoor, princetown, ultra marathon, widdecombe
¶ 3:39 PM 0 Comments
Monday, May 12, 2008
The perfect Ten....
This has no reference to events in Wigan on Sunday, but to the annual ten Tors expedition which has been running across Dartmoor this weekend. The route varies with age, but forces the participants to visit ten of the Tors on Dartmoor as indicated on their joining instructions.
Teams consist of six people and the route has to be completed by 5pm on Sunday, with the participants spending the Saturday night on the moor. You may recall that last year the whole event had to be abandoned as the weather was so bad. Poor visibility, rain and wind contributed to the decision to evacuate 2,500 kids at short notice. The Armed Forces who police the event acted with military precision to complete the task with minimum trauma to the teams.
This years event had already been marred by the death of one girl earlier in the year while her team were practicing for the walk.
This weekends event, however, went much better. Most of the teams completed the course, and those that were removed from the route early were forced off by blisters or heat exhaustion, as the temperatures this year hit 80- degrees.
All six members of the team need to complete the course to ensure they all get a commemorative medal, and I can remember my pal Stu doing it while we were at school, and telling us stories of how they literally had to drag one of their team the last few miles to the finishing line in Oakhampton in order to get theirs.
So well done to those that completed the walk this year, and to the organisers and the military for sustaining the event into the future.
Teams consist of six people and the route has to be completed by 5pm on Sunday, with the participants spending the Saturday night on the moor. You may recall that last year the whole event had to be abandoned as the weather was so bad. Poor visibility, rain and wind contributed to the decision to evacuate 2,500 kids at short notice. The Armed Forces who police the event acted with military precision to complete the task with minimum trauma to the teams.This years event had already been marred by the death of one girl earlier in the year while her team were practicing for the walk.
This weekends event, however, went much better. Most of the teams completed the course, and those that were removed from the route early were forced off by blisters or heat exhaustion, as the temperatures this year hit 80- degrees.
All six members of the team need to complete the course to ensure they all get a commemorative medal, and I can remember my pal Stu doing it while we were at school, and telling us stories of how they literally had to drag one of their team the last few miles to the finishing line in Oakhampton in order to get theirs.
So well done to those that completed the walk this year, and to the organisers and the military for sustaining the event into the future.
Labels: dartmoor, Oakhampton, ten tors, wigan
¶ 12:14 PM 0 Comments
