January
Chard 10k
First event of the year sees a good turnout of Crewkerne Stalwarts.

Stonehedge Stomp
Dave Read and myself completed this 25 mile walk in 6 hours. We set off from Amesbury early morning with a hard frost but by the end conditions were quite warm and muddy.

March
Bath Half Marathon
1st home was Clive Harwood 1h 18 followed by Mike Preece 1h 24, Steve Hole 1h 25, Martin Cook 1h 28, Martin Denman 1h 33, Vernon (Vermin) Camp 1h 36, Mike Lawrence 1h 37, Francis Gibbs 1h 38, Roy Smart 1h 40, Richard Charlton 1h 38 and Glyniss Watt 2h 2 mins.

April
Chagford Challenge
After having tackled the Stonehedge Stomp I decided to have a go at this event. The event details were issued as a list of grid references which had to be plotted on a map. Walkers set off at 8:30 leaving myself and a fit band of runners including Arthur Vince of Yeovil. Being unsure of the route I set of in pursuit of the other runners hanging onto Arthur until about 8 miles. By this time we were beginning to catch the walkers. By 13 miles There was a distinct lack of runners / walkers in front so I had to rely on my Map reading skills. At this point there was a choice of route, either to continue on a loop across Dartmoor for 30 miles loop or opt for a shorter route of 20 miles. I opted for the latter but most other people did the 30! For the last 7 miles I only saw 2 people and they were Marshals. This was a great non competitive event, well worth a try.

May
Great West Run
Not a very well organised start, we took a minute to get to the start line and twice in the first mile ground to a halt due to sleeping policemen and narrowing roads. I was first home in 1h 30 followed by Mike Preece 1h 32, Francis Gibbs 1h 46, Roy Smart 1h 48 and Anne Wills 1h 57. During this year we were joined by Fred Fox and Sue Ridout who soon amazed us all with the amount of Marathons they churned out each month.

June
Midsummer Dream Footpath Marathon
As other events organised by Axe Valley Runners, this event was run over a hard 28 miles of cliff Path and varying terrain, but only a short section of Beech. The first 5 miles were part of the Grizzy Course. Starting at 12:30 on a very hot summers day wasn't the best time but still. Course marking was via small red labels (quarter inch diameter) stuck to posts and trees, while marshals were even harder to find. As we set off towards Beer and Branscombe I was near the back well stocked up with water in my Bum bag. By half way I didn't see many people and it was a great surprise that I ended up come in 3rd. A large proportion of the runners in front had given up due to the heat. The person who came 2nd fell asleep in Colyton Church yard for 10 minutes and still beat me!!

September
Seaton Half Marathon
This course despite being over 2 laps and with 2 hills is a good course for P.B.s. Francis Gibbs improved her time to 1h 44 29 and I smashed my best time by 3 minutes (1h 23 58). Other good times were Anne Wills 1h 50, Max Pollendine 1h 33 and Derek Boles 1h 42.

Lake Vyrnwy Half Marathon
After such a good performance at Seaton I decided to have a go at this event. I had driven around this lake while on holiday in Wales a few years previous so knew it was flat. Despite suffering from a cold a few days before I did a creditable 1h 25. Most of this time was lost in the first mile after being trapped at the back of the field and slowing in the last 3 miles. If anyone wants to try for a fast half this is the event to try.

October
Minehead Half Marathon
This is a very scenic but hilly half. Francis Gibbs had persuaded Chris and Anne Wills to try this event, so Fred, Sue, Liz Snow and myself also joined in.

Snowdonia Marathon
Snowdon was not kind to us this year. Heavy rain and winds greeted us as we exited the Royal Victoria Hotel for the walk to the start. Nick Lawrence, 3h 13 , Steve Hole 3h 21, Martin Cook 3h 36, Tony Gordon 4h 02, Mike Lawrence and Mal Higgins 4h 09 and Richard Charlton 4h 20.

East Cornish Marathon
Pre-race publicity had said this event was harder than Snowdon, so I had to try it to see. I got up at 5:30 to travel to Loswithiel to catch a bus east again to the start at Saltash. This was a Linear run following the busy A38 and A390 roads back to Loswithiel. The road was like a roller coaster ride with hill after hill but at least there were plenty of down hill stretches as well. This route is hard but Snowdon is harder by the fact that the hills are longer. The best thing about this event was the Huge Hot Cornish pasty which everyone gets for completing the course.

December
Handicap
First home was Anne Wills, 2nd Sue Saunders and 3rd Derek Boles. Steve Purdy took Clive Harwood and Fred Fox on a warm up around Merriott but failed to get to the start on time setting off 2 and a half minutes late.

For all the photos of this year click here