OKEHAMPTON Running Club were well-represented by the Evison family in Chester this week.

Vicky took part in some park run tourism, enjoying their local route, whilst Paul was signed up for the multi-award-winning Chester Marathon.

As the sixth largest marathon in the UK and 3-time winner of the UK’s Best Marathon, it is also the only marathon in the UK that spans across both England and Wales. It is for this reason that the organisers like to call it an international event!

The route takes in the beautiful surrounding landscapes and villages that both countries have to offer. Paul says he was “cracking along very nicely until around 22 miles.” Paul was ahead of the 3.45 pacers but then got a warning of impending cramp. Just after that, Paul experienced “a complete lock-up” in both hamstrings simultaneously which was very unpleasant, he tried to run normally to complete the course but to no avail.

Paul said the best he could do to avoid walking the rest of the way was to take short strides with as straight a leg as possible. His finishing time was 4 hours, 2 minutes and 55 seconds and despite his difficulties, he came in 2nd in MV70 out of 18 competitors. This came as quite the surprise to Paul and left him wondering what he could have achieved had he not experienced cramp.

Paul’s inspirational dedication has also seen him achieve yet another club record for the marathon V70 so a big congratulations goes to him.

Elsewhere, Matt Grint, Lou Duffield and Lu Walsh took part in the Sibelco Templer Ten, organised by the Teignbridge Trotters.

A multi-terrain ten-mile course starting and finishing in the grounds of Stover School, Newton Abbot, the course is 90% off-road and runners have the pleasure of running through the picturesque Stove Country Park as well as the fields at Teigngrace.

Matt really enjoyed it, finishing in 1.23.04 with Lou Duffield (1.29.04) and Lu Walsh (1.29.49) closely behind. Some fantastic achievements so well done to those ORC representatives, particularly given the difficult weather conditions that surrounded the event.