TWO Okehampton Running Club members were to be found racing 400 miles north in Cumbria on Saturday.
Merv Rice and Jane Jackson were both in the Lake District for the four day Kendal Mountain Festival where a 10k trail race was held as part of the festivities.
The race started in the town centre where it took some time for the 700 runners to pass through the start gantry. The route took the runners uphill for more than three miles, initially on tarmac but then off road as they climbed to the top of Scout Scar. The stunning views of the mountains, some with snow on the peaks, and the coast back towards Morecambe Bay made the effort worthwhile.
After some undulating ground there was one more steep uphill before the runners made their way downhill across the golf course and then back into the town via several flights of cobbled or stone steps. Merv has done this race before but finished slightly slower than last year in 1 hour 02 minutes 04 seconds. It was Jane’s first time there finishing in 1.13.38.
Jo Page went all the way to Cyprus for a marathon, running the Larnaca Marathon in 3.38.25, finishing fourth female and 57th overall on a hot day of 27 degrees.
Twenty ORCs braved the The Drogo 10, a 10-mile multi-terrain race that starts and finishes at Castle Drogo, taking in views of the Teign Valley.
Paul Crease was the first ORC home in 1.11.35, Katherine Murray was the first of the ORC women over the line in 1.39.22. Other ORC runners and times were Andy Vallance 1.11.38, Jeremy Tandy 1.16.38, Graham Bryant 1.17.57, Hayden Bond 1.19.48, Stuart Page 1.28.23, Alec Robinson 1.31.01, Jason Ewing 1.32.47, Mike Baker 1.33.15, Elliot Hails 1.33.15, Sarah Marvin 1.41.40, Karen Vallance 1.41.40, Angus Farrelly 1.43.23, Phil Read 1.43.30, Elodie Stott 1.50.29, Lucinda Walsh 1.51.55, Jessie Guscott 1.55.14, Carole Cornwall 2.02.47 and Janet White 2.13.42.