Congratulations to Exmouth Harrier Jenny Reay, who was named the South West Region Masters Off-Track Athlete of the year 2023 at the England Athletics South West Regional Council Conference in Exeter on Saturday.
Jenny was commended for her consistency at parkruns and her recent two European Masters Gold Medals in the 10,000m and the 10km in Pescara, Italy.
Rather than rest on her laurels, Jenny lined up with 500 runners at Castle Drogo on Sunday morning to tackle one of the toughest races in Devon; the Drogo 10 is an exciting and challenging 10 mile (16km) multi-terrain Fell Race. The race started and finished at the National Trust’s Castle Drogo, with breathtaking views of the stunning Teign Valley and a total climb in the region of 1760 ft (535m).
Jenny was joined by seven other Harriers with the ever-consistent Simon Minting finishing in 3rd place overall in an amazing time of 1.07.57. Jimmy Joy was next Harrier to finish in 50th place in 1.21.56. Craig Butler was next in 64th place in 1.23.55 followed by Jenny Reay in 94th place in 1.28.12 (Jenny also collected the award for being the 1st W65 to finish).
Terry Mckie was next in 157th in 1.35.19, Susan Hill was 228th in 1.44.12 with Kay Douglas not far behind in 267th in 1.49.36. Unfortunately, Liz Michaelson suffered a sprained ankle partway through the rough terrain.
In totally contrasting conditions, Emily Kelly and Mum Nicola ran in the Athens Marathon on what is recognised as the original Marathon course and it was the same course used in the 2004 Olympics held in Athens.
In 1896, the organising committee who revived the modern Olympics were inspired by the bravery of the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C., as well as the legend of the messenger who ran from the town of Marathon to Athens with the news of victory.
Emily and Nicola started the 2023 Athens Marathon near the battlefield area at Marathon and finished in the magnificent all marble Panathenaic Stadium that was built for the first modern Olympics of 1896.
Emily finished in 7,569th place in 4.31.41 and Nicola finished in 12,085th in 5.12.24.
The Harriers are hosting the Westdown Wander on Sunday, November 26 and entries are still available - visit https://exmouthharriers.co.uk/westdownwander
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