Come on Yeovil
5 Mile Banana Run
So Charles decided to mention a 5 mile Banana run in aid of a get well to Kev and his good lady wife, Sharon (I think). Anyway it started to Snow and we had rain but loads of us got out and gave it ago.
From Mark: Charles's Banana 5 mile Run today. I cannot upload my run information now until I get a smart phone.
From Steve: Go bananas 5 miles done
From Robert: Kevin Doherty 5mile Banana Man run. Thinking of you Action Man Kev
From Donna: Kev's Go Bananas 5 Miler thank you Charles Jardine for the motivation
From Kat: Sorry Kevin Doherty , completely forgot about the bananas 5 mile but unknowingly did it anyway. Went out in the rain and puddles with the youngest pooch. Hope your both not feeling too rough, thinking if you. X
From Sandra: Mel and I did a banana run this morning. Drove us bananas with the floods!!
From Lynne: Managed the lentil look as promised , but feel it’s more like tangerine , hope you both get better soon Kev, thanks Charles for great idea.
Rach and Denise: Go banana's 5 miler for Kev! Hope you are both feeling better
From Diane: WHO ATE ALL THE BANANAS? Kev’s 5m Litter picking Bananaman run. Wishing you and Sharon a speedy recovery.
From Jo and Linda: Kevin Doherty ’s go bananas & we did!! Linda Membury did her 5 miles & I did mine, giving us a total of 10!!! Two river crossings today as well, If only we had banana skins!!
From Lesley and Helen: Double ‘Go Bananas’ complete! Get well soon Kevin xx
From Richard: Double go bananas great idea Charles Jardine and get well soon The banana man legend Kevin Doherty
From Sue: 5miles for our beloved banana man, thanks Charles Jardine for the idea and best wishes to Kevin Doherty sending you a bananagram
From Richard: Just as well be walking on a Banana skin 5 Miles with a slip up we just get up and get on with it as we do take care Kev and Wife.
From Trev: Kev‘s go Bananas 5 miler and a bit
From Nicki: I know I did double the mileage but here’s my ‘Go ’ run for Kevin , hope you feel better soon! Charles Jardine
From Adam: A very muddy slow 10k today remembering January at Slaughterford and other wonderful muddy runs. Many thanks as always for the inspiration Kevin Doherty and get well soon.
From Nick: Another successful ish post injury run and Going for Kevin Doherty
From Mel: ‘Go Bananas’ 5 miles done for Kevin with David
Virtual Running
LEJOG9 UPDATE
From Nicki:
Joanna Henley - 135.85 dodging the traffic up the M5
Dominique Muir - 86.99 still making her way up the A30
Nicki Hale - 64.88 I am also making my way up the A30
Surely the A30 can’t go on for that long!
From Donna 27th Jan: South West Coastal Path virtual midweek brief.
"Wow" Bungy has passed the 200 mile mark, although he has done a lot of running his pugs have got to be the fittest dogs around with the walking miles Bungy is doing. Well done, you have gone past St Agnes and now on your way to Porthtowan. Next is Tim on 156.02 miles and has just left Doc Martin area of Port Quin. We have Louise Ward at 120.28 miles nearly entering Cornwall just off Bude. The other 29 members are making good progress in North Devon.
Sue Mallinson 116.25
Lesley 110 .80
Richard Clayton 106.43
Linda 100.86
June 100.42
Sharon 100.07
Paul Thomas 97.59
Sandra 95.12
Marie 90.57
Casper 90.23
Adam 88.09
Rachael Gosney 82.29
Kate 80.74
Nat 77.21
Donna 73.27
Anita Garrett 71.13
Mel Cox 68.30
Nick Cox 64.42
Natasha 57.63
Claire Shucksmith 56.42
Sara Driver 55.05
Nichola Chesterton 54.13
Shaun 50.53
Matt Driver 50.30
Lauren Jessica 38.30
Kat Hurford 37.80
Andrew Holloway 29.07
Tristram 18.65
Angela 15.00
Well done all
From Matt: On this beautiful Saturday in January, I think its tie for a serious talk about motivation and miles! Average progress on the South West Coast Path was just 15 to 16 miles this week, and with me only doing 10, I clearly wasn't helping. I think improvements are needed to finish before December 31st! With Charles Jardine and Kevin Doherty setting ever more additional targets, we really have no excuse...so I don't care what the weather, if you weren't out today, challenge is to definitely go out tomorrow! Remember, its nearly February and Spring This week's report finds no change for Angela Claire on 15 miles, I think she has lost the "post" button...or her trainers, whereas Tristram Clark is hurtling along and is up to 27.27. Welcome newcomer Andrew Holloway is already on 33.05 and nearly at Combe Martin, with Lauren Jessica at Ilfracombe on 38.5. Kat Hurford, 45.56, is at Morte Point with the smugglers and Shaun Powell is nearby at Surfer's Paradise, Croyde Bay, on 52.65. Aha! I've stayed ahead of the missus, mainly because I "forgot" to remind her to log miles, so she's still on 55.05 at Saunton Sands!
Meanwhile, Nichola Chesterton seems to have taken exercise to a new level by visiting the MOD Assault Training Course, Chivenor at 59.97, while Natasha Turner is leaving the Chivenor area on 64.30. Up the road she can see Nick Cox on 64.42 and in the distance is me, Matt Driver, on 65.0. Am I the only one with OCD doing full miles only? Claire Shucksmith appears to be stocking up in Tesco's in Barnstaple on 67.60, and that brings us to where the description ended last week.
So the route needed to go inland to cross The Taw river at Barnstaple and we followed it back around until it now goes inland again due to The Torridge river. At 77.21 miles, Nat Robins is past Westleigh and will soon go under the A39 Torridge road bridge and continue riverside to Bideford and its "Long Bridge" originating from a timber bridge built in 1286. Its an odd bridge as it has uneven arches - for which there are three explanations a) it was built around the old wooden arches, b) different guilds funded each arch and paid less/more depending on how rich they were, or c) it was built on natural, and therefore randomly place, large rocks in the riverbed - take your pick! For those who watched Winterwatch this past fortnight, the bridge is also a mass starling roost! Anyway... Having crossed, like Donna Reeves on 78.78, the path returns up the opposite side of The Torridge and its low-tide sandbanks, as is Mel Cox , and at 80.3, is heading past Diddywell and the shipyards towards Appledore.Appledore is a charming village, apparently, and sits at the confluence (good word) of the Taw and Torridge. From here Anita Garrett at 82.42, can look back across the river to Instow and the Assault Course with Nichola Chesterton stuck on those damn monkey bars! Mathematically, that's our half-way placed runner, but I want to get back to the sea, so leaving Anita Garrett possibly enjoying a glass of something at the Beaver Inn, Kate Gowers has skirted the hedland and is now crossing the heath and mudflats of the Northern Burrows, hopefully dodging the golf balls of the nearby Royal North Devon Golf Club.
Finally the path reaches the sand dunes and sea, heading into Westward Ho! Believed to be the only place in Britain with an exclamation mark, it was so named due to a book of the same name being written about a town near Bideford. Its also famous because my mother has a souvenir sugar spoon from there! Leaving Westward Ho! the path continues past the Mermaid's Pool and up to the Cornborough, Abbotsham, Green and Cockington Cliffs. At Cockington Farm we find Adam Hawkins taking a breather by making use of their glamping pods at 90.01 miles. Thus we move ever closer to the 100 mile marker, and the Cornish border at 113 miles. Here's how our leading group are doing:
Rachael Gosney - 96.28
Casper Harvey - 97.89
Marie Lockwood - 102.15
Paul Thomas - 106.68
Sandra Levett - 107.67
June Moule - 110.2
Linda Membury - 117.01
Sharon Hardy - 118.1
Sue Mallinson - 120.13
Richard Clayton - 121.79
Louise Ward - 126.57
Lesley Nesbitt - 134.8
Tim Willis - 183.5
and... Bungy Williams - 230.13
So Bungy has less than 400 miles to go!!! Well done everyone...keep logging those miles. Its tough in this weather, all a bit miserable, but its great once you're out there. What's the worst thing that could happen (well actually...no don't go there)...a nice hot shower after and everything is good!
Leader-board graph below and Bideford bridge when a locomotive needed to cross!
Released On 31st Jan 2021