Nearly Christmas
Released On 18th Dec 2023
Celtic trail Half
From Steve: Kate and I travelled across the bridge into Wales for the Celtic trail half marathon today.
How would I describe it?……..well, if the Stickler and the the full Monty had a love child this would be it!!! The first 7 miles was uphill with the added bonus of navigating through rocky streams. The richly earnt reward of the descent in the second half was reduced by steep rocky and tree root infested terrain.
But perhaps the mandatory kit list should have served as a portent of what was to be expected; head torch, compass, 1st aid kit, foil survival blanket and comprehensive insurance inclusive of repatriation and medivac retrieval (well ok perhaps not the last one!).
A really enjoyable run but the views were limited by the rain and low cloud cover.
Cross Country
From Adam:
Hi Have we any takers for the SW cross country championship taking place at Merryfield on 7th Jan. The closing date for entry is 27 Dec. Last year’s event was a good one.
regards
Brian Mountjoy-Row
The closing date is December 27th
Information:
There are no qualification criterion (other than a minimum age) for this championship and the venue (Merryfield Ilton) could hardly be nearer for most Somerset athletes
I plan to select County teams from those that have entered as soon as possible after the closing date
The online entry form is https://form.jotform.com/233054433551348
To view a list of athletes who have entered already (use the < > arrows at the bottom of the sheet to view other pages)-
The link is here https://eu.jotform.com/grid/233054776744059
Yours
David Cooke
Secretary
Somerset AA
Lancaster Christmas Cracker 10km
From Terry: Lancaster Christmas Cracker 10km, very windy and feeling cold, and more lumps than expected, but done. 53.24, happy with that. Lost signal through a tunnel. Good turn out.
SOCIAL HIKE NO. 9 – UPLYME CHARMOUTH AND LYME REGIS – (Sunday 17th December)
From Mark: Five of us (Denise, Jo, Linda, Mike, and myself) set off from Uplyme Village Hall just after 10 o clock with good weather. It was mild and there was no rain. To avoid the worst of the waterlogged and muddy areas we stayed as much as possible to lanes and hard tracks. So via Rhode lane and the riverside walk, we reached Horn bridge and climbed Colway lane. We walked through the caravan park and climbed Dragons Hill. Continuing up the main road we entered the golf course, and took the footpath across the top, and descended down into Charmouth. Before the beach scramble, we stopped for coffee outside of the fossil shop (thanks Jo for the coffee). With 3 hours until low tide we made our way along the beach. The sea was quite stormy. The usual scramble across rocks was necessary in places and there was mud as well. We reached the sea wall and made our way into the town. We had a Sunday roast in the Pilot boat and it was very good. After lunch we finished the walk by following the river Lim past the town mill, the Lynch, Mill green, Jericho, Windsor terrace, middle mill, the old mill, and back into Uplyme. Thanks all for your company.
Slow and Dirty
From Margarita: Four of us wearing the club colours did the Slow and Dirty today, which is the old Somerset and Dorset railway. Myself, Mac Copping, Sophie Lewis and Taryn Monks. A good race put on by Tricounties Trail Running. My last race of the year, it was very queuey before the start but a good race. With mulled cider and mince pie at the end.
Santa Runs
From Eleanor: Communifit Christmas Jumper 5k event lovely to see so many people.
Park Runs
From Adam: A large group at Frogmary Park Run this morning
Celtic Way Ultra
From Rob: I popped over to wales today for the Celtic Way Ultra. Really happy with the race and thoroughly enjoyed the downhill finish, though I didn’t take any photos as I was in cloud the whole time. Nice to see Steve at the finish.
PUB RUN – BOWER HINTON – (14TH December 2023)
From Mark: There were three in the not so fast group tonight (JC, Matt, and myself), plus Phil and Adam making a total of five. Leaving the pub, we ran up the main street into Martock, and turned right at the triangle. Two left turns, and a gentle climb took us onto Martock lane. We continued to climb as we headed towards Ash. Conditions were clear, still, dry, and mild, and up high, there were lights all around from surrounding villages. Also many of the front gardens were alight with Christmas lights, as we entered the village. Turning left at the end, we continued past the pub, school, and Church and descended through Highway. Crossing over at the Stapleton Cross traffic lights we continued towards Coat. Turning left at Coat, we headed back down the lane towards Martock. Entering Martock the road was alight with Christmas lights again. For the last leg we ran south down the main street, and continued into Bower Hinton and back to the pub.
Thanks Phil for organising, the pub food was good.
