Nigel is crowned 3k category king in a thrilling series finale!

Report kindly composed by Carly, with minor input from Ellie.

This year, the Ironbridge Runner Winter 3k Series has proved very popular with the Exmouth Harriers with several members, including some who had not run on the track for many years, turning up to join our small band of track stalwarts to have a go at running seven and a half laps of the track as quickly as they could. Over the 3 events, a total of 15 Exmouth Harriers ran. Some of these completed the series, while others decided to do just one or two of the races.

Martin Richards and Neil Whittock were among those who decided to tackle just the one event, both choosing to race in the second race of the series, which was held on Monday 11^th November in surprisingly warm, still conditions. Neil, a recent recruit to the Exmouth Harriers, ran in the B race and finished in 12 minutes exactly. Martin Richards had found it difficult to know what to put down on his entry form as a predicted time, having not run the distance before, but, urged on by Mike Musgrove, he put down 12:45 and found himself in the E race with no idea whether this was the appropriate race for him! However, it proved to be a great race for him as he found himself running round in a group that pulled him to a fantastic 12:46; just one second shy of Mike's prediction!

Les Turner and Lisa Hatchard had both missed round 1 of the series but decided to run in rounds 2 and 3. Les is no stranger to running on the track, so knows exactly what he can expect of himself in a 3K race. He does, however, have the challenge of running in the first (least fast) race of the night, which often encompasses runners with a wide range of 3k times (for example, in round 2 the times in the F race ranged from 12:00 to 18:20). With runners so spread out around the track, Les can find himself isolated, with nobody to chase. It can also be difficult to keep track of how many laps you have run, as inevitably, with a spread of 6 minutes, much lapping of other runners occurs. He nevertheless always seems to put in a good performance. Les ran an excellent time of 15:04 in round 2 and a slightly slower 16:33 in round 3.

Lisa was rather nervous about her first track outing since her school days, but soon relaxed when she saw just how informal the event is and how much support you receive from your clubmates cheering from the side of the track. Lisa predicted a conservative 14:00 for her first ever 3k, but then stormed round the track to finish 2^nd in the F race in a fantastic 12:53. Another great performance in round 3 saw her knock 8 seconds off that time, to finish in 12:45.

Seven Exmouth Harriers completed all 3 races, to compete for prizes in the series. For the ladies there was myself (Carly Miller) and Dawn Teed. Dawn, keen to have a go at improving her standing in the club championship, set her sights on the 3k distance in the hopes of getting a good age graded score. After just missing out on a sub 14 minute time in round 1, Dawn made big improvements to record times of 13.42 and 13.21 in rounds 2 and 3 respectively. These performances left Dawn in second place in the F50 category, with a cumulative time just 33 seconds more than the category winner.

I myself went into round 3 knowing that I only had to complete the race to be awarded the senior lady prize as, unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it!), no other senior ladies had completed both the previous races. This left me without the motivation of competition, but I did want to improve on my disappointing round 2 time of 13:10, and maybe even improve on my round 1 PB of 12:37. I set off at 12:30 pace, determined to stick to it and, with a bit of helpful pace-making from a fellow Killerton parkrunner, managed to finish in a very pleasing new PB time of 12:25.

Andrew Johnson also completed the series. Unlike most runners on the track, Andrew manages to start off steadily and gradually work his way through the field during the race, as his rivals start to suffer from running a fast early pace. This makes for an exciting race for clubmates watching from the sidelines. Andrew managed to improve his times in each round of the winter 3k series, running 11:52 in round 1, 11:46 in round 2, and 11:36 in round 3. He finished 2^nd M50 in the series.

Dave Eveleigh and Lee Russell both competed in the M55 category (although Dave did have a significant birthday to lift him into the next 5 year age band during the series). Lee had been pleased with his first round time of 12:58, as it was quicker than the time he had predicted for himself, but he hoped to improve on it in subsequent rounds. Unfortunately this was not to be, as Lee recorded times of 13:00 and 13:09 in rounds 2 and 3, but he can be pleased to have put in 3 consistent performances. Lee finished in 3^rd place in the M55 category. One place ahead of Lee in that category was Dave Eveleigh, who couldn’t quite match his round 1 time of 12:05, but worked hard to finish in 12:12 in round 2, and 12:20 in round 3.

Richard Hawes is known amongst the Harriers for his speed over the shorter distances, so a target of sub 11 minutes for the 3k seemed very realistic. In the first two rounds Richard was tantalisingly close, clocking 11:05 and 11:04. In round 3, Richard found himself in a competitive position in the race, running in a group and using those ahead of him to pull him on to a faster time. His blistering speed in the final 100m enabled him to overtake a couple of his competitors, finish second in the race and bag himself a new 3k PB of 10:55. Richard was rewarded for his impressive performances with a M45 category win.

Unbeknown to the organisers of the series, the main event of the final night (for the Exmouth Harriers at least) was not the super speedy A race, but the E race, for on the start line were Nigel Dupain and his rival for the M60 title, Keith Anderson of the Teignbridge Trotters. Nigel was just 10 seconds behind Keith in the standings, having run 13:17 in round 1, and 13:05 in round 2. Earlier in the week, Dave Eveleigh had thrown down the gauntlet via Facebook, urging Nigel to ‘step forward’ and take down Anderson in a ‘last lap burn-up’. Nigel showed up to the Arena on the night, having been teased by his family about the Facebook comments the night before, exhibiting his usual calm, relaxed demeanour. This was soon belied, however, by a steely look of determination in his eye, as he steadily tracked his rival round each lap of the race. A crowd of Exmouth Harriers watched, waiting for the moment he would make his move. Lap after lap was completed, and still Nigel stuck on Anderson’s shoulder. Would he have time to create a 10 second gap?  Suddenly, with a lap and a half to go, Nigel made his move and stormed off ahead. The Harriers watched, as the gap got bigger, all trying to count how many seconds there were between them. By the time Nigel came onto the finishing straight, it was clear that he had done it, and he was cheered home to a fantastic time of 12:49 and a category win. It's surely moments like that, where a stalwart member of the Harriers who is always quietly there in the background but never one to hog the limelight, that sum up the true essence of the club. Well done Nigel, we're all thrilled for you!

In fact, well done to all the Harriers. Whatever the distance, whatever the terrain, we continue to show that we are not only willing to have a go but we are a force to be reckoned with to boot!