Honiton Running Club take part in the East Devon Round

The East Devon Round began as an Ultra Marathon and was the brainchild of Honiton Running Club’s Alasdair Moffett.

It started as a family affair with a few helpers, but the event has grown and Alasdair has been joined by Tim Wigram and family.

Several other families have since become heavily involved and the event is now run by Ruby Red Running with Alasdair and Tim at the helm.

The full EDR has also grown from about 62 miles in distance to 68 miles, and that is if runners don’t go wrong.

The events are marked with tape and arrows but runners are also expected to self -navigate at times.

The full event boasts 10,000 feet of elevation, nine aid stations, three Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and one World Heritage site.

Feed station volunteers offer encouragement and support which is almost as important as the food and drink.

As the name suggests, the run is mainly in East Devon but also ventures out into Lyme Regis in Dorset.

Of course, all of the distances boast spectacular views across the East Devon countryside and every imaginable terrain is used.

The full Round and the Half Round began at 5.30am with the Half Round finishing at Blackbury Camp.

The full event finished where it started, at Offwell Village Hall.

39 runners began the very tough full route and it became quite hot during the day which made it even more challenging.

Of the runners that started, 23 managed to complete the full route and it was won by Justin Mongague in 12 hours 33 minutes.

The first lady was his wife, Melissa, who finished in 15:58.

Honiton Running Club’s Anna Drake was 14th overall and 3rd lady home in 17:40.

Gareth Henwood and EDR organiser Tim Wigram were next back for HRC as they had run together.

They finished 16th in 18:58.

Once runners get to Weston, after completing over 50 miles, there are still about 17 miles to go, although it is only about six miles back to Offwell if the most direct route is picked.

A couple of years ago, one of the runners picked this route back and the short cut has been named as the Tim Howarth run.

HRC’s Rebecca Stevens decided at Weston that this would be the option for her as she had suffered from stomach problems for many miles.

She was pleased to complete her run to finish in Offwell.

She has vowed that she will be back to complete the full distance next year.

The Half route was won by Carla Tunnicliffe in 6:35 and HRC’s Nick Couch finished 4th in 7:36, delighted with his run.

There were 28 finishers.

The Other Half is an option for invited runners only.

It is offered to those who have run the route from Offwell to Blackbury Camp before.

The race begins at Blackbury Camp and finishes in Offwell.

This was won by Robert Leonard in 6:13.

HRC’s Mark Dallyn and Clare Melbourne finished together in 3rd place in 7:05 with Clare taking the first lady spot.

There were seven finishers.

Another option on offer is the EDR Quarter which is about 17 miles in length beginning at Blackbury Camp, and going a completely different route but still finishing in Offwell.

This was won by Anthony Hatchard in 2:25.

HRC runners were: 9th Rachel Hennessey 3:15, 15th Lily Purchase & Lizzie Lanning 3:42, 18th Claire Staniforth 3:44 and running together 20th Victoria Henwood, Tina Duckitt, Donna Stone, Emily Yap and Emily Williams 4:55.

There were 24 finishers.

A huge thanks to Ruby Red Running and all the many volunteers who helped in so many different ways.

Also, thanks to the sponsors and landowners whose land was used.

Money raised go to the local causes, associated with the volunteers, as well as a couple of national charities.