Salcombe Coastal Marathon 2011 Final Report
The Day
Despite
a wet and cold start, the weather did improve and the views were as
ever spectacular with the ever changing light. 103 started, 100
finished, sadly 3 had to drop out early on due to a nasty fall on wet
rock. Pamela Watkins, a friend of Foggy, said there was no lasting
damage and hopes to be back next year. Her husband hopes that she did
not cause any permanent damage to the coastal footpath. They were both
touched by the many people who were concerned about Pamela’s welfare.
The concept of the event is to allow people to decide on the day how far
they wish to go, be it 14, 21 or 26.2 miles (the decision is as much
likely to be based on the prevailing weather as it is to how fit the
individual might be). I have a Photo CD if anyone wants a copy.
Feedback
Thank you to everyone who has written back saying many positive things about the event and for some very useful suggestions.
Sponsors
The
event has raised an excellent amount of money for PORT-ER, this would
not have been possible had it not been for the generous support of our
sponsors: Tom & Lynne at North Upton Caravan Park, Tony Ford of
Windcrest Transport, Plymouth, Simon of Salcombe Ferry Company and Mike
Barratt from West Exe Soccer Club. I would also like to thank Chris
Lane for his tireless efforts driving the mini bus, Ian Lea for manning
the Start, Shat Nav (Pete Johnson) for the T Shirts and of course me
for organising the event and running as back marker.
Results
At
this time I have had little feedback on results, so if no corrections
arrive within the next week I shall try and get the results posted on
the web site.
This year’s charity
We
have raised £1400 for PORT-ER to be Gift Aided to Forrest Stump on
completion of his epic 630 mile Coastal Run. This amounts to £1790! My
primary intention was to support Forrest on this mammoth undertaking,
but now that I have spoken to Diana Corrick, the CEO of the charity, I
am particularly pleased with this year’s charity. The reason I am so
pleased is by hearing how far they manage to stretch a relatively small
amount of money, both in the UK and abroad. For example, £1000 paid for
training of 20 wheel chair users living on the street in India, they
now have work and no longer depend on living on the street to survive
and to support their families. At Christmas, a disabled person in
Tanzania was given a grant. His disability was such that distortion of
his hips and legs meant that Prosthetics were not possible. In order to
live and support his family he had to literally drag himself 3km to
work and 3km back home every day. £75 was all that it took to provide
him with a tricycle and now his life has changed for the better.
Currently, they have a request from India for £5000. 20 villages
support 85 wheelchair users (mostly because of polio). This money would
help them to set up Chicken Farms, the produce from which would not
only support their families with day to day living, but also fund the
education of their children so that they don’t grow up to be illiterate
and unable to find work. You can follow Forrest’s progress and sponsor
him if you wish (although we do recognise that much of your entry fee
has already sponsored him) by visiting http://www.justgiving.com/colinedwards-run.
He would love to see people on his journey, so if you want to meet and
walk/run with him for part of the SW Coast Path, let me know and I
will put you in touch.
Next year’s charity
I
feel that this event belongs to you and would invite everyone to
suggest a charity that has significance for them by Christmas of this
year, together with a bit of background information. We will then look
at these and see which we might be able to support, sadly too many and
each wouldn’t get a lot.
Next year’s event
Next year’s event is planned to be on Saturday 5th
May. We might be able to find parking within half a mile of Torcross
and run the event in the reverse direction, giving people a different
experience and allowing those only wishing to do the first half a
completely different run/walk. The only problem with this is that I feel
the views are enhanced by running into the afternoon sun (sounds like a
song title) and the use of the Salcombe Ferry is very much a part of
the atmosphere of this event. However, it is possible that a nice farmer
at Torcross could put on a BBQ for us, and in poor weather there is a
wider choice of cafes and pubs. I don’t want to make the decision for
you, if you say nothing things will stay as they are, so I would really
appreciate a reply stating which direction you would prefer. If there
if a significant majority, I will make every effort to follow your
wishes. Another idea may be to use a second mini bus to provide starts
from East Prawle to Hope Cove, around the Half Marathon distance but
offers the best of the scenery but also some of the biggest climbs.
Again let me know your thoughts. A variety of T Shirts will be
available for pre-order.
Finally
the success and atmosphere of this event depends on it remaining low
key and of a small number. Priority will be given to those who have
entered over the past two years, after which I will accept bookings
from others according to space.
On On
