Over the weekend of the 25th and 26th June 60 runners and walkers headed off to run around the coastal path of the Isle of Wight.
The competitors were taking part in the first Round The Island running event. The weekend was significant because whilst the runners were running clockwise around the Island, at the same time 1700 yachts were racing anti clockwise around the island in the JP Morgan Asset Management Round The Island Yacht race.
The organisers of the event were Extreme Energy –www.xnrg.co.uk. The race director Neil Thubron came up with the idea of the round the island running race because he had sailed in the yacht race many times and thought it would make for stunning views for the competitors to run round the island at the same time.
The whole circumference of the island is roughly 70 miles. The competitors ran 38 miles on the 1st day, over some incredible challenging terrain and some severe climbs. The fastest time recorded on day 1 was 6 hours 14 mins, by Andrew Lockett. Andrew managed to take the lead from Kevin Mcmillan after Kevin went slightly the wrong way on the quite difficult to follow route.
All competitors on day 1 put in a mammoth effort with the last people coming in, in very good spirits, in 14 hours 50 mins !
The whole group camped over night at Brighstone Holiday Centre where the Extreme Energy team put on a barbeque and marquee to create a great family atmosphere.
Day 2 was slightly easier at 32 miles with a lot less climbing and an easier to follow route. The highlight of day 2 being the climb up to the Needles Battery and then around the stunning Alum Bay. Kevin Mcmillan made up for his disappointment on day 1 by setting an unbelievable pace, and finishing nearly an hour ahead of the day 1 leader Andrew Lockett.
So overall Kevin was the winner completing the 70 miles in a fantastic time of 11hours 8 mins. The 1st placed lady was Heather Mackay who completed the course in 15 hours 45 mins.
There were inspiring and gladiatorial performances through out the field as competitors raced for themselves, for their fellow runners and for the Help For Heroes charity. H4H is Extreme Energy’s nominated charity for all their events.
One of the competitors said “Many thanks for a great weekend – fatigue aside I feel as though I have been away with a group of good friends rather than completing an endurance event. Perfect weather, perfect company and near perfect mileage!! “
A massive congratulations to all who competed and completed the event.
Race Results available on the race website
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