Does anyone know what the transport situation is like for the Exe to Axe race? I know that if you pre-book you can get coach transport sorted out, but I haven't pre-booked. I was wondering whether things just worked out in an ad-hoc kind of way. I'm a bit concerned that Exe to Axe to Exe might be over egging the pudding a bit.
Has anyone done the race before? I can imagine that it is quite hard and through some amazing countryside.
Hi ZlodOriginally Posted by Zlod
Speak to the organisor, I'm sure he'll get you sorted, A couple of years a go we did it as part of our training for the 3Pk yacht race, We sailed from Lymington to Exmouth before the race and we needed to be back to the boat to catch the tide out of Exmouth, We got a ride from a race Marshall before sailing through the night to Plymouth.
A great fast race with loads of climbing but in manageable bites, Nothing over 500ft i remember but the big three climbs are in the last half so pace your self.
Route finding for the most part is easy keep the sea on your right
I would wear fell shoes for this, there is quite a bit of trail and some tarmac but the hils were steep and muddy, I wore trails shoes and really regretted it.
Watch out for the start as you go though a narrow gate and along a narrow alley way. Worth a quick look before the start. if you want to be up there ( which you will) you need a fast start, once in the allyway you can do what you want.
Good luck
IanDP is right, it's a very nice race (even if I did get lost in the caravan park).
And it's probably more of an A than the Three Peaks, although it does lack some actual fell terrain.
And it's just started raining again, so if you are happy running in fell shoes on the tarmac bits, they will help avoid you skiing down in to Branscombe.
PM me if you can't find the phone number for the organiser.
Ian, Tea>
Thanks for the info. I really like the sound of the race. I've bought the map and see what you mean about the second half of the race. A few stiff hills at the end will be good training for Blorenge on the Llanbedr-Blaenavon.
I was going to be running in trail shoes, but that sounds like a bad idea so I'll take your advice and dig out the fell pumps.
I'm well jealous of doing this as part of 3PYR training. I did the Three Peaks Yacht Race last year (we did pretty well on the mountain stages) and thought it was totally fab. I'm hoping to do it again this year if I can find a good running partner.
I've got in contact with the organiser and now have the transport situation sorted. Thanks Tea.
Last edited by Zlod; 28-03-2008 at 10:47 AM. Reason: typo
I'm doing this as well Zlod (down that way on holiday so thought I'd give it a go) - look out for the Calder Valley vest! You might need to pick me up off my knees at around mile 16 though as this will be the furthest I've ever run....
is that the caravan park at straight point shooting range?,god awful place,ruins the whole scenery
If the rules really are that you need to keep the sea to your right then there are presumably some fairly interesting route choices for those willing to take the semi-buoyant approach (that Otter estuary doesn't look very wide for starters). Then there are a few beaches that it looks could take the sting out of some of the ascents.
Now where are those tide tables....
BB> I'll almost inevitably be wearing a blue Tour du Mont Blanc buff. I'll keep an eye out for the familiar CVFR vest. Planning on staying at the Axmouth campsite. Planning on not getting over-refreshed at the Axmouth pub the night before, but that might be problematic.
Exe to Axe was a good fast race (it really is more of a trail race than a fell race, but what the hell). The weather was fantastic. The scenery down there is beautiful. There are a couple of times when I felt pretty close to the edge of a rather large cliff.
It was great to be tanking along the flatter sections, but I felt I wasn't really making much headway uphill.
A guy called Nathan won in about 2h45m with someone called Terry not that far behind. There was then a gap of about 10-15 minutes to the next pair.
I had to totally leg it along Seaton esplanade (packed with people - not all supporting the race, but the tourists seemed interested) to pip in just under 3 hours.
Good to see a CVFR shirt in the top 10!
Good to see you had a good time. The wind direction can make a huge difference on this race. Having it behind makes it so much better.
Well done
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