Anyone who’s ever been running in Exmoor will tell you, the climbs on the coastline are savage. The South West coastal path will take you on an unforgettable journey with stunning views over incredibly challenging terrain. Its as brutal as it is beautiful.

That was what Stu and Kate Bowers had in store when they made the trip over the Caffyns Farm in Lynton for the Maverick Exmoor Goat. There were four different distances on offer, with the longest of them being a 56km Ultra. Then there was a Long, which was 42km, a Middle that was 21km and a Short that was 15km. Kate and Stu opted for the Short variant but with the amount of climbing that it entailed, that would have been plenty tough enough.

Most of the first mile of the route was downhill, so that one was quite fast. Most of the second mile was up a really long steep climb though so that was a real tester. A long descent followed though for the third mile, offering a bit of respite and recovery. The next really big climb started 4.5 miles in and that was a brutal one, going on the for half a mile.

Then there was another descent leading down to the next climb which began at 5.7 miles. That one wasn’t quite as steep as the previous two but it was longer, going all the way up to 7.3 miles. Then there was another short descent before the final climb which went from 8 miles to 8.7 miles, leaving only a short descent down the the finish.

That was 800 metres of elevation, equating to 2,100ft of ascent. Stu tackled it incredibly well though, completing the course in 1 hour 17 minutes and 55 seconds. That was faster than anyone else could manage. The second placed runner arrived over two minutes after Stu.

Kate was putting in a strong performance as well and didn’t get overawed by the tough climbs. She got round in 1:34:57 which made her first female and 12th overall out of 110 participants. It was quite a close race as well, with Kate’s closest rival getting over the line 20 seconds later and she was two places behind.

It was a special day for the Bournemouth AC couple, with both of them taking to the top step of the podium. They probably hadn’t envisaged that would happen when they first signed up for the race.

The ‘Middle’ distance race was won in a time of 1:53:50 and the ‘Long’ route was won in 4 hours 12 minutes, underlining how tough the terrain was on the coastal path in the Exmoor National Park. The winner of the Ultra race completed it in a time of 5 hours and 21 minutes.

Stu went on to finish fourth scorer for the team at the Alton 10 in a crucial Hampshire Road Race League fixture and Kate competed at the May 5 where she was 6th female and third scorer for the Bournemouth AC ladies. That run helped ensure that they claimed their first win of the Dorset Road Race League season.