A FEW words from the organisers of the Salmon Run who had to cancel the event due to weather warnings
“Despite the postponement of the Salmon Run Relay and 5K due to two amber weather warnings, high winds and torrential rain, the Salmon Run ultra runners took to the route undeterred.
In fact, they were blown on by the upriver winds and inspired by a red salmon sky.
At the start of the run, The Salmon invocation was delivered at Mamhead slipway – sharing the importance of salmon in our rivers.
Passing through various feed stations, with stops every 10 miles for a mix of healthy and unhealthy snacks, the runners battled on through the elements with joint winners coming in mid afternoon at Exebridge, after a run of 40 miles along the Exe Valley Way.
The last section to Tarr Steps has been left for next year for fear of falling woodland debris.
Salmon Run supporters turned out despite the weather in Exmouth, Lympstone, Topsham, Exeter, Tiverton, Thorverton and Exebridge to cheer on the human salmon.
Remote supporters followed the progress of the run up river via satellite trackers and social media updates.
Our sweeper George accompanied the last few ‘salmon’ home.
We were gutted to not have gazebos, family orchestra, a film crew, roaming accordionist, the finale performance at Tarr Steps, the weir jumping game, our relay and 5k sign ups, an Olympic Gold medallist and a junior world running champion joining in this year but we hope to run the full event next year on Saturday 20 September.
There are three project podcasts which are shared with runners before the event to encourage them to learn more about this remarkable species and the challenges they face on the Exe, including a new radio show this year focused on weirs and restoration work on the Exe with Westcountry Rivers Trust’s Adrian Dowding featuring live leaping salmon.
Salmon Run also went into schools this year and delivered assemblies to over 300 primary school children in four schools along the river.
Notable events on the day:
Rob Salmon (his real name!) ran the race and was met by his ‘hen and parr’ at the finish.
Runner Ben Collinshaw was stung on the lip by a bee! His lip became huge but he kept running and it had deflated by the time he got to the finish.
Peter Bunyan, the oldest runner to date, ran to Tiverton before stopping due to failing GPX and a broken phone.
Iestyn Evans and George Kinkead shared the trophy, with Meg Baker the first ‘hen’ home. George then ran on to Dulverton and back afterwards to make up for the shortened route.
We would like to thank all Salmon Run supporters and runners.
Samantha, the salmon baton will still be running to Tarr Steps in a small enthusiasts relay on a less wild day in the coming weeks.
The salmon will run! Next year is very much in our sights. Run Salmon Run!”
To find out more, visit tidelines.uk/blog/salmon-run-2024
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