On a windy and soggy Friday evening, two Mighty Green ladies took on the challenge of The Haldon Forest Flyer, writes Hamish Spence.

The event took place in the woodlands of Haldon Forest on Friday, August 9. It was organised by the Dawlish Coasters and the route was completely off the road following footpaths and tracks.

Including Bex MacDonald and Laura Broughton, there were 174 runners taking part and despite the yellow warnings issued by the Met Office for heavy rain, wind and thunder, the race was on!

So, at 7am, with all the competitors ready to go, the heavens opened, the hooter blew and they were off.

With the rain hammering down they set off along an undulating, but smooth run through the beautiful, albeit wet and blustery Haldon Forest.

The first part was fairly easy, with a simple flat loop and plenty of downhill sections.

But as we all know in the laws of cross country running, what goes down, must come back up!

The runners descended deeper into the forest, only to be met by the last mile being completely uphill with an elevation of 838ft to climb! With tired legs, the two ladies kept on going.

Finally, the finishing line was in sight and they had made it to the top to be welcomed by a great crowd and a fantastic medal.

Both ladies had certainly flown the Forest Flyer with Bex coming 130th in 50:44 and Laura was 132nd in 50:50.