Thanks to Sarah S for her report on the Active Fakenham 5K.  Probably (most likely) the largest turn out for the club at an event, not only fielding 34 runners, but also providing all marshals for the course and manning our gazebo spreading the word of RntS.

‘Today I took part in the Active Fakenham 5k race. It was the first time I had worn the official Runners-next-the-Sea club t shirt.

As I pulled on the infamous white shirt with the blue logo this morning I was very nervous. It wasn’t the thought of running 5k that did it. Or even the daunting prospect of ‘running up that hill’ 5 times. The trouble is that I still struggle to see myself as a runner and didn’t want to let my fellow club members down.

At 9.30am (an hour before the race) I went through my preparation routine. Two paracetamol and a shot of Espresso to get them into my system quickly and I was ready to go. (Despite 3 operations last year and the input of 5 consultants I’m still in pain.)

At this point I must thank White Christine for the timely reminder about the clocks going forward otherwise I might have missed the race altogether!

At 9.40am with butterflies in my stomach I headed for the community centre to get my race bib. It was great to see so many people, including my running mate Candy. The atmosphere was electric. People everywhere were helping pin race numbers on to shirts and everyone was smiling. Thank you Patrick Saunders for pinning mine on. My hands were shaking too much to do it myself.

With bibs firmly attached Candy and I headed for the market place.
Wow! So many people. It was great to see so many familiar faces, especially those in matching white shirts.

At just after 10am around 50 RntS gathered for a team photo. At this point I must confess to having a lump in my throat. I felt so proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with this amazing bunch of people who have enabled me to achieve things I never thought I could.

As we milled around waiting for the start I took advice from Bob H on how to tackle the five laps.

Soon an announcement called all runners to the start line. This did lead to a few moments of panic. Candy and I thought we were nicely placed at the back until we realised that the pack were about to turn a full 180 degrees leaving us perilously at the front. We wriggled our way through until we could see day light at the back.

Club volunteers organiser, Paul Woodhouse was there to greet us and give us lots of encouragement.

Then we were off.
As we turned down past Flour and Bean for the cheers from the gathered crowds carried us along. When we met THE HILL for the first time the adrenaline was still pumping and we carried on running.

Before we saw them, we could hear Angie Barker , Tasha Woodhouse and team cheering, shouting and ringing. That was all we needed to keep going. It is remarkable how much energy you can absorb from the support of spectators.

As we headed back to the market place, nearing the end of lap one a cyclist came through hollering “keep on the left” then “lead runner coming through”

That’s right the lead runner was about to finish lap two and we hadn’t completed lap one. Over the next couple of minutes we were lapped by many competitors including several of our fellow RntS. I could not believe that as they powered past us they found the time and energy to shout “Go Sarah. Go Candy”. That lump was back. Their encouragement and kindness filled me with emotion. They typified exactly what our fabulous club, and the running community at large, is all about.

With mashals in RntS hoodies on every corner counting down the laps we pushed on.

Lap 3 was tough.
Lap 4 was tougher.

As we started lap five I checked my watch. 30 minutes had elapsed. Over 200 of the 294 participants had already finished.
At least we didn’t have to keep moving over the the lead runners. The road was all ours and I decided to enjoy every metre of it.

We tackled the hill for the last time and I’m sure Angie’s cheering was louder than ever. My legs were aching, my breathing was heavy and my kidney was sore. But with perfect timing Ant Cude fell into step beside me. He escorted me for the last 300m giving me extra strength. When I saw Mark on the finish line the words “finish faster” echoed round my head. So with a mini sprint I crossed the line a little after Candy collecting my medal along the way. That lump in my throat was back again.

I had finished. As a mingled among other finishers I enjoyed congratulating others. I also lost count of the number of fellow runners who congratulated me. Our times may have been very different but our respect was equal. At last I felt at ease to be wearing our club shirt.

Thanks to sublime timing for confirming that I ran the 5k in
37 minutes and 45 seconds
That’s my quickest 5k this year.
I’ll take that.

Finally…
👍Thank you to Paul and team for making this event happen.
👍Thank you to all the volunteers for giving up their time to make sure the race went smoothly, safely and loudly.
👍Thank you to the other 293 runners for making it such a great race
👍 Thank you to everyone who turned out to create an incredible atmosphere

Thanks to Pete for taking great photos as always.
Thanks to Patrick and my family for always encouraging me
Thanks to those this week who told me I am “good enough” to wear the club shirt.

Will I be back next year?
Well I do like a challenge and it will be a chance to get a PB.’

Sarah.

Official Results:
Ant – 19:41.8
Kevin H – 20:25.7
Andrew S – 22:10.3
Ana – 22:13.7
Will – 22:24.2
Ellis – 22:27.5
Rob J – 22:43.2
Andrew T – 23:26.1
Kevin S – 23:33.3
Darren – 23:49.1
Freya – 23:52.3
Cam – 24:04.4
Bob H – 24:15.1
Oliver – 24:43.1
Cat C – 25:28.5
Gemma – 25:28.7
Alex – 25:47.2
Kat – 27:25.2
Sarah B – 28:27.9
Seb – 28:34.8
Paul W – 28:45.8
Chris L – 28:50.8
Nita – 29:03.6
Mark – 32:50.1
Becky – 33:44.8
Francesca – 33:56.3
Vicki – 34:29.6
Vikki – 35:31.7
Jenn – 36:32.3
Candy – 37:26.1
Sarah S – 37:45.6
Paul L – 38:35.7
Zara – 43:50.4
Hannah – 44:12.0

Reepham Runners are a small running club based in the market town of Reepham.  They organise two races per year the Reepham 10K and a winter cross country you could be excused for thinking we were at the winter cross country with the weather being wet and windy the whole week prior to the event. Parking was at Reepham Scout Group and a donation directly from the race proceeds goes the Scouts Group. A walk across the Stimpsons Piece Recreation Ground to the race HQ to pick up race numbers.

What better way to spend a summer evening (not sure what happened to summer this year) than doing a mixed terrain run. The 10K course takes in the quiet country lanes around Reepham finishing on the Marriott’s Way trail  for the last 4.5 Km. A good turnout for Runners-next-the-sea with a quick couple of photos before all the runners were walked back to the start of the race on Kerdiston Road. After the final instruction we were off heading down the very narrow (approximately 3 people wide) county roads. Runners hit the trail at 5.5 KM at which point the narrow roads turned into even more narrow trail – Marriott’s Way – the Aylsham to Norwich single track disused railway line that is narrow.

The road section appeared to be all uphill and the trail wasn’t as wet and muddy as I had expected. Drink stations were at 3.5 Km and 7 Km and the finish was on the recreation ground.  Fortunately, the rain held off and the evening turned out warm.  This was a well organised with race plenty of marshals plus drinks and cakes available for purchase in the HQ.

Races always sound social when a brewery is mentioned in the race title. The finishers medal was the brewery’s logo with no beer in sight!!

The RntS runners were well supported with shouts from Ana; Pete – thanks for the photos; Gemma; Evette; Kevin B; David R; Libby; Denise and Stuart G apologies if I missed anyone.

Prizes 1^st three Male and Female and ONLY 1^st in 10-year age bands categories Male and Female awards were Sportlink vouchers.

Official Results:

Tara – 1^st in age group (6^th overall – only one prize per individual per category)

Lorraine – 2^nd in age group (5^th overall)

Malcolm – 3^rd age group

Note: Panther Brewery is an award-winning microbrewery based in Reepham. The name of the new brewery is a result of the inhabitants of this small Norfolk town of Reepham claiming to have seen a large panther-like cat prowling and secretly stalking the countryside. Its handcrafted ale is dedicated to this beautiful animal. Deliciously balanced with poise and a sleek finish, it is a celebration of the beast’s cunning and prowess (that’s the brewery wording not mine, although the beer does taste good).

Report by Malcolm Senior

Full results at https://totalracetiming.co.uk/raceresults/396

On Thursday 3rd August Runners-next-the-Sea was delighted to once again help organise the annual Run-next-the-Sea, as part of Wells Carnival 2023

The event has two distances: a 1.3 mile ‘fun run’ for all the family, and a 5 mile competitive event for those up for more of a challenge. Funds raised are split between Runners-next-the-Sea and a charity with a local link which, this year was voted on by club members.  The charity chosen was the RNLI which was particularly fitting, not only because of the new lifeboat house and lifeboat which have become operational since last year’s event, but because as the evening wore on we all witnessed just how fast the tide moves at Wells.  We had to move the finish line up the beach several times to accommodate the incoming tide, and the last runner only just made it back with dry feet.

Despite a miserable week weatherwise, the sun made a very welcome appearance on the evening (probably the best conditions all week!) and we had 84 runners taking part in the fun run and a further 39 hardy souls running the 5 miler.  A big thank you to everyone who took part, those that helped out to make the event happen and to Black Dog Computer Services for sponsoring.  Congratulations to the winners. and we hope to see you all again next year!

Fun Run Results (1.3 miles)

Competitive Run Results (5 miles)

There was lots of activity this weekend with RntS members taking part in events near and far.  Thanks to Kirsty for the report on Stour Valley Narrative Marathon, Michelle for covering Sandringham 5K and Vikki for reporting on the Sandringham Half Marathon.  Well done to everyone involved!

Stour Valley Narrative Marathon

On Saturday 17^th June, Lucy and I set off at 6am to go to Nayland for the Stour Valley narrative marathon. We arrived in good time to register and got ourselves ready for the 9am start.

The course is a figure of eight so they also had two half marathon races; one starting at 9:15am in the same direction we had started from and then the second one starting at 11am to encompass the other loop which was our second half. 

The first half was extremely hilly and it felt like it was mostly uphill. There was a nice mix of woods/shady areas, rivers, field and road throughout the race which made the navigation a bit easier rather than endless fields! We also well-timed coming out of a wooded area to see some of the flyover for King Charles which was an added bonus to the beautiful scenery.

We had a slight setback within the first two miles where Lucy encountered a tree but after checking she was OK (and thanks to a couple of other runners who also stopped) she said she felt OK to carry on which we did. She’s a strong woman 💪

Towards the end, the heat was beginning to make me feel a bit sick but we made it over the finish line well within the eight hour cut-off time. There was a four hour cut-off time to do the first loop which we done really well so had extra time. 

Would highly recommend this race and would love to do it again.

Kirsty

Official Results

Kirsty & Lucy –  6:56:28.6

Sandringham 5K

It was lovely and cool when I arrived at Run Sandringham for the 5k. Not too many people do the 5k race, around 200 ish so it’s a great race if you want something low key.

Just me racing the 5k so it was lovely to see Marie had arrived very early for her race to support me.

The race starts on grass and then heads towards the house on farm tracks, there are a few undulations on the course and the first one comes quite soon after the start to stop you going off to quick! The course takes you on a lap around the house and along past the church before heading into the woods where there’s a finally some shade. After a lovely long downhill you head back out of the woods across the grass and turn to sprint through the finish.

All the half marathon runners are there now and there’s a real party atmosphere.  I met up with all the other RntS racing the half and stayed on to offer them support and man the supersoaker.

Michelle

Official Results

Michelle – 30:12

Sandringham Half Marathon

It had been over 4 years since I completed the half marathon distance and although I had been considering working up to it again I hadn’t made any solid plans.  That is, until one day in April, when someone sent a message to see  if I wanted to take up their place at Sandringham Half, and I accidentally found myself saying yes!

Now I must confess here, I often feel a bit of a fraud with my RntS kit on because I don’t actually like running-next-the-sea, nor on trails very much.  This is because I’m lazy and I don’t like to lift my feet up!  I’m much more comfortable getting back to my city-girl routes and pounding roads and pavements, so Sandringham Half probably wouldn’t have been my first choice, and I found myself dreading it a bit in the lead up.  Added to that the weather forecast said ‘Scorchio!’ and I had a terrible run in Fakenham on the Thursday night.  It felt hard to imagine getting round 13.1 miles when 5 was such a struggle just a few days before, and I did think at one point I may not bother.   However, supportive clubmates and  friends got me to the start, along with a realisation that I needed to prepare my fuel, hydration and strategy better  – rather than just wing it as usual.

Sandringham Half Marathon is quite a big event, with around 1000 runners taking part.  As the race start time ticked closer the toilet queues weren’t moving fast enough for everyone to get together.  The solution?  Have a team photo in the queue!  Ingenious RntS problem solving!

On paper the course looked very windy-bendy, and I was a little worried it would feel a bit convoluted, like we were continually covering the same ground to make up the distance.  However there was only one little stretch like that and the course was actually very interesting, with a varied mixture of paths, road, field and woodland, along with the money shot view of Sandringham House to enjoy on the way too.  The mixed terrain was a little uneven in places and twice I nearly came a cropper on a tree root but managed to save myself.  I told you I didn’t like picking my feet up!

It was a hot, hot day but thankfully there was some shade and a little breeze – though annoyingly never at the same time!  There were 4 water stations en route, plus the added bonus of Mark and Michelle popping up along the course with Super Soakers.  Getting sprayed was so cooling and was appreciated by so many runners, not just RntS.  A random stranger even bought them a drink and a cookie to say thank you for their important work!  I decided as part of my strategy that I would wear my hydration vest and I sipped my way through a litre of water during the event, plus the extra I took on at the stations,  so I felt like that was a really good move.  It was amazing how re-energised  I felt after a brief stop at each water station.  I also took on fuel during the race and made sure to adjust my expectations due to the weather.  I set my target pace at 1 minute per kilometre slower than I had at Dereham 10 Mile race a month before.  As it was I managed a lot quicker, but I had taken the mental pressure off by giving myself permission to run slower if I needed to and that really helped.   

The hardest part for me was the hill at around 13.5K.  I slowed right down, tried to remember what the coaches say – pumping arms, smaller steps – and was glad to make it to the top without walking.  Another runner overtook me on that hill and when I caught up with her I complimented her on how strong she had been.  She told me she had cried on that hill the year before and wasn’t going to let it beat her this year, which I found inspirational.  I’d only trained to 10 miles and I did find my legs getting tired towards the end, but I still had energy left for a bit of a sprint finish which pleased me.  Despite my worries I really enjoyed the event and the sense of satisfaction at completing this distance again was fantastic.  Well done to everyone who took part in such difficult conditions and a big thank you to all the supporters too.

Vikki

Official Results

Kyle – 1:38:44
Kevin H – 1:45:02
Tara – 1:49:31
Shane – 2:00:27
Stuart G – 2:02:08
Gemma – 2:04:23
Laura W – 2:19:43
Marie – 2:25:21
Vikki – 2:31:38

Supporters:

Liam, Michelle, Lorraine & Mark

Brilliant performance from all the 23 RntS members at today’s Holt 10K.  This was a club champs event and there were lots of supporters on hand too.  Thanks to Malcolm for the race report.  

Organised by the North Norfolk Beach Runners the annual Holt 10K starts and finishers in the Gresham School in Holt. The school’s former pupils include Benjamin Britten and Sir James Dyson (vacuum fame- they have a building named after him) amongst many others.

Arrived in plenty of time to park, there were ample car parking in the school grounds, and collected my number. Met with the rest of the RntS for club photo.

Good running weather, 15 degrees at the start with a gentle breeze from the north east and overcast.  The course started and finished on the school sports field but was immediately onto the narrow quiet country roads but NOT CLOSED to traffic.  Not all the cars that passed were pleased to see a line of runners, the marshals doing a good job of traffic control and support.  The first 2k was out towards Kelling and the coast, then a short trail section to start a loop before retracing the 2K back to the school.  The trail section was very rugged and I manged a dive to the dusty path but pushed onto the finish.  A big thank you to RntS runners and supporters that were encouraging as I turned onto the field at the end.

There was a nice glass award for first 3 in each age group.  Congratulations to Tara, Ant, Liam, David C and Malcolm who won prizes.

Official chip times:

And with special thanks to the amazing support crew:

Gill; Francesca; Kerrie; Cat (and family); Libby; Marie and Hazel