News

Posted on

Sportlink Grand Prix 2024 – Up to race 9

Some of you may know about the Sportlink Grand Prix.  If you don’t, the Sportlink Running & Fitness Grand Prix Series is a series of established road races at a variety of distances across the county of Norfolk.

The final standings aggregates the best nine performances from any of the Grand Prix races in this year’s Series.

At present, we have 5 club members within the top 20 of their class.
They are:
Bob L
George F
Seb
Ant
But a special mention goes to Paula, who is currently third in her class.

You can download the full results tables here.

Posted on

RntS 2 Mile Handicap – Run 2

Thanks to the volunteers and well done runners!

Sort-able by position, name and time.

Some questionable warm up arrivals! 😉

PositionNameTime
1Kirsty L17:54
2Lavona18:00
3Maddie17:03
4Lesley21:23
5Allison21:44
6Bethany16:35
7Cathrine21:13
8Deb19:55
9Marie P17:20
10Kerrie19:05
11Seb17:34
12Denise23:05
13Paula15:35
14Tim11:34
15Becki17:38
16Lucy J20:53
17Matthew15:31
18Kat18:29
19Lorraine14:47
20Becky21:19
21Alex22:36
22Bob H15:49
23Suzanne18:16
24Olie15:22
25Hannah18:53
26Freya15:33
Posted on

Aylsham 5K & Alex Moore Relay 2024

Aylsham 5K 

Rob and I were quite excited about a 5k run, as there don’t seem to be so many. It seemed perfect weather for running, not too scorching and not actually raining.  Was lovely to have a bag-drop and proper loos and everything seemed really well organised. There was a lovely buzz in the market place and some of our amazing club were there to support which is always lovely, there’s something special about people turning out to support. We did the usual group photo, followed by another one for those who’d chosen that moment to warm up/go to the toilet.

Then there was a short debate about which direction the start headed in because of course we’d all looked at the map, hadn’t we!

The clouds gathered as we started but then I focused on the lovely downhill, concentrating on running with good ‘form’ like Kevin had been discussing on Monday (I figured what worked uphill might work downhill too🤣). I must have done something right because the first Km clocked in at a cracking pace and looked like I was in for a pb. The second Km was flatish, I discovered long ago that flat isn’t my thing, that Km was nowhere near as speedy but I still felt strong.

I was getting a bit lost in the twists and turns of Aylsham and at one point was overtaken by someone taking the most enormous strides…and was feeling a bit tired, my watch bleeped 3k but there was no 3k marker, and there was a steep little climb off the Marriott’s way in this Km too which had made my calves grumpy. At the 3k marker my watch said 3.3, but I thought maybe it was just one of those situations where my watch had lost satellite contact, or they couldn’t put the marker in the exact spot, or both….

More twisting and turning, past the old water tower done up for accommodation with a glass windowed staircase. Had a close moment with a silent electric car, and got passed by a runner to whom Kevin would have had a few suggestions to make about form…arms swinging from their elbows…but they were going faster than me so can’t have been doing too much wrong!

I now fancied having a little lie down in the road, and I’d normally only feel like this at 7k into a 10k, or half way through a half marathon, so I knew I’d got my fuelling totally wrong (with it being an evening run) and possibly was not well hydrated too.

I thought I was either running really badly, or maybe really well, that must be why I was tired. At the 4k marker I knew it wasn’t the latter and I was barely going to make sub 30. My watch was still 0.3k out so I started allowing for that and once there was 500m to go started counting sets of steps (3 sets of 4 footfalls make 0.01k for me🤣).

I was delighted we didn’t have to do the full hill up to the church like in the Autumn Half Marathon and tried for a slightly sprinty finish…only to be thoroughly out-sprinted by the runner behind me.

We compared watches and everyone had over clocked the distance which seemed odd.

We did a finishing photo and caught up with everyone. I got over my grump at my time when it looked like we’d run slightly over 5k

Liam popped over and said hi, (he ran this one for his first club Ryston, and Maureen was running for her second club Norwich Road Runners) and everyone seemed to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere.

We sampled the wood fired pizza and some well earned unhealthy snacks.

Later, like everyone else, we learned we’d run 5.25K because some teenagers had slightly altered the course. It doesn’t sound much but it took me well over a minute to run that extra bit so my time was more respectable than I thought and Alex did get his sub 20 5K, even though it didn’t look like it. The youngsters probably thought they were just having a laugh and didn’t realise the potential seriousness of sending 400 runners where the traffic wasn’t marshalled, all was well that ended well, and the organisers did a fantastic job of letting us know what had happened.

Definitely one I’d do again, and suitable for all speeds if you can run 5k continuously. A great atmosphere and lots of cheers on the way round, and if you did fancy a pint afterwards the pubs were open too.

Nita

Official Results (Chip Times) – 5.25K

David C 20:06.7
Kevin H 20:18.2
Alex 20:29.2
Rob J 22:12.3
Matthew 25:04.0
Malcolm 28:51.8
Nita 29:46.6
Andrew B 31:42.4
Catherine T 37:13.6
Vicki A 37:14.1
Marie 38:14.9

Alex Moore Relay

Alex Moore relay is a team event comprised of 3 people doing laps of 2.2miles – runner A does 1 lap then hands the baton to runner B who does 2 laps. Runner C then does 2 laps, comes in to collect their other 2 runners and they all do the last lap together. Does this make any sense? Well it’s taken me about 5 years of doing it to be able to explain!

We had a fair few teams in this years event and it starts & finishes at The Goat Inn in Skeyton.  What’s not to love about a pub at the end? It’s been really hot the last couple of years of doing it so it was nice it was a bit cooler on Sunday.

I chose to be runner C in Nita’s Nutters team, so 3 x 2.2ml laps.  You have the company of your team mates for the last lap though so it really helps to keep you going. I can’t recommend this event enough – it’s so nice to be part of a team and the other RntS are cheering you on at the end of every lap. The only downside is running with a baton makes it get a bit sweaty but the pint at the end cooled my hands down nicely 😉🍻

Paula

Official Results
Speedy RntS (David C, Ant & Kevin H) – 01:26:11
Better Lace Than Never (Dane, Will, Ana) – 01:37:03
Runners-next-the-Sea 1 ( Sean, Matthew, Rob J) – 01:39:03
Runners-not-next-the-Sea (Evette, Bob L, Kevin S) – 01:47:11
Nita’s Nutters (Nita, Maureen, Paula) – 01:54:06

Posted on

Norfolk 100K 2024

Towards the end of last year, Positive Steps announced that 2024 would be their last year of organising and hosting events. As an addition to the regular grandslam that they do (completion of Peddars Way, Norfolk 100k and the Bury 50k within a 12 month period), they were advertising this year with an ultimate grandslam; so completion of the standard three races plus the Marriott’s Way and Norfolk Coastal marathons and the Bury to Clare Challenge. This intrigued me and I found myself signing up for the Peddars Way and saying, yes I was entering for the ultimate grandslam.

Peddars Way was an absolutely brilliant way to get extra distance in my legs in preparation for the 100k and it was also good for the route recce; the latter part of the Peddars forms some of the first part for the 100k. With the help of Kerrie and Lucy, I got some of the route practised and fresh in my head, especially parts which I hadn’t done before – mainly from Morston quay towards the finish.

In the last few weeks before the big day, I had done a lot of mental homework; working out what time I wanted to be at the first and second timed cut-off points and my average pace to achieve this. I also planned drop-bags for each check-point with drinks, snacks and motivational messages to myself for when I got there to get me through to the next point. I felt this helped me go through the check-points quite quick as I didn’t have to stop so long for lots of refilling and picking at snacks. I also had a jug with coke in to make it go flat ready for Saturday.

On the day my alarm went off at 4am so I could get to Castle Acre in good time, I wanted to start at 6am which had been allowed; the official start time is 7am but I figured if I wanted a fighting chance to complete this, then it was a good help! My partner Mark drove me there and getting out of the car you could see it was going to be potentially a good day and I realised I hadn’t put my sunglasses in! Collecting my race number and tracker, I felt unbelievably sick and shaky – I was so nervous. I could have quite happily got back in the car and gone home. Seeing Lucy and Nur there helped me relax a little but I still felt sick, worried I was going to get lost early on and still doubting I was going to make it to the finish line. Especially when everyone else there looked so much more confident and capable. I had said to Mark that if I call him to pick me up to say no! I missed Kerrie as we had run all the other events together, today I was on my own but was nice knowing she would be along the route later with Marie on their own mission. Mark waited until we had set off and then went.

Starting at 6am I was surprised at the amount of other people who had also chosen to do this and I was quite grateful that some of them were going at a similar pace to me, so when we were going through the muddy section at the start there was always a bit of company and chatter around me. Picking up the Peddars Way route after a few miles was nice as I recognised it from earlier in the year and I didn’t lose my way as I had worried I would. Coming down towards the main road at Holme, my mum and dad were there which was such a lovely boost. Getting to Holme and then fairly much all the way along the route there was a horrific headwind which really sapped my energy and I found myself power-walking a lot more than I’d have liked, but it was needed. The wind was absolutely relentless in places and at a direction that it was hardly ever behind!

Getting to the hall at Burnham Overy Staithe was good as there was a proper loo to use! A quick use of the facilities and grabbing my drop-bag with headtorch and extra items in for the latter part of the run, I was in and out quite quickly. Knowing that I would see mum and dad at Wells, I gave them my bag so I didn’t have to carry it for quite so long and off I went again. The bank from Burnham Overy was blustery but had a lovely surprise in the form of Ana, David and his girls. They cheered my name which lead to others also doing it, another lovely boost.

On the back path from the dunes towards Lady Annes drive, I felt a bit sick again but kept on going and sipping some drink so as not to become dehydrated. I’d noticed my hands were swollen so I tried to keep them moving to ease it off a little. Getting to the car park at Wells, my mum and dad were there with the anticipated Mr. Whippy! 🙂 It was good, but I couldn’t stomach it all. I walked along the bank with mum, promising her that if I still felt bad I would stop. Getting to Wells and along the way, there were quite a lot of people walking who were asking what event we were doing which was nice.

Getting to Wells and having two cheer crews was fab, so thank you Paula, Vicki, Kevin, Evette, Chris, Ceri and Tim.

A lovely chap on the quay also had a cola ice-pop which was gratefully received. It was much easier to stomach than the ice cream.  Leaving Wells led onto the marshes and as ever, the angry music came out. There is just something about that stretch!! Coming up towards Stiffkey (the first timed cut-off which closed at 17:45) I realised that my mileage calculations were incorrect, for once in my favour and I actually had 7 less miles to do than I’d thought. This improved my mood so much as by that point I was fed up with the wind, the sun and the hard-packed stony paths! The angry music had helped as well. 😄 I left Stiffkey at 16:30 so was very happy with myself.

Stiffkey to Cley (the next timed cut-off and last checkpoint) was a bit of a blur, except I got myself into a small muddle navigating my way through the grounds of the windmill and then I was on the bank and couldn’t think where the check-point was. Being on the bank and seeing various cars and vans on the road below panicked me into thinking that I had been in the wrong spot for the check-point. I gave Kerrie a quick call to confirm where the check-point was and to reassure myself. The wind made hard work for conversation but it was so nice to hear her voice. Also good to see Chris L drive past and give a wave to as well. 🙂  Thank you too to Lucy H who made a solo special trip out to Morston quay to cheer. I was chatting to a lady who I was running with at the time and explaining that Morston was the finish for the coastal marathon so I expected to see banners there. I didn’t not expect to see Lucy there but it was a fantastic surprise – thank you. 🙂

The marshals at Cley were complimentary about my drop bag and another speedy turnaround meant I hit the shingle beach, still with a face full of wind! Ironically, as much as my feet were hurting by then the shingle was much nicer on my feet as there was a bit of give. The other bonus of the shingle was that with the incessant wind, I didn’t keep getting sand in my face – every cloud and all that! I also had to put my jacket on as it was starting to get chilly now the sun had gone down and it was so exposed, my pace was also slower as well so knew I’d feel bad if I didn’t do the sensible thing. I also decided to play the alphabet game again which I’d done earlier into the run but I was getting frustrated with myself as I couldn’t remember an actors name; I must have looked very random stomping along the shingle yelling ‘Richard’ and yet I still can’t remember who I was trying to remember!

I ended up stomping along with another runner which was really nice and then she was getting chilly so she went off and I carried on stomping. Getting into Sheringham was a relief as I was finally back on smooth flat tarmac. Managed another run and then got yelled at – another runner had spotted that I’d missed the turning to take us off the prom and towards the dreaded Beeston Bump and called me back – luckily I hadn’t
gone too far past so a quick double back and on again. Having never been to Beeston Bump before, all I had heard was how hilly it was. Sadly, the rumours were true.  I had heard that there are steps on the hill which are useful, but when the step comes up to your knee you know it’s going to be a struggle regardless of how far you’ve travelled to get there 😂. Reaching the top and knowing I had to go through the area for the tracker to register I was careful, no way did I want to be disqualified for not registering through that point! Down the other side and up a quiet lane, over the train track and onto glorious grass for the finish line. So grateful to Kerrie, Marie and Lucy for waiting for me to finish (plus partners and children!) and then we waited for Nur who wasn’t too far away either. ❤️ 

So that’s four out of the six events complete so far and looking forward to the last two knowing that the toughest one is done.

Thank you to everyone who messaged, tracked, supported and generally took time out of your day to be the awesome RNTS crew we all know and love.

Kirsty xx

Official Results
100K
Lucy M – 14:21:03
Kirsty L – 15:10:50
Nur – 15:34:04

50K
Marie – 07:37:47
Kerrie – 07:45:37

Posted on

A trinity of top efforts – The Lap, Holt 10k & Cambridgeshire Track and Field

The Lap

It was early June 2022 when (possibly after one too many ciders) I made the decision to attempt to run my first ultra marathon. I’d obviously been doing some browsing online which had alerted the Facebook algorithm to keep spamming me with posts for The Lap. This was advertised as an entry level 47 mile low route (oh,the irony) around Windermere, which takes place in May and September. The May race follows the route clockwise, which is supposed to be the easier option due to where the climbs are located, and the September route follows the route anticlockwise. Having remembered reading that it’s a good idea to find a race that inspires you I thought, what’s not more inspiring than running around England’s biggest lake? and signed myself up for the May 2023 race.

Towards the end of February 2023 I was struggling with hip pain and was concerned with how the training was going so made the decision to defer until 2024. When I realised the 2024 race would fall on the day of my 47th birthday I thought 47 miles for 47 years must be fate, or as I later discovered bloody foolish!  Honestly the pub is a much more reasonable birthday option.

As it turns out this wasn’t going to be my first Ultra as I ended up doing the Weavers Way 50km in October 2023.

Fast forward to this year and I’d managed my highest ever four months of mileage in training so felt – somewhat naively – prepared and ready to go. I was equal parts excited and absolutely bricking it. I’d booked a caravan for the weekend at a nearby holiday park so had convinced Em and Summer to come along for the ride.

Registration was open 19:00 to 23:00 on the Friday night where I had to collect my race number, map, tracker and have a kit check to make sure I’d got the required kit in my bag. This was an incredibly smooth process which helped settle the nerves and the stunning scenery backed up the assumption that this was going to be a beautiful route. By the time we arrived back at the caravan it was getting on for 22:00, so I decided to try and get some sleep as I need to be up at 03:30 to eat and get to the start for the 05:50 race briefing. Sleep wasn’t great (it never is for me before a race) and it didn’t help having to chase the biggest ever beetle which was flying around the caravan at midnight sounding like a helicopter. Waking up just before the alarm went off I got up and set about sorting out some Heinz spaghetti on toast with cheese. Ever since this was recommended to me by Lucy for long run fuel it’s never let me down.

Breakfast eaten, dressed and gone to the toilet for the third time – apologies if a bit too much info – I was in the car with the sunrise and heading to the start.

We’d been promised a lake inversion the night before, with a nice mist expected to be rising from the lake, but on arrival there was no mist and you could already start to feel the warmth from the sun.  It was going to be hot. At the race briefing we were reminded that ultra running, for the majority, is walking dressed as runners. We were also told that they were expecting the course record to be beaten which it was by both the Male, Joel Jameson (07:27:22) and female, Lucy Gossage (07:57:41) winners.

Everyone self seeded themselves into position – firmly at the back for me –  and the air horn was blown to start the race with a lone bagpiper playing. I found the start quite emotional as I knew, after nearly two years, whatever was to now happen I’d finally made it to the start.

The first mile was a nice plod with a long line of people walking/shuffling alongside the banks of the lake as there was a stile about a mile up which was causing a bottle neck. I started chatting to a gentleman next to me who informed me that he’d run half of it in September before pulling out and was determined to complete the other half today. I thought this was supposed to be entry level not the kind of run where we set ourselves the target of halfway.

Once over the stile it was down a nice country lane before shortly hitting what was to be one of many climbs for the day. This was a series of various steps up through some woodland at what seemed like a near vertical angle. It was also at this point that I fell over for the first time of the day, it wasn’t to be the last.

At the top and there was a nice bit of gentle downhill over varying terrain before arriving at the first aid station in Far Sawry. The spread laid out before me was nothing short of incredible and, after having some cheese, a couple of cookies and a jam baguette washed down with coke, I filled up my near empty water bottles and cracked on. The next few miles were lovely with some gentle accents and descents over rolling hills and past a few smaller lakes before hitting the steep climb up to the top of Latterbarrow. It was at this point that I realised no matter how many times I’d run up the Drift this was going to be on a whole different level. It was also at this point that I cracked out the hiking poles and they stayed out for the rest of the day.

Stopping at the top to catch my breath I admired the view whilst trying not to think about the two big climbs to come. The descent from Latterbarrow was almost as tough as the climb up trying to negotiate the rocky path down without falling. After the initially steep section this then turned into some nice lanes as we ran down into the second aid station at Skelwith Bridge. It was here that I discovered the joy of orange segments and demolished a handful of these with another cookie, some peanut butter and jam sandwiches and a bit of malt loaf. Again this was all washed down with a good few cups of coke and the water bottles refilled. I was starting to worry about hydration. Those that know me will know how much of a sweaty runner I am and at this point the “hat drip” had gone from one, to two, to three and then promptly stopped. My t-shirt had also gone from being soaking wet to completely dry. I fetched the extra water bottle I’d stashed in my bag and filled that which gave me 1.5 litres until the next aid station. Unfortunately there was the two biggest climbs before I’d arrive at this and by the time I arrived I was well and truly broken.

Leaving Skelwith Bridge there was an initially gentle climb up a county lane but looming in front of me was what I could only guess was Loughrigg Fell and I knew we had to go up and over this. The path up to the top was winding and steep and I had to take plenty of rests to catch my breath and stop my head from spinning. All the while I was trying to forget about the fact that this was the easiest of the two big climbs, the second of which was right after I ‘d come all the way down from Loughrigg. The views from the top were again stunning and I was a bit disappointed that any pictures I took didn’t seem to do justice to how steep the ascent was. After stopping at the top for far too long I started on the descent which consisted of a steep track down into Ambleside.

Coming through Ambleside I was desperate to find either a pub or a shop as my water was running low. As I walked past a climbing shop the owner let me know that there was a lovely cafe next door, the only problem being that it was up two flights of stairs. Dragging myself upstairs I bought 2 bottles of ice cold water and a can of coke to try and help me get up Wansfell Pike.

It was as I was leaving Ambleside to start the climb up to Wansfell Pike that I decided to quit, for the first time. I was feeling incredibly flaky and was having a mild panic that I’d require a full on rescue operation from halfway up. I thought that turning around and heading back to Ambleside seemed to be the sensible option as I’d be able to get a taxi back to the start, hand in my tracker and stick to the flats of Norfolk that I’m used to. After a sit down and a stern talking to myself I tried to push on until at least the halfway checkpoint at Troutbeck.

The next few hours weren’t pretty. The climb up to the top of Wansfell Pike was steeper and longer than Loughrigg. For me it consisted of walking for a couple of minutes then sitting/lying down trying to stop my head from spinning and resisting the urge to go to sleep. Upon finally making it to the top there was slightly kinder section across a ridge to the highest point of the race at Baystones. I’d well and truly made up my mind by now that I was done. I was going to make it down to the halfway point at Troutbeck and hopefully secure a lift back to the start. I was remembering the conversation at the start of the race and thought making it over the two biggest climbs was a fair achievement and there was no point completely breaking myself in the process. Yep I was definitely done as I headed into Troutbeck. Then an annoying nagging feeling told me you’ve got one shot at this. Initial goals may have long fallen out the window but I hadn’t just dragged myself over those past two climbs to go home with nothing to show for it. We’d been given a t-shirt at registration and I knew I wouldn’t be able to wear it if I didn’t finish. On arrival at the halfway checkpoint, being about 32km into a 78km race actually falls well before halfway,  I’d managed to agree with myself I was going to have a cup of tea and see how I felt. With cup of tea in hand I also discovered that you can shove Twiglets into a mini Battenburg and then plug the ends with cheese, trust me it’s a thing! There was also the benefit of a pizza truck at this aid station so I managed to force two slices of pizza down me. Whilst eating the pizza another runner, who I’d been passing on and off climbing up Wansfell, sat down next to me and proclaimed he was out. He was shivering, despite the heat, and said he was freezing cold due to dehydration. Not wanting to suffer the same fate I told one of the marshal that I was pretty sure I was done too. His reply was that it was only 8km to the next aid station so why not try and at least get to there. He also told me that I’d done the worst of it but I didn’t like the fact that, when I asked him where it went from here, he pointed and said, ‘you see that hill over there…’  As it turned out the hill he’d pointed to wasn’t too bad a climb and, once at the top, there was a nice flat section down some quiet roads for a few km which gave me a real boost. On leaving these roads over a stile (purely the devil’s work) I noted a sheep’s skull sat on top of the wall. About two minutes after this one leg went into a deep rut sending the other leg and arms into a nice boggy section and I was brought, quite literally, back down to earth with a bump.

Although only 8km to the next aid station this stretch seemed to go on forever before finally coming across a gazebo in the middle of a field manned by what can only be described as angels. They filled my bottles, made sure I was fed and watered and when I decided again that I was going to quit managed to convince me that trying to get to the next aid station would be a better option. I stocked up on food as I knew that the next aid station was water only and got ready to head into the night.

It all becomes a bit of a blur from this point on. There was another climb up to Gummers How which was through a boggy wood in the dark. I remember having a stand off with what I was convinced was the biggest beetle I’d ever seen sat on the path in front of me. After a good minute I realised it was a frog. The top of Gummers How was a bit of a low point as I had to lie down to try and prevent myself from being sick. After managing to hold down my stomach contents I pushed on and caught up with a lady called Kat, who was having a bit of a panic about the descent having hurt her ankle. We stuck together for the next 10km or so before she dropped out with about 10km to go as her ankle was hurting too much. I’ve since found out she’d actually broken it en-route. We also caught up with a couple of guys who’d completed it before. When one of them dropped out just before the final aid station as he couldn’t face any more hills I knew it wasn’t going to be a nice easy finish.

Coming up to the final aid station at Finsthwaite there was another particularly nasty climb through a wood which was a real struggle. On arriving at the aid station I asked for a cup of tea with milk and sugar. They didn’t flinch when my reply to, ‘how many sugars?’ was, ‘make the spoon stand up’. I knew at this point I had about 9km to go but at my current pace this was going to take a good few hours still. The one thing I knew on leaving the final aid station was that I was going to finish this. Sure it may have taken me many more hours than I’d initially planned but a finish was a finish.

Those final 9km weren’t pretty and seemed to throw everything at me, more hills, brambles, trees to climb over, boggy bits and treacherous downhill sections which would have been a challenge even in daylight with fresh legs, and I hate to think how many swear words were uttered but I pressed on just wanting to finish this thing now. With one final tree to climb over and the sun starting to rise I finally saw the finish line. At 04:14 on Sunday the 12th of May after 22 hours 13 minutes and 17 seconds I crossed the finish line. Handed my finishers medal and beer I limped across to the car, sat down and sobbed. I couldn’t believe what I’d achieved and that after nearly two years since signing up I’d actually finished. I came so close to quitting that day on many occasions and had to get my head out of some dark places along the way but I’d done it, never – and I repeat, never – for me to try it again.

Although as I’m sat here reflecting on it writing this down there’s another of those nagging feelings that’s saying another shot in 2026 sounds like a plan. Just don’t tell the wife.

Andy P


The start line


Early morning views


The top of Latterbarrow


The impending climb of Loughrigg Fell

Holt 10k

I did Holt 10k last year and really enjoyed the route and being such a local race, it’s a really nice one to do.  So signed up again this year.

With a 10 o’clock start, Kerrie and I didn’t have to leave home too early, which is always a bonus.  We arrived at Holt and met up with the other RntS runners and supporters.

It had been a wet morning and we were expecting a wet race, however luckily the rain stayed away, although it was still a warm morning.

The route starts at Gresham school and heads off with a nice downhill start towards the  garden centre.  Just before the garden centre, you are sent left down a track to meet the small country roads. The roads are not closed, but the traffic is sparse and didn’t cause a problem.

It was good to see Paul and Libby along the route cheering us on. Mark and Vikki were out on the route too, supporting everyone.

At mile 4 the route turns very undulating, with a lovely downhill which can only mean one thing, there was a sharp uphill which I admit was a struggle.  The route then takes you back towards the school with the lovely downhill start being in reverse back to the finish.  It was great to see so many RntS supporting at the finish and cheering us to the finish line. The support from others makes such a difference on a race and is very much appreciated.  Thank you everyone.

David C

Official Results:
Ant – 00:40:20.2
David C – 00:41:27.3
Alex – 00:43:40.4
Ellis – 00:45:04.4
Rob J – 00:45:59.1
Will – 00:46:33.8
Kevin S – 00:47:52.6
Andrew T – 00:48:01.0
Matt – 00:49:54.8
Paula – 00:51:00.6
Gemma – 00:51:25.3
Evette – 00:54:04.5
Seb – 00:59:04.7
Nita – 01:03:33.4
Chris L – 01:03:42.3
Vicki – 01:13:36.3

Cambridgeshire Track and Field

I ran the 3000m in the Cambridgeshire track and field championships last Wednesday at St Ives.

Its 7.5 laps.of the track, there was a mild head wind down the home straight and first bend and luckily the rain held off.

I got a 17 second seasons best which was only set 10 days prior.

Sometimes when you don’t feel race ready mentally and physically, that’s when your best runs come, and today was one of those days for me.  As it’s a championship event, athletes have to run for their first claim club, so I was representing Ryston Runners.

I was 1st vet 35, mirroring the same achievement in the Norfolk County Championships earlier in May.

Cat F-W

Posted on

A message from Sportlink

We thought your members might like to know about the New Balance Instore Day coming up this Saturday the 25th May. The New Balance Tech rep, Jack Wadsworth, will be bringing try on sets on the New Balance 1080 v13, Vongo v6, 880 v14 and 860 v13 for customers to put on and join us for a gentle 5km run around Taverham.
It’s a fantastic opportunity to put the shoes through their paces and to ask Jack about the New Balance range. Absolutely no obligation to buy, but don’t forget that all your club members get 15% discount in store at Sportlink!
We look forward to seeing some of you on Saturday. We will be setting out for the run at 10.30am so come in early to make sure you get the shoe of your choice!
Best wishes
Sportlink.
https://www.sportlink.co.uk/
Posted on

Bury to Clare

Bury to Clare, 5th May.

We had talked about doing this run last year when we went through Clare on the Two Castles marathon. Kerrie and Lucy had said that it was a lovely run, and now having taken part in it – I totally agree.

An early start for us. Kerrie kindly drove this time and we had to park at Clare to catch the bus to Bury. Absolutely love the bus journey every time as it builds the atmosphere.

Once at Bury well ahead of the 9am start we found a nice sunny spot to keep us warm, happens it was in the play area – not just for little ones 😄

We attended the briefing, there was so many people! This race is inclusive for walkers with a generous 8 hour cut off time for the 18 miles. We then walked to the start line which was a bit of a bottleneck as there was no self seeding of walkers and runners.

Once we all found ourselves into a rhythm, we were treated to fantastic views, beautiful sunshine and in the shadier areas, some lovely squelchy mud!

We ran/walked the route which gave us lots of time to eat our snacks and just really enjoy the day. Added bonus of not getting lost thanks to Lucy’s great navigational skills.

Kirsty, Kerrie and Lucy.

Posted on

South Downs Way 50

Event: SDW50
Date: 13th April 2024
My finishing time: 12:19:24

I knew SDW50 (South Downs Way 50 miles from Worthing to Eastbourne) was going to be a big challenge for me mainly because of the elevation profile and the cut offs at every aid station and the finish. On race day, I made the decision to share the tracking details on the RntS FB page to make myself accountable. This helped put pressure on me to do my best.

SDW50 was my A race for the first half of this year so I decided to follow a purposefully self-built 16-week programme, incorporating some long distance races (in particular, Winter Wychavon Way in January and Hundred Hills in March) which I used for training runs. My weekly mileage was mostly how I wanted it to be (though it could have been a little higher) and I started doing strength training using weights. I am creation this has helped me in my running. In preparation I also studied the race results from previous years to see how long it took the last few finishers to reach each of the 7 cut offs so that I could aim for a particular time for each of these cut offs. This plan turned out to be a great idea for my pacing strategy during the race.

On race day the weather couldn’t have been any better. Although initially cold and misty, it soon turned into full sunshine with very strong winds, mostly tailwind (!), which certainly helped. That wind was certainly willing all the runners to reach their destination faster than they could have imagined!

I had lovely little chats with fellow runners along the route and said hello to countless walkers enjoying being on the Downs. The scenery was awesome. The hills, with the exception of a few very steep ones, were mostly runnable. It was liberating and I enjoyed the freedom to be able to launch myself forwards!

I was very happy with my nutrition and hydration throughout the race: watermelon, grapes, pineapple, cheese, cheese sandwiches, cakes, pretzels, hula hoops, and soreen, alongside some electrolytes (2,5 sachets of Tailwind and several salt tablets), water and coca cola. I also had 3 gels with caffeine in them. Food consumption involved nice little picnics on the go; power hiking to move forward so as not to lose time.

We’ve learnt from our coaches that running form is very important. On steep hills uphill or downhill it becomes too easy to tense up but I knew to relax my shoulders and just enjoy the motion of running. I’m pretty sure I was smiling most, if not all the time. I kept checking my watch how I was doing against the times I’d set myself for each of the cut offs. Seeing I was well ahead of my anticipated timings in particular by the time I’d arrived at check point 4 (Southease) was gratifying. The race finishes after a lap of the athletics track at Eastbourne. When I entered the track there was so much cheering from spectators and some runners who’d finished before me. I remember someone shouting “Go get that medal” and me responding “I will!”

I was, and still am, very happy to have been able to complete this race without the worry of each cut off looming over me.

I don’t always make sense at the end of an ultrarunning event and usually feel dithery for a while. At the end of this race I was exhausted but mentally I could have carrier on! To see I wasn’t dithering at all when I finished and that I could hold normal conversations, certainly felt good.

Nur

Posted on

London Marathon 2024

Here is Stuart’s full race report:

‘Where do I start what a weekend and such an amazing event.

Thank you RntS for having this opportunity.

The dream marathon for me after being rejected for 5 years. This bucket list race has always inspired me to run to the best of my abilities.

Training never went as smoothly as I had hoped, some missed speed work and long runs, due to a calf twinge but it was too good a race to miss. So stepped back the training to recover and then get back to it.

I decided to follow the Hanson marathon method that had served me so well for Brighton 2022, and I ideally wanted a time between 3:30 and 3;45 to get a new PB as Brighton was 3:49. But under 4 hours was good enough in my mind.

Friday 19th was race pack pick up day, I took my eldest daughter with me on the train for the day and headed to the excel arena.

A really slick operation for bib collection I was dreading massive queues but it wasn’t bad at all. They now print your bib when you arrive and then send you into the expo to collect the finisher shirt before you race.

We headed back to London for the weekend on the Saturday and did the touristy sight seeing walking around 10 miles to keep the legs loose and nervous energy at bay.

Race day Sunday 21st…

Usual morning routine with the added tube and train journey. All public transport on race day is free to participants making everything super smooth and easy to get to the start pens.

I had a 10:10 green wave 4 start time and had to be at the start by 9:22 for security checks and the obligatory endurance events of queuing to use the portaloos or urinals.

We could watch the start of the elite and wheelchair races on the big screen and the atmosphere was electric, everyone was wishing each other luck and conversations flowed around trainer choices etc (as they do at every race we attend 😂)

Going into my own wave, my actual start time 10:16 and we were off, from the first second the crowds were absolutely amazing offers of jelly babies, oranges bananas and Haribo every few meters.

The first 3km I felt amazing and then the urge to pee kicked in so the next block of toilets was my destination, luckily in the marathon they make sure there are many at regular intervals.

Back to running and again the crowds were epic, live bands, DJs and local community groups entertaining as we ran (no need for headphones, not that you would hear your own music if you decide to use them).

The first big milestone for me was the Cutty Sark and it never disappointed, it was incredible sweeping round the bend past this beautiful piece of history,

Around the 12 mile mark I turned the corner and there she was Tower Bridge ,just wow!

A real pick me up at this point and one of the most incredible experiences of my life running across this true icon of Britain this made the running experience.

It started to get really tough around the 17 mile marker and I had my nutrition and hydration on point a gel every 4 to 4.5 miles and always taking on some water at every station, little and often for the whole race.

My Polar GPS was going crazy at times with the high rise building and the few under passes we utilised.

The crowds continued to be totally amazing.

The last few miles were tough and it became a mental challenge as much as physical. The last straight approached and then it happened my biggest and most needed pick me up – my cheer squad were there and grabbed my attention turned the corner saw the Buckingham palace and then the finish line.

A new marathon PB of 3:39:29 and I couldn’t be happier. ‘

💪

 

Posted on

Brighton Marathon

It’s hard to believe that it was a week ago I was in my hotel room getting ready for the Brighton marathon happening the next day. Clare and I had done our usual trip down to check the roads to all our points and then parked up in Brighton marina to walk into town and grab some lunch. I was really looking forward to the run on Sunday, especially if the weather was promising to be nice. We did miss Paula who is usually part of ‘the Krew’.

In the lead up to this weekend I felt like I’d done a good block of training but a family emergency meant an enforced slightly early taper. As it turned out I don’t think it was a negative impact, if anything I started feeling strong and comfortable. Fortunately other events I’d taken part in already this year had probably also had a positive contribution too.

On race day, it was bright and I had a top ready to leave at the start pen. Clare and I got there in good time and the wind was quite fresh. I had some more breakfast while taking in the atmosphere and trying decide whether to join the queue for the loos! Once Clare left to get into her first viewing position, I moved over to be closer to where the starting pens were as I was paranoid that I’d miss my wave being called. While standing there, I had a lovely chat with another brown wave lady (Jenny) and I think it helped us both relax a little.

We were called into our pens, and Paula Radcliffe was starting each wave off. I love the whole bubbly atmosphere of the pen as we are all nearing the start and before long we were off! Third year in a row for me and a third slightly different route. The whole atmosphere was amazing. Some areas are more well supported than others, the points furthest out both ends tend to be quieter but this year came with an amazing pickup – Clare hired one of the ‘Beryl’ bikes; so as I was heading out towards the most Easterly part of the route (Ovingdean / Rottingdean) I suddenly heard a bell being rung and my name called. Absolutely brilliant, it made my day! Clare chatted while I plodded and I made it up to the top of the hill 💪 The whole race I never knew where to expect her and every time I did see her, it always gave me an extra lift.

The course this year, I personally felt was the best out of the three I have done as there are so many parts where it switches back so you get to see the runners ahead and then those behind once you’re on the other side.

I had a goal finish in mind but the weather had blessed us with beautiful sunshine and a strong wind, this meant I changed my plan slightly to finish and feel comfortable rather than push myself and feel rubbish. I’m not too good in the heat so I slowed it down a bit and kept well hydrated. I tried to smile all the way through and by having my name on my drink belt meant plenty of cheers and calls which was fantastic.

Coming down towards Hove Lawns where the finish line was, I was so grateful I’d kept myself steady as I felt I had renewed energy and had a sprint kind of finish 😄 my fastest mile as well!

Another incredible weekend. Thank you to everyone who tracked, messaged and supported me ❤️

Kirsty x