Round Norfolk Relay 2023
The 2023 Round Norfolk Relay took place on the weekend of 16th &17th September, in glorious weather. C&C competed with two teams, a Masters ‘A’ team captained by John Ferguson and a Mixed ‘B’ team captained by Kris Semple, combining diverse strengths to grab the first and second places in their categories. Fergie’s Team A focus was on vets, for the unfinished business of winning the Masters, and this meant that more speedy youngsters were available for the traditionally slower and more inclusive Team B. This made A & B a bit closer in pace than usual, running most legs together, and cheering one another on at changeovers, sending strong C&C vibes across the Norfolk flatlands.C&C marshals also ran the early morning Wissington changeover, where Chris Hurcomb helmed a thin blue (& white) line of marshals. This year Becky Wilburn, Peter Bennet, and Jacs Hayward deserved an extra round of applause (see later!). **Photos at end of article**
Mixed ‘B’ team reportThe gritty coastal legs featured punishing heat, headwinds, and mazy cross terrain routes, so early runners really had to battle it out. Ellie Atkins and Ben Chamberlain got us off to a strong opening, Ben managing to avoid the lure of the Staithe Sea Shanty Festival, but only just. Daisy Moran injected a note of pace into the windy approach to Wells.Lucy Drummond produced a stonking run on the Wells to Cley stage for a second place, and this seemed to inspire very strong running all the way down the coast to the Great Yarmouth turn around. Sam Matchette seemed to sprint most of the shingle, sand and hill obstacles on the brutal leg 5, and Romane Thomas and Patrick Maier performed an impressive double act back on the road down to a darkening Lessingham. Heather Keenan shaved an elegant couple of minutes off our time with apparent ease. Hamish Morton had missed out last year with Covid, and was determined to make up for it in a sterling effort through the mazy metropolis of Gt Yarmouth, handing over to night road expert Neil Tween at Belton. Neil is a RNR stalwart who gobbled up the long dark road to Earsham with a heroic appetite.These crucial night legs were illuminated by some of our finest efforts, and the moment when Steve Fuller actually overtook the C&C ‘A’ team runner will live long in the annals of ‘B’ team glory. The hotly contested 20 miles from Scoles to Thetford drew a gobsmacking effort from Fred Krylander which left him completely spent getting a third place.Spare a thought for Tom Rogers, all revved up and ready to continue the surge as namesake Sandy steams in on the long stretch from Thetford….only to be told that stage 14 is cancelled! Circumstances beyond RNR control mean that all teams restart at Wissington, throwing even more pressure on our sleep-starved but doughty marshals, and giving Charlotte Hickman a nervy dawn start into Downham Market. A steadily paced run from first timer Louise Bailey hands the baton to ultra Isabelle Lemasson, who brings it home in style on the track at King’s Lynn.The big guns of the ‘A’ team’s finishers had put them back in front by the end. But it was close.A great achievement for both teams to win out so convincingly, and a great experience for everyone who took part.The general consensus at the end was that the bizarre blip at stage 14 in fact summoned the virtues of improvisation, energy, and good fellowship which make this such a uniquely enjoyable event. And Tom went and ran his distance anyway. Special thanks must go to the support crew which this year was very lean; Nev Hawkins and Kris Semple sharing car support through the night with Charlie Ritchie providing stimulating conversation so they didn’t go to sleep at the wheel while also doing bike support during the day, with Robin helping out.
Masters ‘A’ team report
The C&C Masters team had a 10am start, with Neil White running solo from Kings Lynn to Hunstanton, before passing the baton to Simon Brightwell who had unfinished business on leg 2 after last year’s DNF due to a torn calf. No problems this year as he reached Burnham in good time and then John Ferguson, Charlie Stephenson and Ed Mezzetti completed the 5 off road coastal legs reaching Cromer approximately 20 minutes down on predicted time after a fight with the wind and terrain on a hot sunny day. Next up was Hannah Broom who stepped in at the last minute after John Morley’s positive test for Covid ruled him out. She didn’t disappoint and ran strongly to finish 2nd female on stage 6. Iain Wood, Rachael Leah and Sarah Abramson completed the coastal journey to Great Yarmouth as the route turned inland to Belton, with all three eating into our predicted time deficit. The night shift began with Andrew Parsons and Andrew Brett eating up the tarmac on the A143, before Chris Kelly took the baton at Scole for the Queen stage, a tough 20 mile drag up to the dizzy heights of Thetford – get your kicks on A 1066. Chris, having overcome injury and Covid, ran a belter and we were now only 10 minutes behind schedule. On to Jamie Freeman who crossed the A10 and headed into Thetford Forest, chasing down flashing lights before reaching the end of his leg where the next leg, Feltwell to Wissington, was cancelled due to a police incident in Feltwell itself. Paul Fletcher, deserves a mention as the man to miss out but assures me he’ll be back next year to right a wrong. The race itself was kick-started back to life in Wissington with Martin Sewell running a fine leg heading into Downham Market as night became day. Here Clare Thurgood took the baton and steamed towards Stowbridge. With a time of 33:20 she won the stage prize for fastest female and set a new Female Masters stage record. A chapeau! Andrew Shields then took over and carried the baton home at a fine rate of knots. All the more impressive when you consider he’d been up all night doing crew support. An overall time of 22:34:14, less than 8 minutes outside our predicted time, secured 1st prize in the Masters category and 10th place overall. Congratulations team for keeping the baton moving and special thanks to the support crew of Andrew S, Sarah A, Rachael L, Simon B, Andrew B and Andrew P; we couldn’t have run the relay without you.
C&C have now won all race categories at least once, with the exception of the Mixed class where we’ve had a third and now a second place. Let’s make that a win for next year then. We’ll need a minimum of 8 fast females plus fast males for a 17 strong winning team and there’s still plenty of glory to be had in the second team, so keep your eye out for the call next spring!C&C results summary Masters C&C A Team 1st 22:34:14Mixed C&C B Team 2nd 23:42:34Stage winnersStage 3 John Ferguson 2nd 00:42:48 (Wava 71.3)Stage 4 Lucy Drummond 2nd 01:28:20 (Wava 62.8)Stage 6 Hannah Broom 2nd 00:54:37 (Wava 75.3)Stage 12 Fred Krylander 3rd 01:55:48 (Wava 79.0)Stage 16 Clare Thurgood 1st 00:33:20 (Wava 82.0) + a new female masters stage record
All results: https://rnr.totalracetiming.co.uk/result
