“Here we go again”, we say as the weekend kicks off. But let’s step back several weeks as first up is gathering a set of 17 runners to negotiate what stage they are doing and giving a predicted time. That all goes to Sue Flute who dispatches a magic spreadsheet to tell you where to start and at what time.

Now sort out a timekeeping and body/car/kit/support shifting crew. A set of cycle supporters. A Mundesley handover station stage 7 crew. And we are ready to go early doors.

Start 05.30 at Kings Lynn. Give that one to Jane Hannah as she likes early stuff like that (and she had a triathlon tomorrow). Then get the baton through all 17 stages of the 198 mile perimeter of Norfolk back to the start. Easy as that!

It all went pretty much without a hitch this year. No ram raid at Feltwell for example. Everybody ran sensibly in nice weather with the minimum of getting lost and all was good.

Apparently (this is hearsay), our stage 15 runner may have had a few minutes extra lay in to get to the Downham Market handover where the baton was waiting for a minute for them to arrive and continue the run. It went largely unnoticed in the RNR Whatsapp group and hardly worth mentioning.

Some outstanding thankyous.

Paul Youngman as lead crew member for his selfless input of a 24hour +++ day driving around the course picking up all the necessaries to make each section work. His team of helpers : the cyclists and assist support to prevent Paul from burning out. Where is Sue Flute you ask? Well Hugo was being most inconsiderate in having this weekend to start his University course in Cardiff. So Sue was transporting him to all things Wales and making him drive so she could update posts and do some admin (basically couldn’t leave it alone!)

The stage 7 Mundesley handover crew. Kerry and Mark Newman joining us to honour Kerry’s late husband Darryl Davis who collapsed and died at stage 4 ten years ago. Along with Mark Philo, Allison Ragosa, Jennifer Bettinson, Sue Brockhouse, Guy Shearwood, Rose Waterman, Katy Walters, Russell Clarke sorting out the changeover runners or the carnage of car parking.

So how did we do? Well, we got round. We weren’t out to win anything, so it was just a fun run for us all. As a team we came in 58/60 teams in 29 hours and 4 mins which was 45 minutes over budget on our predicted time.

The support crews:

Jason Corner – Timekeeper, cyclist, car mover, support driver, Stage 4 runner & highest placed of all of our runners!! Went from start to finish. All round legend. 

Laurence Staegemann –  Dawn to dusk cyclist. 
Russell Clarke – Late shift support driver & cyclist. 
Mark Tremelling – Late shift runner, cyclist & driver. 

James Crawford – Late shift runner, cyclist & driver. 

Kevin Mace, Patrick Mace & Jon Kemp did a long stage each, support cycling through the night too. 

Alastair, Gaynor & Brooke Clipsham – Cyclist & support crew through the night.