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Joggers involved in the Round Norfolk Relay, volunteers and runners (not all present). Back row from left: Liam Elvidge, Marc Drury, Wendy Ancill, Angela Drury, Steve Cousins, Brian Munns, Jonathan Ollington, Chris Underwood, Jim Withers. Front row from left: Kate Warboys, Nicole Smith, Rachael Maltpress, Mark Geddie, Jimmy Smith, Paul Holley and Neville Clarke. Many thanks for the team photo.
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Newmarket Joggers managed a great team effort to finish 28th of 60 running clubs in this year’s Round Norfolk Relay on 14th/15th September 2024, with start/finish at King’s Lynn. The course roughly followed the Norfolk county boundary around the coast from King’s Lynn; then turning inland along the southern boundary with Suffolk and finally northwards, near to the western boundary with Cambridgeshire. It consisted of 17 stages of varying distances, with a total stage distance of 200.62 miles. There was a staggered start, with the slowest teams going first, so that all teams would be able to finish at roughly the same time. The race went on all through the night from Saturday morning to Sunday morning, with a team van following its runners along roads during the night hours and a team cyclist following runners during the day, apart from the many off-road sections. Full results were not available at the time of writing but we do know the times and approximate positions for Newmarket Joggers on each stage.
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Above left: Jimmy Smith waits for Angela Drury at Stage 15 in Wissington; right: Adam & Rachael Maltpress by Horsey Windpump. Many thanks for photos.
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Every team member put in a great effort. Some particular achievements to note: The highest placed Jogger was Jimmy Smith at 4th of 60 overall in Stage 15, followed by Paul Holley at 7th in Stage 5 . Highest placed female Jogger was Olivia Carter at 6th F of 27 in Stage 6, closely followed by Hannah Pollard at 8th F of 18 in Stage 17.
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Above: Volunteers hard at work at the stage checkpoints, day and night. Many thanks for photos.
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Jimmy Smith achieved the highest age grade recorded by the team at 79.17% on Stage 15, followed by Marc Drury at 76.25% on Stage 13. Top age grades for female Joggers: 1st Nicole Smith 69.50% Stage 16, followed by Hannah Pollard at 68.74% on Stage 17. Well done to those Joggers and to all who represented the team. Encouraging to note that Marc Drury & Angela Drury (Stage 14, 60.28%) both achieved their highest age grades this year; that’s teamwork.
Special thanks to the volunteers, including team coordinator Jim Withers, Kate Warboys, Brian Munns, Olivia Carter, Lisa Jennings and Danielle Jones. Apologies for anyone inadvertently left out. [Note that age grades have been recalculated to match the NJ Howard Grubb calculator used for all club achievements].
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Above: Joggers in transit: Steve Cousins, Barley Woodcock, Paul Holley, Liam Elvidge. Thanks for photos.
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Newmarket Joggers’ stages, runners and times were as follows: Stage 1: Jonathan Ollington 2:20:24 (16.32mi); Stage 2: Mark Geddie 1:56:25 (13.75mi); Stage 3: Wendy Ancill 51:43 (5.76mi); Stage 4: Liam Elvidge 1:51:51 (11.14mi); Stage 5: Paul Holley 1:21:50 (10.81mi); Stage 6: Olivia Carter 1:02:25 (7.90mi); Stage 7: Neville Clarke 1:12:51 (9.24mi);l Stage 8: Rachael Maltpress 1:08:50 (7.52mi); Stage 9: Neil Pollard 1:53:49 (16.60mi); Stage 10: Chris Underwood 2:06:26 (17.72mi); Stage 11: Steve Cousins 2:19:43 (14.90mi); Stage 12: Barley Woodcock 2:08:41 (18.88mi); Stage 13: Marc Drury 1:39:39 (15.00mi); Stage 14: Angela Drury 1:02:39 (7.27mi); Stage 15: Jimmy Smith 1:03:18 (10.59mi); Stage 16: Nicole Smith 44:19 (5.49mi); Stage 17: Hannah Pollard 1:29:25 (11.73mi).
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Above left: Burnham Overy Staithe by Wendy Ancill; right: Olivia Carter takes the baton from Paul Holley at Cromer. Thanks for photos.
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Above: Angela Drury’s medal detail. Thanks for photos.
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Havering Open track meeting, East London, Sunday 15th September: Junior Newmarket Jogger Harvey Thomas U15B concluded a very successful season with a 1500m PB of 5m:00.37s, taking almost 4 seconds off his previous best time. He won his race, which was for U15B and U13B. His aim was to beat 5 minutes, so almost there.
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Above: Harvey Thomas wins his 1500m race at Havering track meeting in a PB time. Many thanks to Cheryl Thomas for photo.
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Sandy Open One Mile, Sandy, Bedfordshire, Wednesday September 11th: Three Joggers made the trip to Sandy for a rare opportunity to do a one mile time trial on the track. Quickest in the mile run was Junior Jogger Rory King U17 (5m:35.2s); not quite his best time this year (5m:32.32s) but worth a very decent 71.66% age grade. Next came Phil Blundell M45 (6m:23.2s, 65.37%) and Sophie Blundell U13 (6m:51s, 67.35%) both in their first ever one mile running race. Sophie also competed in the one mile walk (9m:54.8s PB! 67.17%) gaining a huge PB by over 2 minutes. Her racewalking is certainly improving fast.