Overall, a quiet weekend of racing for Newmarket Joggers. However, three club members took on a very tough challenge on Saturday, June 14th: The Wall Ultra, which started out at Carlisle in Cumberland, northwest England, and headed eastwards to Newcastle on the east coast, for a total of approximately 70 miles (~113km). It roughly followed the direction of Hadrian’s Wall, although did not stay close to it, utilising mainly country roads with some trail excursions and included a total climb of around 4,400ft. There were 5 start waves from 06:00 to 07:00 on Saturday and five checkpoints along the way, with cut-off times to ensure that all who proceeded could finish by 09:00 on Sunday morning. The total time of 27 hours allowed for a walking pace of 20 minutes per mile, plus stops at checkpoints. A total of 1,324 participants managed to cross the finish line in the allowed time, roughly 90% of those who had started. The organisers stressed that this was not a race but a personal challenge; there was a medal for all finishers but no podium, no winners and no gender or age group categories.
Above left: Reuben (left) with friend at registration for The Wall; right: Wendy at registration. Thanks for photos.
The three Joggers taking part were club secretary Wendy Ancill, her husband Mark Geddie, and Reuben Smith. Wendy (total elapsed time 18:09:15) and Mark (17:53:32) finished together and no doubt stuck together all the way, but Wendy was in a 15-minute earlier start wave for some reason, explaining the different times. They both did very well to finish within the top half of the field and found it a tough but rewarding challenge. Reuben (24:22:56) enjoyed the first 44 miles but found the latter stages extremely difficult and was very grateful for the support of a running friend. Nevertheless, he dug deep and made it well within the cut-off time.
Above from left: At the start of The Wall by Wendy; Wendy & Mark at 63 mile stage; the medal. Thanks for excellent photos.
Above from left: Reuben utilising the poles; and again; Reuben at the high point of a trail section. Thanks for great photos.
In a much more local event in Newmarket, Pearl Fay took part in the HYROX Run & Row challenge, organised by former Newmarket Jogger and local legend Ben Blowes, who runs The Shark Tank fitness centre in town. The race involved running for a kilometre and then rowing for a kilometre on a rowing machine. Pearl recorded 7m:04s for the run on her watch but official results are not yet at hand.
Above: Pearl Fay on the rowing machine. Thanks for photo.