The Lingwood Leg-its held our first ever organised race on Remembrance Sunday and it was great to see the Coltishall Jags well represented with 16 club members completing the mixed terrain route. The trails through Buckenham Woods and down towards Buckenham Village are particulary good to run on and we were granted permission to use a trail through the grounds of Strumpshaw Hall. The second half of the route was tough with a climb up Barn Hill and then up and over Mill Hill, which is the highest point in Broadland with views towards the East Coast and south over the Yare Valley. There was a club bonus of a Jag leading the race with Franklyn Plume setting the pace as the runners ran through Lingwood Village Hall sports field. The feedback from the race was extremely positive and we will be considering whether to make this a regular event on the Norfolk Race calendar
I was once again lured into Cambridgeshire with the promise of a fast flat PB potential course and this time the weather was reasonably kind. This is a very friendly race with a 300 limit, which was sold out well in advance. After a very moving 2 minutes silence for Armistice day we got under way into typical open Fenland countryside. It was flat and fast, with just the last 800m snaking though a housing estate, then seemingly out of nowhere was the finish line. My time was 40:01, a PB and age group win and my first platinum standard. Very happy but can’t help thinking about the 2 seconds I needed for a sub 40.
Relay team time overall 59th Relay team time category (female open) 3rd
Individual result for Amy Fulcher: First 5K in Jaguar colours. Time: 23:03 Pos: 199 Club standards: Silver
The was my first 5k race in club colours and as part of a relay team. I was struggling with a sore hamstring on the day but had great support from my fellow team members. The run itself went better than expected I did my normal and started off too quick but managed to complete the run with a personal 5K PB, although I felt quite sick at the end, I was delighted to pass the ‘imaginary’ baton’ over to Sarah. Really enjoyable event and thought as a team we did extremely well.
Individual result for Sarah Circuit: First 5K in Jaguar colours Time: 24:24 (silver club standard)
This is my first ever 5km race in club colours, albeit in a borrowed vest! I was a little nervous to say the least, but in my mind, I preferred the thought of running for 5km than my previous week’s run which was my first half marathon. I nervously waited and watched Amy come round the corner of the first leg of the race, and she gave us lively birds a great start. I sprinted off, but heard the wise words of Rosemary telling me not to go off too quickly. I tried not to, but when surrounded by people sprinting past you, it’s hard not to get a little bit carried away. There was a great atmosphere at the showground, and the support and wise words of advice from the Jags was very much appreciated. I thoroughly enjoyed the race and being part of a team event. I ran a PB so I was very pleased, but I felt more physically tired after that event than running 13.1 miles. I can’t quite understand this running lark!
Individual Result – Emma Jordan: Time 25:40
Watching
nervously, I saw Sarah coming round for the 3rd time. I’d deliberately chosen
to go 3rd as I was the weakest link in the team & my theory was that if Amy
& Sarah could give me a good head start I could at least hold on until I
passed on to the always consistently good Sonja white . It certainly wasn’t my
best 5k time but the quickest I had run for a while. Coming into the last bend,
i gave one last push & was very relieved to finish & pass onto Sonja
for the 4th & final leg . That familiar feeling of euphoria & feeling a
bit sick was a reminder of how great it is to be back racing again & with
such fantastic people . Well done lively Birds !!
Individual result – Sonja White Time 23:41
So going last, no pressure at all!! Having watched Amy and Sarah coming in in great times and Mrs J holding her own out on the course all I had to do was time my pre run toilet trips x 10 to perfection and get in the holding bay, ready and poised which I did but then got talking. Hearing “Coltishall Jaguars” on the tannoy sent me into panic as I turned and saw Mrs J coming in. I was off and trying to calm the adrenaline so I didn’t do my usual of going off too fast. It was great being back out running in orange feeling all the support from fellow Jags and other friends from different clubs. Half a mile to go I was overtaken by a young female Gazelle and the old competitiveness in me decided to say hi! Knowing she might be in our category I kept her in my sights hoping I’ll have something left in the tank at the finish and thankfully I did taking back my place (whilst going up a hill😄) and maintaining it until the end. The encouragement from fellow Jags was second to none as always and the feeling of running as a team again has really upped my running mojo and I can honestly say, I loved it!! Thank you Jaguars it was brilliant being back with you all and catching up with everyone and Rod, I forgive you for overtaking me and leaving me eating dust!😁
Pick N Mix – Cameron Mclean
Jason
had originally called us ‘Little Mix’ (his favourite music artists), but
myself, Doug Barber, Stephen Neal and Dave Simpson had to take charge if we
were to be taken seriously…Although the Showground was slightly chilly in the
morning, Steve went first and smashed out a fantastic time of 22:18, which set
Doug Barber up well to continue a great pace on the second leg where Doug
pulled off 24:20. Myself took over from Doug where I had no idea whether I was
doing rubbish or not, and so with the pressure of setting Jason a proper PB I
finished at 22:22 (Bronze Standard…sorry Jason), and the fourth leg was
smashed by Dave who achieved an amazing time of 29:29!!! Great teamwork and
support from everyone with the Jags at the Showground, and we look forward to
smashing it again. Well done lads!
3 Girls And A Guy – Emma Penfold Not the most creative name I’ll admit. I wanted us to be called Jumping Jags Flash, which would have been way more appropriate. Not just because we ended up being 2 Girls and A Guy – so a bit of a trade description issue going on. But basically because we were on Gas Gas Gas with a morning of PBs! Even more impressive when you realised our Captain, Dee had to race twice due to be a team mate down. Team relays are fun for sure, despite what my face said in all the photos. But the best bit was just the joy of being out with the orange army once again! Team Results: Tim Evans 26:25, Dee Neal 26:48, Emma Penfold 27:22, Dee Neal 27:04 Total Time: 01:47:39
The Incredibles – Rod Bye Team members Rod Bye, Jackie Bye, Ken Bowman and Rosemary Jackson competed in the Championship relay and the race was being decided on age graded performances, we thought we just might be in with a chance of winning. We weren’t the only ones who had picked a strong age graded team the competition was out in force. The course was very deceptively slow and all our performances reflected it ( no complaints same for everyone) anyway we did manage to win the Mixed super vets category but the overall win eluded us finishing in 6th place out of 99 teams. Great and enjoyable team event and will be returning next year for sure
This was the third running of the Blickling
Half Marathon and the first time that the organisers had been able to operate a
mass start. Having run the previous two events in waves it was definitely good
to get back to proper racing, all starting at the same time and knowing your
position in the race. The race was very well organised, starting on Aylsham
recreation ground and passing through the local villages such as Calthorpe,
Wolterton and Itteringham before passing round the edge of the Blickling estate
and back into Aylsham with the finish line in Aylsham Market Place. The course
is very undulating and for most of the route you tend to be running either up a
hill or downhill. Especially tough is the last section as you reach the 13 mile
mark and have one last big uphill to climb back into the finish at the market
place – not what you want to see in the final stages of the race! The course
was well marshalled throughout and there was good support at certain points on
the route. The cloudy weather with cool temperatures was good for running
although there was a strong breeze to run into on parts of the course.
Overall it was a very enjoyable experience. This race is run twice each year with both a Spring and Autumn version and hopefully is here to stay on the road race calendar. Sixteen Jags took part, with PBs for Andrew Wicks, Theresa Dean and Angela Pleasants and seven of our runners: Andy Foreman, Barry Halkyard, Amy Fulcher, Blake Payne, Sarah Circuit, Josh Brighty and Emily Beavis all completing their first half marathons for Jags.