ROUND NORFOLK RELAY – Saturday 19 September & Sunday 20 September 2015
When it was suggested that the Jaguars enter a ladies only team for the RNR there was an immediate enthusiastic response; the different legs were soon allocated by the RNR Committee. Training for this event has been at the back of our minds for quite a few months and last weekend, 19th and 20th September it all came to fruition. Despite a last minute drop out and consequent re-organisation of three of the legs (including a very willing Dee Neal as reserve) the team pulled together, showed their flexibility and commitment and were not perturbed in the slightest – except perhaps Jackie Bye, who had an extra 11 miles to tackle!
The weather was glorious (not too hot, and wind generally in a helpful direction), which lifted everyone’s mood – although all the runners were already massively excited by the opportunity to represent the club in this prestigious event! Ellie Bye was narrowly pipped to the post as first woman home on the first leg, and this set the tone for the rest of the race. Some of the legs were extremely challenging due to length or terrain, but the ladies rose to every challenge.
The finishing position of fourth out of five ladies teams was gratifying and some sums reveal that the 50 Shades of Orange had the oldest average ladies’ team age, by five years compared with the winners. We were only 14 minutes slower that our predicted time too which was achieved by some impressively quick legs on the weekend.
Massive thanks go to the Committee for efficiently organising everything and then giving up so much time (and sleep) to be time-keepers or drivers. The cyclists kept everyone’s spirits up by their encouragement and the men certainly gave their support, especially by driving, cycling, taking pictures and baking sustenance for the team!!
The comments and photos on Facebook say it all on behalf of the 17 runners: it was a real honour to have been picked to run, we know each other so much better by working as a team on the RNR and the whole weekend exemplifies the joy of running!
Rosemary Jackson.