Round Norfolk Relay 2021: Race Report

Prologue

As previous runners will know, there’s nothing in the annual running calendar quite like the Round Norfolk Relay… On one level, it’s all pretty simple really: start in King’s Lynn on a Saturday morning, roughly follow the Norfolk county boundary in a clockwise direction, pass a baton between 17 team members on stages of varying length and terrain, and keep going until you hit King’s Lynn again nearly 24 hours later. But that belies a logistical minefield, with enough traps to catch out even the most well-prepared team: uncertain change-over times, bike support needed for most (but not all) of the stages, vehicle escort needed between dusk and dawn, and 17 runners and one support member to be fed, watered and somehow carried around the course and dropped in the right place at the right time. Oh and everyone has to run pretty fast too.

How did we get on? Here, in the words of the runners themselves, is how each of the stages unfolded...

Stage 1: King’s Lynn to Hunstanton, 16.3 miles

10:00am

Ewan Fryatt

It was an honour to kick the team off. Bizarrely this year we were the only team to start between 9am and 11am, so we knew it would be a while before we saw other teams. As it happened the team just in front took almost an hour longer than us on Stage 1, something which I’m convinced if I’d known at the time would have enabled me to find an extra minute or two. 

I got motivated to run hard by the fact that it was theoretically possible for me to win the stage based on the predicted times by the other teams. On the other hand, a 16.5 mile run was at least 2 miles longer than anything I’d run since March 2020, and it contained over 8 miles off road without an accompanying cyclist with me having to rely on race directions along the lines of “after a small tree, veer slightly right at a medium fence post when you see some longer grass. Do NOT veer at the smaller darker post just after the big tree”. This all made me a little nervous about making it to the finish at all. The directions do mostly make sense when you see the objects in person, although I’d recommend recce’ing these early stages if possible (which to be fair, is also the advice of the organisers!).

The first 8 miles on the road and cycle paths went well. Tom Irving, on the bike, and I chatted about the lovely countryside and the acceptable running pace. There was far more support from the Eagles vans than I’d imagined, which kept me going nicely. 

At 8 miles done, it was time to go it alone as I entered the Sandringham estate which is opened up to runners only for the occasion. It was all going fine for a while and I successfully veered right after a fence post, and could see the sea ahead so I felt reassured that I was vaguely on the right route at least. 

Then I hit shingle. It immediately sapped my legs of energy and my pace slowed by at least 30 seconds per mile. 

Then I hit sand. My pace slowed again. Then I had to stop to check directions as I couldn’t believe the deep sand track was the way to go. It was. I struggled through and knew it would be a tough last 5-6 miles, although the occasional Eagles cheer squad gave me a much needed boost. 

With about 2 miles to go I should have picked up the concrete sea path again, but accidentally took the parallel track about 50 meters east of that, which was slightly longer and a much worse surface to run on. To finally rejoin the correct path, it also required me to make a dash through a funfair, which may have scared some poor kids. 

I made it to the end pretty much on target time, although I’d hoped to go about 3 minutes faster. It hurt. Having recently competed in a 4 x 400m relay for the club, I was at least confident of being able to hand over the baton to Greg efficiently. The perfectly planned schedule then only allowed me to lie on the floor in pain for 30 seconds before we were off to cheer on Greg further up on Stage 2. Stage 1 was a beautiful run, but far tougher than I imagined. 

Time: 1:47:19

Stage result: 5th

Stage 2: Hunstanton to Burnham Overy, 13.8 miles

11:47am

Greg Fernandes-Lawes

The clock struck midday(ish), and Ewan was spotted on the horizon. I took over the baton and started quickly down the hill. The quick start didn’t last long, I had definitely underestimated the amount of sand in the first couple of miles, it was draining. Luckily, so had the Stragglers runner, and I was able to get an early overtake. Extremely rare in the early stages, I must add.

After the short road section, it was back to the trails, and about 10K in, my lack of endurance was already showing (did I mention there was lots of sand?), shortly after I misjudged the edge of the boardwalk and took a tumble, the map and baton falling in some stinging nettles. Great…Well, it could not get any worse I thought, nope, another stumble a mile later on a root, on the way down spectacularly managing to hit myself in the chin with the baton.   

After 10 miles, the inevitable blow up began, but not before my second overtake of the day!!!  Completely unheard of so early on, and after much deliberation, the fact he had collapsed and was receiving medical treatment was deemed irrelevant…mainly by me. [Editor’s note: we’re pleased to say the runner in question survived to tell the tale.]

After what seemed like a few years, I finally had my eyes set on the windmill, which meant I was nearly home. Hearing the roar of the Eagles, managed to pull out something of a sprint finish and handed over to Olivia on the beach.

Time: 1:42:35

Stage result: 12th

Eagles in 4th place overall

Stage 3: Burnham Overy to Wells-next-the-sea, 5.8 miles

1:29pm

Olivia Parker-Scott

The lead up to Norfolk wasn’t smooth sailing (much like Tom’s boating skills on the Friday afternoon) and a series of unfortunate events saw me drop out before being promptly subbed back into the team with two days to go.

The challenge was now to get across 6 miles of mixed terrain trails along the Norfolk coastline which included energy zapping sand dunes with no preparation on an injured foot. I promised to get the job done and get the baton from A to B and that I did. 

It really is a beautiful stage but this year the best part was finishing early so I could sit back and enjoy the rest of the team’s spectacular performances. Stage 3, I’m coming back for you another time.

Time: 57:32

Stage result: 43rd (22nd Lady)

Eagles in 9th place overall

Stage 4: Wells-next-the-sea to Cley, 11.1 miles

2.27pm

Matt Powell

I had the pleasure of tackling Stage 4 for my first outing at the Round Norfolk Relay. I’d taken part in a couple of relays before but only with friends in a small group of six and as a pair. Those events required each to run more than once but with very little sleep so I felt like I knew what I’d gotten myself in for. Or did I…?

Onto my stage: I was pleased to get one of the first stages as it meant it was out of the way. It turned out to be a very warm weekend and the heat was at full pelt by the time I received the baton. The first mile was a straight line down a concrete broadway and that’s about as easy as it got. The rest of the route was quite a challenging off road path along the coast and by about half way my energy was zapped. I enjoyed the challenge but boy were the final 3 miles tough.

Once I saw the finish in the distance I was so relieved, so much so that I mistakenly took a wrong turn and somehow ended up in a beer garden near the lighthouse in Cley. By the time I reached the handover point to Sam I was cooked, quite literally, and the small taster of the pebbled changeover on the beach meant I didn’t envy him one bit! I did appreciate the roar of the team and it was an epic experience.

Time: 1:22:58

Stage result: 13th

Eagles in 9th place overall

Stage 5: Cley to Cromer, 10.8 miles

3:50pm

Sam Royle

I didn’t volunteer for Stage 5, nobody in their right mind would volunteer for Stage 5. I don’t know what I could have possibly done to Kieran for him to have punished me with Stage 5.

It starts on the shingle beach. As soon as Matt handed me the baton I sprinted down to the waterline as there was still a metre of hardpacked sand left as the tide came in that I HAD to make the most of.

After about a mile of this, the tide was fully in, I now had the choice of either fighting back up onto the loose shingle or running in the sea. I chose the latter. The next 3 miles or so had the tide coming in ankle-deep and dragging the floor away, sideways, underneath my feet. After that the sea got too deep to continue; so it was full, energy sapping, loose-packed, ankle-rolling shingle for another few hundred meters before some boggy trail provided ‘respite’.

By the time I reached the support point around 8K I was already done after readlining the whole beach section just to keep forward momentum. Cheers and some much-needed water spurred me into the second half and up and over the rolling clifftop trails through to Sheringham. 

By this point it had become highly apparent that the caffeine tablets I’d taken beforehand were a bad idea, and I nearly vacated both ends going over the Beaston Bump. Giving it everything, whilst desperately trying not to sh*t myself, on the long uphill into Cromer my pained noises were clearly upsetting the tourists who were just trying to have a nice day at the seaside. I was in no state to care. Handing the baton over to Simon I immediately collapsed in a coughing, dry heaving mess. I managed 4th place but I’m not sure I’ve ever had a race take so much out of me. Do not recommend.

Time: 1:20:09

Stage result: 4th

Eagles in 8th place overall

Stage 6: Cromer to Mundesley, 7.9 miles

5:10pm

Simon James

This was my second RNR, and this year I’d manage to bag the privilege of one of the shorter stages, on account of selling Kieran a sob-story about my delicate and ageing legs not being able to cope with anything longer a mere 15 days before the London Marathon. I’d have the benefit of daylight throughout, a support cyclist for most (but not all) of the way, and some relatively simple directions to follow. Whether I could keep up the sort of pace I had in mind was a different matter.

After a nervous couple of laps of the cliff top car park in Cromer by way of a warm-up, I had a few minutes to wait before Sam emerged up the hill. With baton in hand I set off at a crazy pace, knowing that there were some difficult “undulations” ahead where I wouldn’t be able to keep up such a good pace. After only a few hundred metres I had to zig-zag down a path that took me from cliff top to promenade, leading to a fantastic wide stretch of tarmac where I could safely navigate the remaining seaside day-trippers. What goes down of course must go up, and after 1K on the flat I had to zig-zag back up again to the previous level, at the top already thinking that I’d overcooked things and I couldn’t get any more exhausted - with still over six and a half miles to go - and I was wrong.

The directions then took me away from the cliff edge and through a park, where I had the unenviable task of looking for a path “which may be overgrown” (yeah cheers). In the end it wasn’t too difficult to find because the main feature of the route now was up, up, and up again, a height gain of 22 metres in barely 50 yards. Reader, I walked the last bit.

Lungs bursting, I rounded the lighthouse at the top and silently hoped I wouldn’t get brained by a golf ball as I ran through the Royal Cromer Golf Club. Help was at hand as I emerged through the car park onto the main road and saw the support van and also Charlotte waiting to guide me along the road to the finish.

I was completely spent now, and yet there was a “mere” six miles left to go along the main road, which was mercifully quiet, but unmercifully hilly. Charlotte seemed to take great comfort in lying to me repeatedly, saying on various occasions “I think this is probably the last climb”. To be fair, she was right the last time she said it.

There was a sense of déjà vu as I approached the finish line, the sun setting low behind me in the west, when I spotted Jenny standing where I was waiting exactly two years ago, about to embark on Stage 7. On went the baton, and I was bundled into the back of a waiting van.

Time: 53:34

Stage result: 5th

Eagles in 6th place overall

Stage 7: Mundesley to Lessingham, 9.2 miles

6:04pm

Jenny Baker

Stage 7 is a nice simple one – just over 9 miles from Mundesley to Lessingham and slightly downhill overall. I had stayed in Norfolk for a week over the summer and so had the opportunity to do a recce of the route. It’s all on roads, and with only two left turns to remember, the navigation is very straightforward. It’s also fairly scenic (apart from the gas terminal at Bacton) with picturesque villages, a windmill, a lighthouse, sea views and fields.

I set off just after 6:00 after Simon came charging down the hill with the baton, as the light was beginning to fade. A couple of other teams had been waiting at the changeover and started just before me, and although I saw them in the distance once or twice, they stayed out of reach. Dom accompanied me on the bike and was wonderfully encouraging. I started faster than I intended but his advice was to stick with the pace, which I managed to do. It was a magical run - the sun was setting on my right and the moon rose ahead of me through the clouds. Coming into Lessingham, there were suddenly cheers and shouts from waiting Eagles, and Kieran with outstretched hand ready for the baton.

Time: 1:16:32

Stage result: 32nd (14th Lady)

Eagles in 9th place overall

Stage 8: Lessingham to Horsey, 7.5 miles

7:20pm

Kieran Santry


Stage 8 is a lovely flat stage that was exactly what I wanted, a beautiful night running into a near full moon with lots of abuse / encouragement from Greg my support cyclist. As I was gearing up for a sprint finish to empty the tank Tom Green appeared out of the darkness and I was lucky I didn’t bowl him over. 

Time: 52:05

Stage result: 9th

Eagles in 9th place overall

Stage 9: Horsey to Belton, 16.6 miles

8:12pm

Tom Green

After a last minute shuffle of the lineup as a result of our star runner Laurence dropping out due to injury, I was moved onto Stage 9 - the same stage I’d run at the last Round Norfolk Relay. Passing through Great Yarmouth and its suburbs, it’s probably the least scenic stage, but it’s exciting as the first proper night stage. The route also has some family significance for me, as it starts at the beautiful Horsey Mill where my grandfather was a trustee, and runs right past the timber yard owned by my uncle.

I was slightly nervous about the 16.7 mile distance, as I haven’t run that far since a marathon in April, and generally I’d had a bad summer of training. On top of that, the target time for the stage was set for Laurence, a much faster runner than me, so it seemed unlikely that I would be able to match that time - it would be a case of damage limitation.

In the end I had a much better run than expected. I went out fairly quick and only faded a bit in the last couple of miles. Although I was about three minutes down on my time from 2019, I was 30 seconds ahead of the target time, which I was very happy with all things considered. I definitely would have been slower without the excellent support from Matt on the bike, and the occasional bursts of “Come On Tom Green” from the follow van.

Although I did pass one other runner, the most notable thing that happened on the stage was at the changeover. I came charging in to hand over the baton to Tom E, but somehow we managed to drop the baton in the exchange. I suspect I was carrying too much momentum and too focused on my sprint to make sure that Tom had it securely. But let’s see what Tom says… [Editor’s note: the “baton drop” incident was surprisingly absent from Tom E’s submitted race report]

Time: 1:43:26

Stage result: 4th

Eagles in 9th place overall


Stage 10: Belton to Earsham, 18.1 miles

9:56pm

Tom Easten

I did stage 10 again, an 18-miler in the middle of the night, having made a bit of a mess of it in 2019. Unfinished business. It's a very simple route; nice straight roads, impossible to go wrong, so you can just get into the right gear and engage autopilot for just under two hours. That depends, of course, on getting your pacing right. I swore blind before the start that I'd run the first 10K or so at 6:30 mile pace and NO FASTER. Of course it then turned out to be 6:15, 6:11, 6:06, etc. As usual, therefore, I blew up in the final stages and was lucky to trudge in slightly under target time. The stage was lonely - no other runners in front or behind but Sam was a great support cyclist, constantly updating me on timings and encouragement. Naturally, after I told him how much I hate "just a parkrun to go!" near the end of races, he made sure to shout "just two parkruns to go!" after I'd just gone up a massive hill with over 6 miles left. Thanks for that, Sam. At that point, little did I know I still had the delights of Paul and Santry blasting out the Ride of the Valkyries at me at full volume. An eventful night. It is a crazy weekend but the highlight of the running year. Wouldn't miss it and looking forward to the next one already. 

Time: 1:54:40

Stage result: 8th

Eagles in 7th place overall

Stage 11: Earsham to Scole, 12.5 miles [edited to here]

11:51pm

Jon Duncanson

Having raced Stages 2 & 4 I knew Stage 11 was going to present a different set of problems. I was trading a lonely but beautiful coastal time trial for a midnight 20K dash into the darkness, which I could only hope would be illuminated by some flashing beacons. Out were the stresses of navigation and in were the stresses of preparing to race in the middle of the night, my solution to which was to eat all day, make fish and chips in Cromer an absolute priority and to hope for the best!

As I lined up at the changeover it was clear there were going to be runners around me, I just had to keep those behind there and chase down as many teams as possible. I set off with Jenny as an assuring bicycle companion and was quickly buoyed by the sight of flashing lights. This had me recalling crazed shouts of “BEACONS” from the team's Irish leadership and a realisation that I was in a privileged position to take places which was only possible after the hard work of our ten preceding runners: I had to make it count.

Seven overtakes followed before we got to Scole, which was awesome - there is nothing like the chance of passing a team to spur you on or to put it more accurately: to help you to cling onto the pace!

Time: 1:20:01

Stage result: 5th

Eagles in 7th place overall

Stage 12: Scole to Thetford, 19.7 miles

1:11am

Yvette Burton

I had my pre-race snack of a bar of chocolate, a can of Red Bull and two pro plus tablets. It was 1.11am and I was ready to run. After 18 hours of getting in and out of minibuses I was literally like a caged animal.

Anyone that knows me well, knows that I’m absolutely useless with courses, maps and directions. I was informed that my just shy of 20 miles stage was very straightforward and even I couldn’t go wrong. Challenge accepted…

I had Greg as my cyclist and within the first five minutes of running I had gone wrong. I went straight on when I should have turned right; Sam & Easten beeped us and shouted at Greg and I, great start and all that.

I was told by Kieran that the course was pancake flat, he lied. It had the same elevation as the Ealing Half Marathon and when I reached 13.1 miles I had in fact matched my EHM course time so I was slightly concerned for the remaining 7 miles. But I didn’t have to worry. There were so many flashing beacons in front of me that spurred me on. I overtook five runners and four faster runners overtook me.

With less than half a mile to go I got beeped at again for supposedly going the wrong way. I turned around and ran back but saw another runner running where I had been. Therefore I just added an additional 400m for no reason. Easten after the stage told me he just wanted me to end the race as I had started it, by going wrong

I finished my stage in 2 hours 30 mins so 4 minutes quicker than the time I had been allocated. Then at 4:34am (59 minutes after my stage) I did a 5K recovery run with Easten. I was wearing crocs, socks, cotton trousers and a cotton t-shirt and no underwear Why why why...

Time: 2:30:06

Stage result: 24th (3rd Lady)

Eagles in 8th place overall

Stage 13: Thetford to Feltwell, 13.3 miles

3:41am

Jose Manuel Pabon

[This stage report is guest written by support cyclist Simon]

Whilst Yvette was enjoying her 20-miler, the crew for Stage 13 were attempting to get some sleep whilst parked in the forecourt of a closed service station on the outskirts of Thetford. About 20 minutes ahead of schedule, we got word - wrongly, it turned out! - that Yvette was a couple of minutes away, and we panickingly tumbled out of the van and towards the start line. I somehow found a bike, Jose somehow found a hi-viz (but not before having to run back to the van to get one), and after ten minutes or so Yvette came round the corner and we were off.

The stage was relatively simple in that it stuck to the main roads, but there were several turnings involved, and you had to have your wits about you. Thankfully, despite being drafted in to the team with literally 48 hours’ notice, Jose had done his homework and plotted directions meticulously: in scenes reminiscent of a school exam hall in the 1980s, Jose had scrawled a series of prompts and reminders on the inside of his left arm in blue biro. This was an excellent idea, with the only slight hitch being that at 4:00 in the morning, it was of course pitch black. The regular rhythm of Jose raising his left forearm and tilting it so that it was lit by the van headlights behind became a comforting sight throughout the leg, and made my job as co-navigator an easy one.

We were deep into the race now and there were scalps to be taken. Jose was metronomic, and reeled in his first runner after a few miles, then another, and another. In total, Jose took out seven runners during the stage (and got overtaken once, but there’s always that one guy running your stage isn’t there). This was a dream debut from someone who until a couple of days ago was expecting to spend a relaxing weekend at home rather than, say, running through a forest in Norfolk before dawn on a Sunday. Thank you Jose, it was a pleasure to watch.

Time: 1:33:51

Stage result: 12th

Eagles in 8th place overall

Stage 14: Feltwell to Wissington, 7.3 miles

5:14am

Tom Irving

"We don't cry for these nights to arise, we tell like hell to the heavens"

Most of us will never win races, so how do we define success? A PB, a good finish position, being somewhere beautiful?

This was different. Just being at the entrance of RAF Feltwell, at 5am, wearing pink shorts, amongst friends was a triumph. Over the last 20 months I've become accustomed to being awake in the small hours. But gone were the usual terror, self doubt and pain. There was simply the joy of having already won. 

In retrospect I probably should have been thinking about the route a bit more, instead of feeling smug and following the person in front when they went the wrong way. Bugger.

Time: 51:10

Stage result: 15th

Eagles in 8th place overall

Stage 15: Wissington to Downham Market, 10.6 miles

6:06am

Jay Kaye

It was still dark when Tom handed the baton to me, and I could see a couple of beacons flashing in the distance, which I set about hunting down. After a couple of miles I had overtaken two teams, but one had breezed past me.

As the sun rose behind me on the (in)glorious setting of the A10 I could see a couple of teams ahead, but they didn’t seem to be getting any closer - despite Liv’s best attempts to encourage me we were closing.

With about 3 miles to go our support vehicle drove on ahead, with a friendly message of “you better catch those people in front before the end of the stage!” Suddenly the teams in front seemed closer, and with my legs moaning at me I pushed hard for the finishing line, managing to overtake them both in the last mile before handing over to Charlotte.

Special thanks to Liv for being a great support rider / navigator / domestique / cheerleader throughout.

A quick well done from the team, and back in the van to make sure we were in place for the final changeover to Dom. No rest for the wicked in Norfolk.

Time: 1:17:42

Stage result: 21st

Eagles in 10th place overall

Stage 16: Downham Market to Stowbridge, 5.5 miles

7:23am

Charlotte Wade

The penultimate stage started at 7.23am, after approximately 20 minutes of sleep. I spent the last 10 minutes pre-race wondering whether I would get all my poos out at such an ungodly hour, and sizing up my competitors. 

The stage was just over 5 miles of flat, eerily quiet roads, in which I ran my fastest ever 5 miles, over taking two teams, and holding off any challengers.  

After a final sprint over the bridge to a downhill finish and awaiting Eagles, I handed a rather sweaty (apologies) baton to Dom to bring us home, and immediately staggered to a bush to dry-heave on all fours.

Time: 41:34

Stage result: 15th (8th Lady)

Eagles in 10th place overall

Stage 17: Stowbridge to Kings Lynn, 11.7 miles

8:05am

Dom Duroux

Stage 17: A privilege but also a responsibility. Not having raced since September 2020 and bug-eyed from 24 hours of craziness on no sleep, I wasn't sure how my body would respond. Nevertheless after watching everyone else race I wanted to get my stage done. Final checks, slight panic about whether I might need water, and turn the watch off since I don't need a digital message saying "you are red lining and should be in hospital". 8.05am: Charlotte comes charging over the bridge, we effect a handover of sorts with me going back in the direction she came from for a brief distance, then onto a B road alongside the river Ouse, settling the cadence and balancing on the edge of the lactate precipice.

At just under 4 miles out of the 11.7 the route crosses the river again and I climb onto the river bank path, keeping a wary eye where the instructions state 'Beware of the bull'. Having expected to see lots of runners converge on the final stage I don't see too many. One I overtake, but lose to three at various points, including the very impressive John Moore who was 6th on stage at age 61.

As we pass through the sluice gate by the power station into the King's Lynn approach it's grim. Even the slight rise across a road is a world of pain. Stride length, cadence and power are way down and I'm cranking from the hips caveman style. Yesterday's homework on the route through King's Lynn pays off as I count down the streets, but wingman Sam has it covered anyway, and as we approach the final sign which says LynnSport I know it's just a case of turning myself inside out for a decent finish. In truth my exaggerated rocking down the track wasn't going to trouble Usain Bolt, but it felt amazing to cross the line. Scheduled time 1:20, actual time 1:19 - job done, the Eagles have landed.

Time: 1:19:35

Stage result: 14th

Eagles finish in 10th place overall

Epilogue

Tenth place represented a significant achievement, not least given the number of experienced RNR runners who weren’t able to make it this year, and with a couple of substitutions having to be made with less than two days to go. Not everything was perfect, but given some of the problems other teams experienced - runners collapsing with the heat on the Saturday, vans losing their beacons and risking time penalties, changeovers taking an extra five minutes because the runner for the next leg was literally nowhere to be seen when the previous leg finished - the issues we faced were small and fixable.

Everyone played their part, and running a stage was in some ways the easy bit. The driving, the navigating, the time keeping, the support cycling… all of these needed an extra effort, often on no sleep after 24 hours of frenetic activity. Try doing that whilst keeping your sense of humour and sharing a van with seven or eight sleepless team mates.

There are too many people to thank here individually, though maybe the one person who deserves a special shout is the only person in the team who didn’t run: Paul Thomas. Mastermind of the bus schedule, chief timekeeper, logistical fixer-upper, troubleshooter, coffee-getter, and cheerleader. Paul really made the team tick and we are hugely grateful to him.

As for the rest of the squad: there’s now less than 12 months to go to RNR 2022. Better dust off the ViewRanger app and start learning those directions now! Let’s do it all again next year...