Sportlink's Mark Thorpe was on timekeeping duties for the Norfolk Gazelles at the Round Norfolk Relay - here's his story...
I undertook timekeeping duties again this year for the full 24 hours of the Round Norfolk Relay (RNR).
Thankfully, clubmate Simon Ray-Jones, agreed to lend a hand for the duration.
The job seems simple enough… hand the runner their number at each leg, take their car key and get the time of the incoming runner on a stopwatch that runs for the duration of the relay (we keep a spare stopwatch running in the car in case of an emergency).
We then guide the runner over to their car before leaving for the next leg.
What could possibly go wrong?
The first potential disaster of the day was averted when Amberley rang me as I was about to leave Norwich to say I had left the bag with all the runners’ numbers on the dining table. A quick re-route home and we were off to King’s Lynn.
Runners start the Round Norfolk Relay
For those of you familiar with the RNR the first few legs are pretty easy on the support crew.
As one of the faster teams we had a later 11am start and there was a pleasant 20-minute drive to Hunstanton to await our runner.
We were able to put our feet up, drink a coffee at the Lighthouse Cafe and indulge in a bit of chitchat with other runners.
Our runner, Phil Whiting, came in seven minutes ahead of our projected time.
This set the tone for the rest of the day, frantically working out how much time the next runner had to get ready.
By the time we had moved into the night legs it was a case of telling people you need to be there an hour prior to what we had told them.
Thank goodness for the power of a WhatsApp group as we constantly updated.
Watching the sun go down at Mundesley and the start of the night legs is when when the RNR comes to life for me.
We navigated the roads from Mundesley round to Lessingham then Horsey Mill, overtaking vans with the flashing lights for quick changeovers.
Mark Thorpe on timekeeping duties at the Round Norfolk Relay
By this stage Simon was starting to realise that support crew were expected to be walking talking experts on every possible subject, as well as responsible for finding runners who tend to wander off a couple of minutes before their start times.
The long leg from Horsey to Belton brought some well needed rest time once we reached Belton via several road detours. It also was the first time I reflected on quite why I would want to be at the side of a road at 10.30pm on a Saturday.
Onwards we went to my favourite stop at Earsham that always seems to be in a parallel universe parked in a field with a tearoom and cake in the middle of nowhere. This was where I introduced Simon to some random YouTube clips from Apocolypse Now at midnight. The road trip conversation got more bizarre as the night progressed some of which is best left in a field at Scole.
It was at Scole we discovered that it was a case of negotiating the cow pats as well as hoping Kyle Brooks had seen our message to be there an hour early. Luckily he had and ran a storming leg to Thetford.
Meanwhile we dodged in and out of vans, cyclists and runners to arrive at what is the carnage of the Thetford changeover.
For those who don't know this is where the stagger starts to unwind. It's seriously like there has been some sort of major event and people have abandoned cars wherever. Just by chance we secured a decent spot and had time for a quick coffee from the makeshift tea hut.
Kyle Brooks at the Round Norfolk Relay
Feltwell or ‘Felt-hell’ as I like to call it is a logistical nightmare. Parking is worse than Thetford and it’s a very short leg to Whissington to follow. Throw in on the way we both thought we were having hallucinations as a man walked along the side of the road in a full suit and tie at 4am!
A quick switch over and we were on our way with Simon eating some pasta as he was running the penultimate leg.
Now recently I had to have a small denture for a couple of loose teeth (long story). Having decided to eat a Clif protein bar I removed the denture jumped out of the car only to realise that my denture was missing. So there we were at 5.30am looking for my denture using a phone torch.
Simon is telling me our runner will be there soon and I'm thinking I can't go home without it! Luckily Simon found it under the car… disaster averted.
Before we knew it the sun was rising coming into Downham Market and suddenly it felt like it had gone from a long night to being nearly over. Simon ran a storming leg to Stowbridge despite having not slept and Matt brought it home into Lynnsport.
I stopped the watch on 21:28:57. Despite saying never again I'm already looking forward to next year.
Congratulations to all the winners but it's about much more than that.
The RNR is about everyone who marshalled, ran, made a cup of tea or whatever.
It’s a great celebration of running in the county and beyond.