Equinox 24

On Saturday 21^st September 2019 thirty-nine members represented Grantham Running Club at the annual Equinox 24 Hour Race held in the picturesque grounds of Belvoir Castle. The multi-terrain 10K course around the grounds of the castle rewards runners with the spectacular views of the surrounding countryside, particularly after runners have made their way up ‘Not that hill’ and the infamous ‘That hill’ where many runners choose to walk up the hill due to the severity of the climb which has a Strava segment simply known as “The Beast!”

With thousands of runners lined up on the start line for the mass start at midday, the sun was beaming down and temperatures were rising rapidly towards the mid-twenties Celsius, making the technically challenging course even more demanding as runners faced the task of keep properly hydrated for the next 24 hours.

A club record fifteen GRC members elected to run the event as a solo competitor. The star performer was Holly Durham who had planned to try and complete 10 laps (100KM) by 1 am. A determined Holly managed to stay on target and found herself third in the solo female category after 10 laps.

Holly elected to not take a break to sleep to maximise her chances of securing a place on the podium. This paid off when at around 3 am Holly moved up into second position. By 6 am she had pulled out a sixteen minute lead on the on the third placed competitor, but on lap 15 Holly had to be assessed by medics as tiredness and exhaustion began to take its toll. Thankfully Holly was declared fit to continue and bravely did so to complete lap 15.

Holly now set about chasing her dream target of exceeding her own personal record of 16 laps that she ran in 2017. Holly completed lap 16 and in so doing covered 160 km but unfortunately just failed to make the cut off time required to be able to complete another lap. Although she had to settle for an equalling of her best, her time to complete the 16 laps was a good fifty minutes better than in 2017.  This was enough to secure an excellent second overall in the Female Solo category and she presented with a trophy, various mementos and a much-coveted silver pin which is only awarded to competitors who complete 15 laps.

The other solo competitors for Grantham Running Club were:

Edina Burns (4 laps); Martin Carter (10 laps - earning a bronze pin); Nicola Cottam (10 laps earning a bronze pin); Claire Fritz (3 laps);  Vicky Geeson (4 laps); Julie Gilbert (10 laps); Kathleen Gray (7 laps); Sylv Hull (6 laps); Kate Marshall (7 laps); Amanda Mumby (4 laps); Lizzie Potter (9 laps); Ros Sadler (9 laps); Yvette Taylor (7 laps); and Marc Tremain (8 laps).

While some serious training miles had been put in prior to the race some of the runners chose to run some laps in fancy dress. The attire included nuns and vicars, the wearing of inflatable unicorn balloons made by the club’s unofficial entertainer Myles, and last but not least the GRC Car that was forced to retire after 4KM due to ‘handling problems!’

Competing in Mixed Small Team category, Lucinda Gamble-Cresswell, Sarah High, Caroline Davis, CJ Walker and Ady Walker were Team Nathan’s Runners and Walkers, who ran in memory of the late Nathan Walker. The team ran consistent times throughout and were happy to hit their target of 21 laps (210KM).

Team Grantham Running Club were a Mixed Large Team of eight represented by Gordon Geach, Vicky Willian, Rachel Pattison, Jason Walker, Kev Kettle, Russell Maksymiw, Sam Dodwell and Nick Payne. The team ran well to complete 23 laps (230KM) with five of the team members recording lap times of 52 mins or below.

In the supporting daytime 10K race Penny Hodges, with 51:40, found herself on the podium with a second place finish. She was followed by Tracy Webb (71:46); Angela Carr (73:54); and Henrietta McCabe (77:15).

Penny Hodges was back in action for the night-time 10K finishing in 52:53. She was followed by Claire Martin (64:51); Angela Carr (88:49); and Henrietta McCabe (1:31:52).

Four other GRC members ran in non-GRC entered teams. Dona Hall and Richard Hall were in a team of five called ‘My Running Family’ completing 17 laps (170KM). Paula Pick-Ebbins ran in a team of three called ‘Yummy Mummy’ completing 15 laps (150KM) and Richard Ruston-Litchfield ran in a team of eight called the Crazy Cake Joggers, who collectively completed 21 laps (210KM).