Team Captains - 2007 Round Norfolk Relay
Early April
I receive a phone call advising me that the RNR is nearly full and if Tri-anglia intends on entering a team this year, we had better do it quick. Ok I think, I’ll enter us and then some-one will sort it out – I did not realise at this point that that someone was me Anyway I hot-foot it round to Dave’s the Treasurer’s after sending round-robin e mails to the committee to say can I borrow the £340 entry fee from club funds and we’ll pay it back. Form filled in, cheque posted. Job done.
May
We have a team via the forum.
June
We still have a team
July
I keep getting mails from the organisers of the RNR telling me I should be organising things…… and it slowly dawns on me that I am our organiser. Well, how hard can it be 17 runners, cyclists, drivers, time-keepers, minibus……….
August
Panic, have to submit times. Ask Stewart to do this, as he is better at working times out than me. Miss deadline for ordering t-shirts hence we all had large (but hey I personally would not wear mine down the pub1…) and my team falls apart.
September 9th – Deadline for submission of times
Submit team, Darren Powell falls off his bike, dislocates his shoulder and its another re-shuffle. So far I have had 3 different stages, Rob Lines has had 3 and there are several close behind with 2. At this point we can change runners but not our estimated time.
Tuesday 11th
From this point onwards the team remains stable. It was the cycle support/minibus crew that fell apart –if you spoke to me the Wednesday/Thursday before the event, I think I might have said I will never EVER do this again………
Thursday 13th
Flashing light – a must in the rules, I had arranged to borrow one weeks ago, I collect it and it’s a bolt on one, don’t think Norfolk County Council would be very happy if I drilled holes in their minibus roof. At this point why did not anyone tell me I could buy one from Halfords for £15.99?
Friday 14th
Will Hall, wonderful person that he is, agrees to cycle support stages 1 – 5. that’s one of my problems solved.
Friday afternoon collect minibus, Darryl and I get in our car and it won’t start and we have 1 hour to collect bus…. Kraig gets a desperate visit from me and Darryl gets to fix the car/collect all the children from school. He managed both.
Kraig and I pull into yard and there are 3 minibus’, 2 nice little normal ones and 1 big monster, “Kraig if its that one, I ain’t driving it!” and I check my paperwork. It was that one. Kraig leaves me nervous about having to drive this monster back around the northern ring-road at 4 o’clock on a Friday afternoon (I think my Freelander is big). Actually it was not that bad, but I will own up to not liking driving it and if I drove behind you on a night stage, you are a very brave man!
Early Friday evening, collect Rob and give Rob the van keys – I ain’t driving. Collect Stewart and Will’s bike and arrive Lynn Sport to register. Registration is a bit like an interview – you are invited to shake hands with the organiser, sit down whilst they register the team and have an interview with the safety marshall.
Head out into Kings Lynn for food. We survived.
We are sleeping in the crèche at Lynn Sport, by the time we arrive back the lights are out and a few people are bedded down asleep, so it’s a fumble to find a space, pump my bed up (yes I did take a blow up bed, I need to be comfortable) and get into it. Surprisly I sleep well and awake at 5.15 to find the room full of bodies and a woman next to me blowing in my face (I taught her – I let my airbed down in her face) Rob and I stumble over bodies and meet Will outside but where’s Stewart? Mr Ingram oversleeps, we debate which sleeping bundle might be Stewart, but thankfully before I send Rob to peer into sleeping bags he appears.
The Race - Saturday 15th - Sunday 16th
View the stage reports for comments on Stage 1, Stage 2, my run on Stage 3, Stage 4, cycle support on Stage 6, Stage 10, cycle support on Stage 11, Stage 12 and Stage 13.
Lessons Learnt:
Take more clothes so I don’t have to wear Rob’s
Put a comfortable saddle on my bike
1* the books on triathlon never tell you that a benefit of competing is that you never have to buy a nightie again!
Team Captain / TA Organiser:
