2008 Great East Run
17th February 2008.
It was a very cold morning that greeted us on the day of the Great East Run. A small contingent of us had made arrangements to cycle the 20miles to Bungay for the race which enabled us to accurately comment on just how cold it was. The scenary on such a clear day was stunning, so well worth bearing the elements.
The race is a 20k jaunt around country lanes around the all Saints just south of Bungay. It's in the same area as the Waveney Valley Triathlon, but the route follows a complicated course that I've never previously been able to fathom. This year I paid particular attention to the course map and have plotted it in gmaps. With the exception of the first and last kilometres the route is fairly flat and fairly pleasant so long as there is no wind. Of course being held in February this race usually gets the worst of the weather and has a reputation for being a bit grim.
I ran in my Tri-Anglia gilet and leggings. In doing so I had a couple of other Tri-Anglia members introduce themselves to me, which I really enjoyed. They were Rory Beaths and Paul Yallop. I think this should be encouraged - perhaps even written into the club rules - if you see someone in club kit, go over and introduce yourself. Guess the reciprocal rule should be written in, that of when wearing the kit - be friendly to everyone who talks to you.
Okay, so how did the race go? Well, like Jonathan Tyrrell, Penny Edwards and Will Hall my plan was to treat it as a steady training run. Normally a steady training run is somewhere between 8:20 and 8:40 minutes per mile. But standing in line I couldn't work out what that equated to in kilometres - something over 5mins per km I figured. There was also a notion that if I'm ever to break 90 minutes for a half marathon then perhaps I ought to first break that barrier at 20km. Then there was the gun, a mass of people moving, competitive nature kicking in, along with excitement and a hill to attack. I ran with Penny and Peter Chapman for the first kilometre and saw it through in 4:30 - oh dear already nearly a minute ahead of 'steady' pace. Not liking the idea of slowing up and having lots of people overtake I just kept going at that pace. Please to report that I pretty much managed to maintain that pace for the rest of the race and earned a PB of 7 minutes for my efforts.
Bungay Black Dog Running Club should be congratulated for the organisation of the event. They had taken nearly 700 entries by the start of the race and 542 finished. Some I guess were pre-entries that didn't make it on the day. The winner was Guy Amos of CoNAC who flew round the course in 66 minutes. The only Tri-Anglia member to win a prize was Penny Edwards for being the fastest Lady in the 50-55 age group.
Upon completion the competitor receives his goodie bag a couple of bottles of beer from race sponsors Elgood's Brewery and a well earned hot soup is enjoyed. I didn't feel quite like drinking the beer there and then, though Mark Philo did on the grounds that it would lighten the load for the journey home. Not sure if it was the alcohol or something else, but the guys didn't seem very sympathetic towards my tired legs on the ride home.
Tri-Anglia Results
| Pos | # | Name | Cat | Club | Tim | PB |
| 36 | 528 | Nigel Hodge | Male Open | City of Norwich AC | 1:19:52 | |
| 46 | 77 | Mark Clues | M40 | Tri-Anglia | 1:22:21 | |
| 55 | 308 | Russell Clarke | M50 | Wymondham AC | 1:23:24 | |
| 89 | 541 | Penny Edwards | F50 | Norwich Road Runners | 1:27:36 | |
| 93 | 291 | Mark Philo | Male Open | Tri-Anglia | 1:27:55 | |
| 106 | 610 | David Hudson | Male Open | Tri-Anglia | 1:28:48 | |
| 111 | 250 | Rob Lines | Male Open | Tri-Anglia | 1:29:22 | yes |
| 115 | 24 | Paul Yallop | Male Open | Tri-Anglia | 1:29:45 | |
| 141 | 473 | Peter Chapman | M45 | Tri-Anglia | 1:31:13 | |
| 210 | 31 | Jonathan Tyrrell | Male Open | Tri-Anglia | 1:38:23 | |
| 233 | 572 | Rory Breath | Male Open | Tri-Anglia | 1:39:41 | |
| 252 | 659 | Will Hall | Male Open | Tri-Anglia | 1:41:02 | |
| 344 | 460 | Ross Campbell | M45 | Tri-Anglia | 1:48:20 | |
| 356 | 201 | Gaynor Egan | F40 | Tri-Anglia | 1:49:05 | |
| 398 | 422 | Neil Loadman | Male Open | Tri-Anglia | 1:53:26 | |
| 470 | 232 | Kate Quentin-Hicks | Female Open | City of Norwich AC | 2:01:04 | |
| 498 | 32 | Katy Walters | Female Open | City of Norwich AC | 2:06:15 |
If I've missed you out - then please email me (roblines@yahoo.com). Similarly, if you got a PB and it's not mentioned above please email me.
Article by Rob Lines
Page created: 19th February 2008. Last updated: 25th February 2008.
