Best make yourself a cup of tea and get comfy, this one’s a beast…
The weekend of the 21st of September saw Equinox24 return to the beautiful grounds of Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire. Runners complete a mixed terrain 10k loop as many times as they can over a 24-hour period, as part of a large or smaller team. There are also stand-alone day and nighttime 10k races available or for those feeling crazy, they can compete as a “Solo” to bank as many laps as they can alone.
𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁
The Friday night had a party atmosphere with entertainment from a live band as well as the Beer Run, which attracted lots of runners in fancy dress as well as the GRC contingent, with some turning heads in the race village. This involved putting away a drink as quickly as possible before runners headed around the camp site, just less than a mile in distance.
Needless to say, GRC achieved great things in this event and two of our female runners achieved podium places! Carlene Veasey won the event and Sylv Hull, dressed as a monkey, was ecstatic to come in third position. How bananas!
𝗞𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗢𝗳𝗳
The main event kicked off on the Saturday at noon in very sunny and warm conditions, with a mass start of both the daytime 10k and 24-hour race runners all setting off to loud cheers as they ran through the camp, before streaming out on to the main course.
The route winds its way up and around a large, rutted field which has claimed many an ankle before a slight respite on tarmac before a long drag uphill, taking runners to the very top of Woolsthorpe village. They then met a very steep, knee-destroying descent, only to then be faced with ‘That Hill’, the notorious climb where runner’s legs are on fire as they take the summit whilst questioning life choices.
Once runners reach the top, they had the chance to gallop as fast as they dare over the uneven ground to get back to the finish line which involved nearly a full lap of the camp where they were treated to deafening cheers from the GRC encampment and polite words of encouragement in the shape of “Don’t Be Sh*t!”
Grantham Running Club had a great turnout this year with over 48 members taking part overall and next year is looking to be even bigger!
𝗚𝗥𝗖 𝗔-𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺
This year GRC decided to send in a crack team to see just how well we could do at a great local event. The imaginatively named A-Team (must try harder next year) comprised a mix of 8 experienced multi lap eventers and first timers.
The first few laps were completed in an unseasonably warm (and slightly unwelcome) 23° but soon the weather flipped its lid, and the majority were run in torrential rain over treacherous ground conditions.
During the night, the team defied the elements and coped well with the lack of sleep, grim conditions and tricky, hilly course.
Russel Whittaker, Joe Clarke and team captain Samuel Jepson performed strongly, notching up 4 laps each with an average time of sub 44 minutes, even on their night laps.
Nicola Ruston-Litchfield, Peter Jennings and Matthew Atter produced solid performances with consistently strongly paced laps throughout.
Riley Maksymiw performed strongly in his first team endurance event, with 4 laps. Jake Richardson vowed to return after 2 incredibly rapid laps left him with a slight niggle.
The event was summed up as ‘Brutal’ but resulted in 8 very wet and tired team members and one very proud captain.
The GRC A-Team managed an incredible 31 laps, equating to 192 miles between then and the elevation of 15,000ft was equivalent to scaling Ben Nevis 5 times. Their average lap time was 50 minutes. This bagged them a place on the podium and put them in an overall position of 3rd in the Large Teams category.
𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮
Race Ventura were another large team fielded by GRC, made up of mostly first timers who had either not seen the course before or ran the 10k events previously and wanted to see what the 24hour ‘thing’ was all about.
First out was Emma Duncan. As a first timer to the event Emma was pleased with her times even after running a very wet and thundery 3rd lap at 2am on Sunday morning and was still smiling finishing her 4th lap.
Next out was Cameron Hoggan. Well versed in longer distances, this was his first time participating in a ‘relay’ event. Cameron ran his first lap in 23° heat, and remaining three in the rain (poor guy., He’d never run in rain quite like it during his night lap but managed to get a quicker time in his 4th lap than his first.
Another first timer was Amy Jennison who followed Cameron out aiming to do as many laps as possible, having just got over Covid the week before. Amy was slower than she had hoped but wasn’t going to be beaten and achieved a fantastic 4 laps (including the final lap for the team). Amy already can’t wait for next year’s event to see how many more laps she can complete.
Out next was Kev Wallace. Having raced the night time 10k the year before and seen all the fun everyone was having camping over, Kev’s FOMO lead him to sign up to the full 24 hour event this year. Kev ran 3 great circuits but picked up a niggle during the night lap. He persevered to get through a very foggy 3rd lap.
Team Captain Vicki Ball was the veteran of the group and was pleased to complete 2 of her 3 laps in sub 1 hour, hitting a 5-minute course PB in her first lap and taking 5 mins off her night lap from the previous year.
Following Vicki was Karl Clark. This was his 3rd Equinox but his first with GRC and he hoped to achieve all his laps in under 1 hour which he did comfortably in 50, 54 and 56 minutes. Karl enjoyed it so much he plans to run solo next year to celebrate a big birthday.
Rounding up the team was Judi Allsopp. This was Judi’s first Equinox and she loved it despite all 3 of her laps being in the rain and getting lost at the top of ‘that hill’ in middle of the night. She still pulled in three great times for the team.
Overall Race Ventura came 27 out of 81 large teams.
𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗚𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝘂𝗻 𝗪𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗱
Team GRC Run Wragged was captained by Zoe Wragg and made up of 8 members, many of which were first timers to the event. The team completed a total of 24 laps.
First out was Ross Warden, who managed to complete an impressive 5 laps of the challenging course. Days after the event, Ross commented that his body was still waking up at 3am ready to run and clearly not fazed by this year’s event, thoughts have already turned to a potential solo venture in 2025. He loved the whole atmosphere and getting to chat to people he hadn’t met before.
Zoe followed next and found herself enjoying the cooler evening lap a lot more than her first daytime lap, in the peak heat of the day. She hopes to return another year to put in an increased number of laps and wanted it noting how proud she was of the team and all their efforts.
First timer to the event, Simon Allsopp, went out third for the team and completed a total of 3 impressive laps all in under 60 minutes. Simon commented that he loved every minute and that it was great having such fantastic support from the GRC gang.
Ditching the monkey costume from the night before, for more streamlined attire was Sylv Hull, who enjoyed her night lap the most and was a minute quicker in doing so. Sylv thanked the captain and also Ross for his double lap at the end of the 24 hours. Her lowest point of the weekend was bailing out her tent with a dustpan at 6am.
Carlene Veasey followed and loved her first time doing the 24-hour team event, particularly the social aspect. Despite suffering with hip pain over the weekend, she put in a great 3 laps and did not let the weather beat her! She is hoping to return next year, injury free, and potentially upping the stakes by joining a smaller team.
Contributing another 3 laps for the team was Jon Whittaker, having been persuaded to enter after being plied with alcohol in the pub, averaged 61 minutes over his laps. Jon was particularly entertained by fellow campmates tripping over tent guy ropes and equally impressed by others consuming cider between their 10k runs. Jon plans to make a return next year!
Luanne Morton experienced rain on all of her laps, but despite the muddy conditions and lack of visibility, found herself loving it.
Despite the torrential rain and lack of sleep, Rebecca Harper loved the weekend and achieved what she came to Equinox to do, which was 2 respectable laps for the team. She loved a weekend of camaraderie and even enjoyed hurdling toads at 2:30am in the morning!
𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗥𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀
Five athletes made up Nathan’s Runners and Walkers, the team formed in memory of the much-loved club member.
CJ, Dale, Sarah, Martin and Penny battled the challenging conditions, with the climbing temperatures hampering the first laps of the participants and later deteriorating into some of the stormiest, wettest weather ever encountered at the event.
Club ultra-runner, Dale Towning, completed an epic 5 laps, with a double lap during the night, commenting that it was the best year yet due to the large contingent that attended the event from Grantham Running Club and provided much welcomed support from the sidelines.
The team completed a total of 17 laps, with Martin Carter and club super-woman Sarah High completing 4 laps each.
Team Captain CJ Walker especially enjoyed her 1.30am lap in the thunder, lightning and lashing rain, remarking that despite the slippery and hilly terrain, it was the most enjoyable lap she’s run in 7 years of attending the event.
𝗦𝗼𝗹𝗼
If running a 24-hour team event wasn’t insane enough, five GRC members took on the challenge of the solo event, aiming to complete as many laps by themselves.
After many years of trying, 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗵𝗮𝗺 absolutely smashed last year’s performance and completed an incredible 17 laps, to get herself second place in the female solo runners overall. The weather was truly horrific, and Holly said she couldn’t have done it without her mega support team.
Making her solo debut was 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗪𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗴. Holly worked hard during training to build up her mileage and she managed to get herself a bronze pin badge for completing 10 laps! This was by far Holly’s longest distance covered, an impressive 62 miles, and she was pleased to rank first in her age category. She also commented that passing the GRC camp on each lap kept her sprits high.
𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗕𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 also completed 10 laps over the 24 hours and found the experience therapeutic in a strange way. The weather changes from blazing sunshine to torrential rain haven’t put Belinda off and she will be back in 2025.
Setting off with an initial target of 15 laps, 𝗝𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗲𝗿 ended up bagging a very respectable 10 due to the extreme weather conditions. Jason was on track for his target until midnight but after taking a well-earned rest to shelter from the rain, he found it difficult to get moving again.
𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗶𝘄 started strong and then disaster struck for him on lap 3 when he picked up an injury. With the support of friends back at camp, he managed to bank 3 more laps and was happy to complete 60k. Russell has unfinished business so plans to make a return to the event next year.
𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟬𝗞
Twelve GRC members took part in the daytime 10K, braving the midday heat to cross the line in some impressive times considering the hilly nature of the 10k loop.
GRC results were as follows:
| Gav Meadows | 47:59 |
| Daniel Wallace | 55:27 |
| Rebecca Hallett | 58:58 |
| Nicci Whiitaker | 1:00:31 |
| Sally Pygott | 1:01:53 |
| Ellie Catterson | 1:01:53 |
| Melissa Winter | 1:022:35 |
| Susan Copping | 1:03:06 |
| Nic Webster | 1:03:20 |
| Jack Holroyd | 1:04:30 |
| Owen Wainwright | 1:15:25 |
| Jaimie Lord | 1:16:26 |
| Helen Marshal | 1:27:02 |
𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝟭𝟬𝗞
Seven club members took part in the nighttime 10K, which kicked off at 8pm. The evening runs are always a favourite with runners as the course becomes lit up with head torches and fairy lights as competitors often dress up to brighten the course after nightfall.
The GRC results were as follows:
| James McMullen | 47:10 |
| Daniel Wallace | 56:12 |
| Nicci Whittaker | 1:03:04 |
| Sally Pygott | 1:06:33 |
| Ellie Catterson | 1:06:44 |
| Melissa Winter | 01:19:23 |
| Emma Hopkinson | 01:26:29 |
The event was praised by everyone who attended, the organisation, race village, commentary, medal, food and free event photography made it one to recommend. Lots of members encountered some wildlife whilst completing the course including hound dogs, horses and even frogs!
As always GRC brought something special to the event, with incredible (and raucous) support to both club mates and all the other runners who passed by.
The camaraderie, chats round the fire, laughs (sometimes at the expense of those falling) and support from everyone are a hallmark of GRC, noticed by everyone around us. #DBS
Photos c/o Mick Hall Photography
Report compiled by Zoe Wragg
Team reports by Zoe Wragg, Samuel Jepson, Vicki Ball, Penny Hodges
