Run Sandringham 24 took place from 12th to 14th June and nine members of GRC were primed and ready for various distances over the weekend. A number of Team GRC were making their debut at the event along with a couple of seasoned pros. The weather forecast during the week was showing high temperatures but thankfully these dropped to a reasonable conditions. However, there was an unexpected the wind blowing across the campsite.
The warmup to the main event took place on the Friday night, with a 10k run around the estate and past Sandringham itself. Brendan Buckley took part in this race and was the first of the group to run. Brendan completed the run in 1:20:39.
Whilst Brendan was cantering about the estate, the rest of the gang were pitching tents in readiness for the next day. A meeting followed in the bar for a pint (beer, wine, water) to lay out the goals for the 24-hour event.
On race day, several GRC grabbed the opportunity to do a parkrun in a new location and headed over to Sandringham parkrun. After a steady 5k it was time to prepare for the next 24 hours.
Briefing over, the horn sounded and off they ran, winding their way through the campsite and out towards the church and the hilliest section of the 5-mile course. This part was also where runners could see the house the nestled behind trees. Over to the cricket pitch and then was out into woodland and criss-crossing the parkrun course. The halfway point provided plentiful and exciting refreshments, before runners headed back to the campsite, the final mile providing some twists and turns before the event village.
There was entertainment during the daytime with Elvis, Ska, Rock and the next morning classic grooves over the 60’s / 70’s.
After a few niggles and various levels of pain the following distances were achieved: Matthew Sadler and Fraser Marshall – 6 laps (30 miles); CJ Walker, Alison Clark, Yvonne Buckley and Kate Marshall – 7 laps (35 miles) ; Ros Sadler and Belinda Baker – 8 laps (40 miles); Caroline Davis – 17 laps (an incredible 85 miles). Matthew gets a special mention as his previous longest distance was 11 miles. To complete 6 laps, Matthew split the 30 miles into 2 sets of 15 miles over the 24 hours.
They all received a medal and a goody bag, along with 4 cans of Adnams Ghost Ship alcohol free beer and a Powerade. It’s always hard during the run to keep up your motivation levels but great to reflect back on your achievements when you cross the finish line.