Southwell Running Club
In for the long run
Over the past month there has been a great amount of grit and determination shown by some of our club members. Hopefully their stories will give some justification to the efforts and sacrifice they have put in to get ready for these events and to get through them. In no order of merit I will start with Paul Orton, who completed one of the toughest multi-day running races in the UK; the Dragon’s Back Race. I have been assured that no dragons were hurt or involved in this race, but it is simply named this as the route literally goes from South to North through the middles of Wales. The route is 315km with 15,500m of ascent. Not only do you have to tackle this incredible distance over 5 days, but you have to navigate and meet strict cut off times. Paul completed this amazing feat in an astounding 73 hours, 42 minutes and 27 seconds! The second event I want to tell you about takes place over a week in and around Newark; the Gordon Whelbourn week. This consists of 5 races over 5 nights, 4 back to back 5k races and a 10k race to finish. Now you’re probably thinking this doesn’t have the same distance as the DBR, but I can vouch that pushing yourself over back to back nights takes its toll on your legs. Steven Rice, Katy Simpson and Andy Thorne, all felt this pain and came through with great results. Well done SRC members!