An intrepid group from Biggleswade AC were out and about in Norfolk at the weekend, running the Round Norfolk Relay once again along with 56 other teams. This was the 20th year of Biggleswade AC fielding a team for this rather unique relay event covering 200 miles around the Norfolk border. Comprising of seventeen runners from across the senior road running section of the Club, the team took on stages of varying distance from around 5 miles to just under 19 starting and finishing at Lynnsport in King’s Lynn.
Neil Harvey was the first to set off leaving King’s Lynn before daybreak. A combination of road and off-road sections this stage provided the opportunity to run through part of the Sandringham Estate before finishing at Hunstanton. Richard Hill took over the baton at ‘sunny Hunny’ with just shy of 14 miles to do. Richard had a good run beating not only the showers, but his time from last year for the stage. Next up was Deb Bryant, a veteran of this event having 10+ appearances, who ran the 6-mile route from Burnham Overy to Wells-Next-The-Sea. Ian Grimwood, another regular participant in the RNR, had the task of the Wells to Cley stage. This takes in the Stiffkey Fen and one where the course deviates depending on whether the tide is in or out. Carrying on from Cley to Cromer, Andy Hedley unfortunately didn’t get to escape the showers, but this (and the shingle beach) did not deter him putting in a solid run. On to stage 6 Nick McGlashan also encountered a downpour making for tricky conditions in his 8-mile leg to Mundesley. This was Nick’s first time running the RNR for BAC and we hope the weather didn’t put him off running for us again! He was welcomed by Alistair Nelson who took over to run to Lessingham and to hand over to Roxann Holder for stage 8, both close to their estimated times. For the next stage from Horsey, daylight was rapidly diminishing and the start of vehicle support as well as a cyclist was required towards the end of Charlie Arnold’s run into Belton, just west of Great Yarmouth. This was also where the route headed inland, with the coastal paths a distant memory to follow a combination of A and B roads for the second half back to King’s Lynn. Now in the throes of darkness, Nick Sinclair had the duty of running 16 plus miles to Ditchingham. Natalie Morgan, who had stepped up to take on the next stage, greeted Nick and headed off along the A143 to Scole. James Watson was next with the unenviable job of running the longest stage of 19 miles to Thetford at gone midnight. James was also pretty spot on with his estimated completion time achieving close to the predicted 2 hours 20 minutes. At this point it was the middle of the night and whilst most people were sleeping, Rosanna Bartlett departed Thetford to run the 15 miles to the next changeover at RAF Feltwell. Running along roads lined either side by deep Thetford woodland at 3am made for a rather eerie experience for runner, cyclist and vehicle support, it must be said! Juliet Grimwood, who had been drafted in following a team member having to withdraw as a result of injury, made her way through stage 14 to Wissington. With daylight firmly resumed, Paula Faller then ran the 10.5-mile stage from Wissington to Downham Market, a stage she had run last year. Jake Genever had the penultimate 5.5-mile leg into Stowbridge. And like others mentioned above, Jake was right on the money with his time, completing his stage within 5 seconds of what he anticipated. Finally, Kate Hair had the honour of leading the team home running along the banks of the Great Ouse and back into King’s Lynn to Lynnsport. As Kate made her way onto the athletic track for the last 100m, the BAC contingent cheered her to the finish line and the close of a successful RNR. Biggleswade completed the epic event in a total of 28 hours and 43 minutes.
Organising and ensuring the BAC team got round as intended and as safely as possible is no mean feat. Planning started late Spring by BAC’s RNR Committee (Damien Pitts, Deb Bryant, Mark Stead and Rob Morgan) to assemble the team, work out logistics and issue team communications. On the weekend itself, BAC runners were supported by Damien as BAC Team’s Timekeeper and an exceptional crew of cyclists and drivers. This truly was a team effort, well done and thank you all for making it happen!
Biggleswade AC Round Norfolk Relay Results 2025
| Stage 1 | King' Lynn to Hunstanton | 16.32 miles | Neil Harvey | 3:00:07 |
| Stage 2 | Hunstanton to Burnham Overy | 13.75 miles | Richard Hill | 1:55:33 |
| Stage 3 | Burnham Overy to Wells-Next-The-Sea | 5.76 miles | Deb Bryant | 0:48:03 |
| Stage 4 | Wells-Next-The-Sea to Cley-Next-The- Sea | 11.14 miles | Ian Grimwood | 1:55:16 |
| Stage 5 | Cley-Next-The- Sea to Cromer | 10.81 miles | Andy Hedley | 1:58:10 |
| Stage 6 | Cromer to Mundesley | 7.90 miles | Nick McGlashan | 1:07:12 |
| Stage 7 | Mundesley to Lessingham | 9.24 miles | Alistair Nelson | 1:08:39 |
| Stage 8 | Lessingham to Horsey | 7.52 miles | Roxann Holder | 0:59:42 |
| Stage 9 | Horsey to Belton | 16.60 miles | Charlie Arnold | 2:15:03 |
| Stage 10 | Belton to Ditchingham | 16.50 miles | Nick Sinclair | 1:57:59 |
| Stage 11 | Ditchingham to Scole | 14.90 miles | Natalie Morgan | 2:07:50 |
| Stage 12 | Scole to Thetford | 18.88 miles | James Watson | 2:19:19 |
| Stage 13 | Thetford to Feltwell | 15.00 miles | Rosanna Bartlett | 2:02:00 |
| Stage 14 | Feltwell to Wissington | 7.27 miles | Juliet Grimwood | 1:08:14 |
| Stage 15 | Wissington to Downham Market | 10.59 miles | Paula Faller | 1:24:02 |
| Stage 16 | Downham Market to Stowbridge | 5.49 miles | Jake Genever | 0:51:53 |
| Stage 17 | Stowbridge to King's Lynn | 11.73 miles | Kate Hair | 1:46:58 |
For the full results, please visit https://rnr.totalracetiming.co.uk/result
Support Crew
Alistair Nelson, Andy Hedley, Damien Pitts, Deb Bryant, Duncan Murray, Frank McLoughlin, Ian Grimwood, James Watson, Louise Harvey, Neil Harvey, Roxann Holder, Rob Morgan and Simon Strong.
(Photos courtesy of Damien Pitts and Rosanna Bartlett)