14th December 2003

This was a new race to the area being organised by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), which given the distance from the sea seems on the face of it a little strange.  The course was the Snetterton race circuit mid way between Thetford and Norwich on the A11.  The Race Circuit is a former World War 2 US airbase so the expectation was the circuit would at least be flat.  The car / motorcycle course is 3.097 Km long so the race was three circuits and an extra 708 metres all on tarmac, no curbs or potholes.  The parking space was excellent and facilities very good being geared for the races.  Bags could be left in a holding area with a tag indicating your race number, in fact the organisers were clearly set up for more that the 90+ runners on the day.  I kept looking round for Murrey Walker but he wasn’t to be seen (I would have settled for Suzy myself but don’t tell Anne).  It’s strange running on a race circuit, even in the warm up I kept looking out for 150mph formulae Fords and Yamahas.  Anyway the start was the customary red and green lights and away we went without the smell of burning rubber, I didn’t see who made it to the first bend, perhaps Chris Starmer did but wasn’t saying.  The race turned out to be more interesting than I thought it would.  It was very ‘open’ and windy, however with the wind behind you we positively sailed along.  Anne cut me up at the chicane but fortunately the gravel saved me from further injury and thanks to Daniel, Jo Anne and Daphne in the pits.  This ended up being a most enjoyable race and both Anne and I did PBs as did others.  Jan Starmer did a PB of over 10 minutes, thinking she had just missed the 60 minutes she suddenly realised it was 50 minutes that she had just missed.  The winners, when the organisers had tracked them down, were given Bubby and something that looked like a horse’s collar covered in leaves.  (It’s not surprising that Schumacher is difficult to live with if he has a house full of those).  I got the impression they would have settled for a T-shirt or a water bottle, perhaps even an umbrella.  We’ll definitely consider running this event again next year, hope to see a few more Striders there.  Footnote: the event is in Norfolk but you don’t need a passport.

Grayhame Fish

The Stowmarket Striders results are:-

There were 90 finishers.