Grantham Running Club take part in the Equinox24 event held in the beautiful grounds of Belvoir Castle
Grantham Running Club gained a podium place in the large teams category at the Equinox24 event held in the beautiful grounds of Belvoir Castle.
Their team comprised a mix of eight experienced multi-lap eventers and first timers and they managed an incredible 31 laps.
It equated to 192 miles between then and the elevation of 15,000ft was equivalent to scaling Ben Nevis five times.
Their average lap time was 50 minutes and this put them in an overall position of third, writes Zoe Wragg.
The event saw runners complete a mixed terrain 10k loop as many times as they could over a 24-hour period.
Russel Whittaker, Joe Clarke and team captain Samuel Jepson performed strongly, notching up four 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 four laps while Jake Richardson vowed to return after two incredibly rapid laps left him with a slight niggle.
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 24-hour event was all about.
Emma Duncan was pleased with her times even after running a very wet and thundery third lap at 2am on Sunday morning and was still smiling after finishing her fourth lap.
Cameron Hoggan ran his first lap in 23 degree heat and the remaining three in the rain but managed to get a quicker time in his fourth lap than his first.
Amy Jennison achieved a fantastic four laps and already can't wait for next year's event to see how many more she can complete.
Kev Wallace ran three great circuits but picked up a niggle during the night lap, although he persevered to get through a very foggy third lap.
Team captain Vicki Ball was the veteran of the group and was pleased to complete two of her three laps in sub one-hour, hitting a five-minute course personal best in her first lap and taking five minutes off her night lap from the previous year.
Karl Clark hoped to achieve all his laps in under one hour which he did comfortably in 50, 54 and 56 minutes.
Rounding up the team was Judi Allsopp who pulled in three great times for the team in her first Equinox. Overall Race Ventura came 27 out of 81 large teams.
Team GRC Run Wragged was captained by Zoe Wragg and made up of eight members, many of which were first timers to the event. The team completed a total of 24 laps.
Ross Warden managed to complete an impressive five laps while Zoe followed next and found herself enjoying the cooler evening lap a lot more than her first daytime lap, in the peak heat. She was proud of the team and all their efforts.
A first timer to the event, Simon Allsopp, went out third for the team and completed a total of three impressive laps all in under 60 minutes.
Sylv Hull enjoyed her night lap the most and was a minute quicker in doing so while Carlene Veasey, despite suffering with hip pain over the weekend, put in a great three laps.
Contributing another 3 laps for the team was Jon Whittaker, who averaged 61 minutes over his laps.
Luanne Morton experienced rain on all of her laps but, despite the muddy conditions and lack of visibility, found herself loving it while Rebecca Harper achieved what she came to Equinox to do, which was two respectable laps for the team.
Five athletes made up Nathan's Runners and Walkers, the team formed in memory of the much-loved club member.
Club ultra-runner, Dale Towning, completed an epic five laps, with a double lap during the night.
The team completed a total of 17 laps, with Martin Carter and Sarah High finishing four 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 has run in seven years of attending the event.
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.
Making her solo debut was Holly Wragg who had worked hard during training to build up her mileage and she managed to get herself a bronze pin badge for completing 10 laps.
Belinda Baker also completed 10 laps over the 24 hours and found the experience therapeutic in a strange way.
Setting off with an initial target of 15 laps, Jason Walker ended up bagging a very respectable 10 due to the extreme weather conditions
Russell Maksymiw started strong and then disaster struck for him on lap three when he picked up an injury.
With the support of friends back at camp, he managed to bank three more laps and was happy to complete 60k. Russell has unfinished business so plans to make a return to the event next year.
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 loop.
Results: Gav Meadows 00:47:59, Daniel Wallace 00:55:27, Rebecca Hallett 00:58:58, Nicci Whittaker 01:00:31, Sally Pygott 01:01:37, Ellie Catterson 01:01:53, Susan Copping 01:03:06, Nic Webster 01:03:20, Jack Holroyd 01:04:30, Owen Wainwright 01:15:25, Jaimie Lord 01:16:26, Helen Marshall 01:27:02.
Seven club members took part in the night-time 10K, which kicked off at 8pm.
The evening runs are always a favourite with runners as the course became lit up with head torches and fairy lights as competitors often dress up to brighten the course after nightfall.
Results: James McMullen 47:10, Daniel Wallace 56:12, Nicci Whittaker 01:03:04, Sally Pygott 01:06:33, Ellie Catterson 01:06:44, Melissa Winter 01:19:23, Emma Hopkinson 01:26:29.
