When all is said and run

Wow, what a weekend. 48 hours, 48 runners, 1,120km and £1,617 raised later two York teams completed the #GG48hourrelay at joint top of the leader board, with each team clocking up 560km, finishing just 11 minutes apart! The challenge was to run as a relay team continuously for 48hours, each runner completing a 10km leg before virtually handing over to the next.

Team #EasierSaidThanRun chose a wooden spoon as their baton and ‘spoon selfies’ soon became a theme in the WhatsApp chat, typically being sent half an hour before you were due to set off on your leg to show you were ready to go. (And yes, we definitely all did run with our spoons the whole way on every leg – promise.)

The weekend kicked off for team #EasierSaidThanRun on the back foot as we lost our fastest runner Laurence (who was set to run 4 legs) due to food poisoning. Enter Michelle who stepped up and joined the team last minute. From the first few legs we were already way under our predicted times thanks to a few PBs, despite having to run in 50mph winds! It soon became clear that the 2 minutes that were allowed for handovers were not needed, with most runners pacing up and down their streets at least 20 minutes before they had to set off, anxiously staring at their phones, waiting for the “go” message to come in from the incoming runner.

We continued to gain on our predicted times throughout the weekend, with Emma obliterating her very cautious 59minute estimate by consistently running her 10km legs in around 42 minutes (She even clocked the fastest split in the whole team on the final day, running just over 41 minutes!). Those on the first day bravely battled through gale force winds to hand over to the night shift where David amazingly ran four 10km legs back to back like a true hero with captain Tim keep watch all night on the spreadsheet, keeping it updated for those waking up for their early morning runs. Hayden also stepped up and added a late-night run to his schedule last minute as we were so far ahead. The winds prevailed throughout the next day although this didn’t slow us down one bit. We were neck and neck with the other Yorkie team, the #IncreDEBles throughout the weekend adding an element of friendly rivalry.

I was on duty for the next night shift, allowing captain Tim to get some well-earned rest (Did he manage to get any sleep in those first 24 hours?) The second night went smoothly, despite one hiccup when we thought Tristan wasn’t awake for his 2.30am leg (In fairness he did run 80km total in the weekend with 30km of that not for the GG relay!) Thankfully he was awake he just forgot to message to tell everyone this. By the next morning there were some very tired legs and sleep deprived runners, but little did we know the most stressful part was to come.

The whole weekend Tim was monitoring our times and trying to figure out how many laps we could squeeze in, adding an extra few here and there as we were so far under what was predicted. With Ben heroically completing his second leg despite an ankle injury we knew we could squeeze in a few more legs. This culminated with Nick, Emma and David being added in right at the end. Based on the schedule Emma and Nick would have to run 41minute 10kms each in order to finish at 11:59 and allow David to get away on his last lap. No pressure then.

Emma set off with gusto, blasting down the riverside path in the near midday sun cheered on by fellow GG-ers from both teams whilst Nick paced nervously up and down his driveway waiting for the “go” message. When it finally came in at 11:18, he set off like a rocket – knowing had had to run just under 42 minutes. His route took him down to the Knavesmire racecourse – past many GG-ers cheering along the way - where David was waiting to do a real-time socially distanced handover as we knew we wouldn’t have even a few seconds to send a WhatsApp message. As Nick was approaching the last few 100m (really struggling to hold the pace and not throw up at this point) David started running 2m away from him and started his watch as soon as he saw Nick stop his (he couldn’t talk to even say go) and managed to get away at 11:59:45 with 15 seconds to spare. David then proceeded to run a 43minute 10km despite having run a marathon in the middle of the night only 24hours previously!

We finally finished only 11minutes after the other GG Yorkie team, on the same overall distance. It was a fitting end to a spectacular weekend and it just felt right that both York teams should finish on the same distance, joint top of the leader board. However, that isn’t to take away from any of the other teams involved, who really gave us a run for our money and pushed us on the whole way. It was great to think of so many GG-ers running together up and down the country.

It was one of the most adrenaline filled, exciting and amazing weekends. The level of camaraderie and support across both teams, the (socially distanced) cheering out on the course and virtually after each leg no matter the time you ran was something special. The tension waiting for the “go go go” message in the WhatsApp group from the incoming runner that signalled our changeover and the times when “go” seemed the hardest word to type with sweaty fingers. The midnight runs (in one case marathon) with only foxes and cats for company, the lack of sleep and spreadsheet precision and all the PBs and best times that were run. It was awesome.

Every runner put in their absolute best this weekend, from those who only ran one lap to those who ran 50km +, you were cheered equally as much whether you ran a 40minute 10k or a 75minute 10km. The whole weekend encapsulated the spirit of GoodGym, its ability to bring people together and unite them for the same cause as well as to spur them on to achieve things they thought impossible. Everyone put in 110% and I’m sure we will be talking about it for many years to come.

Oh, and we cannot forget that although this madness was incredibly fun, GG York were also raising money for Move the Masses, a local charity who are helping people during lockdown with prescription deliveries, welfare checks and phone calls as well as referring them to GoodGym for other needs. Over the weekend we managed to raise a whopping £1,617 with that total still rising, obliterating the original target of £480 (£10 for each runner).

A big thanks must go to Aron from GG Leeds who came up with and organised the whole event, and Tim and Debs, respective captains of the GG Yorkie teams for organising us so well and creating immaculate spreadsheets to keep us on track all weekend. Oh, and Ellie D for baking amazing medal biscuits for everyone who took part. You’re all fab.

Fancy reading more to check out our other York Team's Run Report here!