Essex Way Relay 2023
5 September 2023 - By Steven Alder
Another glorious day we had at the Essex Way Relay. We had 2 teams spread from Epping to Harwich (approx 82 miles split into 10 legs) with start times throughout the day.
Leading up to the day, DJ and Ian Lucas did a few recces the route from Cressing to Great Tey, which was Stage 5 that Witham RC looks after each year. As part of this recce they did some needed pruning and were in touch with the farmer at the start so that he was aware we would be in Cressing to start off our runners.
We had two teams again this year, organised by our Captains Annalise Tye and Jodee Mayer. A couple of “will we get enough runners?” moments and a couple of last minute changes, but we got two complete teams and no doubling up required. Our two teams were made up of:
Team A
Annalise Tye, Angela Wray, Owen Dare, Damian Walsj, Lisa Leader, Nat Lilley, Mick Conroy,Simon Scott, Celine Elson and Christine Israel-Jones
Team B
Steven Alder, Shane Ketteridge, James Attenborough, Tom Smith-Evans, Andrew Farrimond, Sarah Naughton, Matt Jordan, Mark Austin, Jenny Layley and Karen Flowers
Altogether there were 76 teams that participated in the Essex Way, it was great to see everyone together.
For Stage 5, the leg we were looking after, at the start in Cressing we had Colin Short, Annalise Tye and Anita Grainger to set up and check in the runners, with Steven Alder setting them off. We had our flags up at the start so it was nice and clear for the runners of where to be ready for a 12:45 start. At the end of the leg in Great Tey we had Andrew Read, Angela Read and Celine Elson, joined by Steven who had the list of everyone that started. The finish area was complete with our flags, a finish funnel and a table with cups of water for the finish. With the heat on the runners, it was muchly appreciated.
Results
Witham RC Team B came 49th overall and Witham RC Team A came 59th overall. Well done to all our runners from the day, here is the individual breakdown of each runner and position:
Stage | Runner | Overall Position |
1 | Annalise Tye | 66th |
Steven Alder | 67th | |
2 | Angela Wray | 60th |
Shane Ketteridge | 70th | |
3 | Owen Dare | 25th |
James Attenborough | 44th | |
4 | Damian Walsh | 10th |
Tom Smith-Evans | 29th | |
5 | Lisa Leader | 56th |
Andrew Farrimond | 40th | |
6 | Nat Lilley | 64th |
Sarah Naughton | 65th | |
7 | Mick Conroy | 67th |
Matt Jordan | 6th | |
8 | Simon Scott | 40th |
Mark Austin | 38th | |
9 | Celine Elson | 58th |
Jenny Layley | 61st | |
10 | Christine Israel-Jones | 59th |
Karen Flowers | 58th |
A massive well done to our runners and volunteers. Another succesful day! The full results can be found here and the full set of photos are in the gallery here.
Looking forward to next year.
Steven Alder
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