Ekiden Relays Results

15 July 2019 - By Jason Lilley

This was a big weekend for sport, with so much going on that it was almost impossible to take it all in, but no doubt when they had all finished what they were doing, I’m sure the England Cricket team, Novak Djokovic and Lewis Hamilton would all have jumped online to find out how WRC got on at the Ekiden relays.

For those who have never heard of it, the Ekiden Relays is a 26.2 mile event, run by teams of six runners as a relay. It is based on a Japanese race format and is the only event of its type currently run in the UK. It has been hosted by Ipswich Jaffa for over 20 years.

We had 21 runners plus supporters who made the journey to the Woodbridge School for this year’s event. It is a big event with lots going on, so is always a good day out for runners and their families. This year was well attended as usual with four teams drawn from a mix of seasoned Ekiden runners and some newer members making their debut.

Fortunately the weather was relatively kind this time around and we didn’t have to contend with the tough temperatures we had last year.

There were fantastic performances by all our runners, but special mention goes to Heydon Mizon for setting a new club record on his 10k stint. Full results are below:

Ladies Open – 9th in Category
Charlotte Roberts	7.2km	35:11
Tanya Cregan	5km	25:52
Natalie Lilley	10km	1:07:37
Karen Flowers	5km	27:28
Haydeh Safavi	10km	57:27
Bethany Shippey	5km	31:24
		4:05:05

 

Mens Vets – 4th in Category
Simon Scott	7.2km	31:14
Leo Cole	5km	19:54
Heydon Mizon	10km	36:10	Club Record
Leo Cole	5km	20:26
Andy Lager	10km	40:50
Mark Austin	5km	20:12
		2:48:50

 

Mixed C – 42nd in Category
Adam Regan	7.2km	33:24
Hayley Ellen	5km	21:10
Jason Lilley	10km	52:05
Andrew Read	5km	24:08
John Lloyd	10km	54:37
Vikki Hayes	5km	20:51
		3:26:19

 

Mixed D – 65th in Category
Jordan Barker	7.2km	32:42
Ruth Mizon	5km	26:27
Darren Digby	10km	59:36
Jordan Barker	5km	22:52
David Jobling	10km	49:36
Karen Flowers	5km	28:16
		3:39:32

Although the course is flat, broadly speaking, it is a tough one for PBs, but if anybody did achieve one, please let me know and I’ll update the results.

Special mention goes to Mark Austin who wins the ‘Cutting It Fine’ award for slightly underestimating the abilities of his team and arriving a spectacular 90 seconds before the start of his 5k stint!

Huge thanks to all those who ran, to all those who cheered, and to all those who had a hand in getting us there.

I’d specifically like to thank Adam Regan who stepped in at short notice, Karen Flowers, Leo Cole and Jordan Barker who each ran two legs to make up for shortfalls, David Grainger who dropped everything to help with Gazebo collection, and last but very definitely not least, David Jobling who donned the Captain’s hat at the last minute and did a fantastic job.