Hi All,

It was lovely to see so many of you at the awards ceremony yesterday and celebrate the excellent year of running and club activities we have had. A huge thank you to Annie and Nick for organising the evening, to our cooks, Bev, Cath, Sophie and Mel for the delicious food, and to Todd for his fun game! It is super tough to decide on the winners as there are so many amazing athletes and supporters throughout the club. Congratulations to every single runner on an incredible year for the club and thank you to everyone who helps make this club as awesome as it is.

If you were not able to join, the full list of our winners is below:

Best Performances – Chris Mower and Katie Margarson

Chris overcame the heat and recorded a marathon PB at Manchester (2.56!) in his 50th year, having an incredible year of running which also included a win in his first ultra. Katie overcame circumstances that would put many of us out of action for a very long time to line up on the start line of the Boston Marathon and finish the race with a huge smile on her face.

Most Improved Athletes – Stacey Mockford and Alex de Moore

Both Alex and Stacey had incredible years, scoring PBs across all distances in which they competed time and time again.

Fastest Marathons – James O’Brien and Katie King

James recorded 2.29 at a hot London Marathon and Katie finished Abingdon Marathon in 2.54 to also land the second in her age category at the England Masters.

New Members of the Year – Sophie Seward and Terry Nippress

This was a hot category with our club lucky to have so many amazing new members who are competing at high levels and bringing support to their fellow members. Terry competed in many triathlons and half marathons, and being a vital part of our cross country team. Sophie made a strong debut for the club in January to hold off Ely Runners to score ladies team victory at Hereward and then had an insane year with winning the Centurion 100 miler. She is also an amazing junior coach and has helped the club considerable since she joined.

Outstanding Athletes – Sandra Webb and Tom Kingsnorth

Two outstanding runners and outstanding supporters. Sandra consistently puts down amazing performances in her races, including a win in the hilly peaks in her age category at the Dovedale Dipper, and organises our Friday 5 Marshalls and supports cake stalls and events throughout the year. Tom is a popular Monday coach, organises our annual pizza run, takes on tough ultra challenges and ran two amazing half marathons in the autumn to score top ten finishes.

Spirit of the Relay – Izzy Hollands

Not only has Izzy been an amazing runner in our relay teams and is super supportive to her team mates. At the Round Norfolk Relay she cycled through the tough night period, supporting the ladies team in some tough circumstances. A true team player and a brilliant runner.

Outstanding Volunteer – Lara Pocock

Ian blindsided me.

Social Member of the Year – Abi Iron

Abi is a core member of our cake stall crew and has put in some amazing performances within the Hyrox sphere, her run training providing her with a leg up in this functional fitness event.

Club Member – Cath Jeffrey

Chris made a lovely speech on how amazing Cath is and how much she does for the club. Plus she is a truly outstanding runner, always being key to our ladies team plans and scoring cross country points for us. Cath coaches our juniors, is lead welfare officer, and cooks a mean curry. She is also an all round supportive and lovely person to run alongside.

Fisher Trophy – Sarah Price

Sarah has supported the club in many different guises over the year, non members supporting runners is truly selfless and we could not do what we do without these people.

Junior of the Year – Alfie Jeffrey

Like his Mum, Alfie has been scoring some vital points for us in the cross country league. He also stepped in last minute to one of our Hereward Relay teams, finishing second overall on leg 3 which is extremely impressive as a junior!

I have attached to this email the explainer of what each award is presented for. We also presented the trophies to the first three in each of the Senior Grand Prixs – well done to the winners. We have now also updated the latest standings in the Junior Grand Prix, which you can view here.

There were also fun awards which were voted for my fellow club members and they went to:

Trails or Spikes – Most Questions Asked (And Answered) – Alex de Moore
The Person who has the most Unplanned Run – Zohra Armitage for winning her Round Norfolk Relay leg despite not having a head torch
Best Photo – Tyla Vane and Bryan Churchard splashing through the water at Woodbridge
Pacer Pup – my dog Ted who gets dragged along to support all events dressed in various Pacers outfits
Team Spirit – Mel Elsdon Crown and Dawn Marshall, two of the most supportive people and very well deserved
Dedicated parkrunner – Lara Pocock – parkrun is the best, I want to thank all of those who volunteer at parkrun each week, this is my downfall!

Did you know we also have club records? We have updated these recently with a number broken last year, do let us know if you score a record. We have also introduced a new record, number of Backyard loops. I know we have many members taking on the Backyard Ultra Challenge this year, so will these ones be broken?

Tomorrow there is cross country training at Stowmarket Striders at 9am at Haughley Park, please park on the right as you enter the park. There is also a road run from the Abbeycroft Leisure Centre at 9am, everyone welcome. Good luck to those running Reedham 10 miles or Folksworth 15 tomorrow too!

St Nicholas Hospice 10k
A note from the team at St Nics about this local race:

Just wanted to let you know that we have a date set for the 10k Run, Sunday 27th September. We currently are running a early access page for people to register their interest, feel free to share this amongst the Saint Edmunds Pacers: Sign up for early access to St Nicholas Hospice Care’s events and challenges – St Nicholas Hospice Care website

Tarpley Volunteers
We still need five more marshalls for Tarpley this year on Sunday 22nd February. Please contact Chris or Matt who are ccd into this email if you can help.

Have a great week everyone.

Lara