Mark Armstrong: My 2024 Round Norfolk Relay experience

I thought I had plenty of time. 

Then I could hear my phone buzzing on the front seat. It was my wife, Alison, who was one of the support crew for the Wymondham AC – Team 2 I was running for. 

‘Are you ready? You’ve got about 15 minutes... Craig (Skipper) is running really well.’ 

You’re not kidding – I thought I still had about half an hour to get a decent warm up in and do the things runners need to do before a run... (first lesson in the Round Norfolk Relay, most runners run quicker than their predicted time!) 

I got everything together (or so I thought) and jogged towards my changeover point, only to realise I didn’t have my head torch. Returning to my car to fetch this was effectively my warm up but fortunately I was able to get back to where I needed to be with a few minutes to spare. 

I tried to stay calm but the amount of pent-up nervous energy was palpable. Fortunately, Round Norfolk Relay officials were around to call out the numbers of approaching runners so you could get towards the front of the holding pen at the appropriate moment. 

‘Number 37!’ 

Crikey – that’s my team - I'm up.  

‘Remember to take the baton before turning your watch on’ - I told myself. 

Craig sprinted in and you only had to feel the baton to understand how hard he had worked on his run. 

I managed to get a grip of the baton before haring off into the night. I’d been waiting all day for this moment – the tension building with every WhatsApp message on the Wymondham team group.  

Everyone had smashed their legs so far... and I didn’t want to let anyone down. 

The support van containing my wife, Alison, Matt (Webster) and Kev (Denmark) tucked in behind me. 

I felt like I was cruising for the first 400m but upon looking down at my watch I realised I was running at what probably is about my current 10K pace. This wasn’t going to work on a near 15-mile leg... 

I tried to tune out everything else that was going on and just settle into a pace I felt confident I could sustain. A female runner from Nicetri St Neots absolutely flew past me after about a mile and I told myself to run my own leg. 

I was feeling relatively comfortable but 14.9 miles is a long old way to try and run quickly. 

After about three miles I had settled on my pace, which was working out just over 4:20-minute kilometres (7-minute miles), and I was joined on the support bike by Alison. 

She put on a carefully crafted playlist that I had thrown together a few hours before my leg and I felt like I finally had a chance to appreciate the whole event. This was date night... Armstrong style. 

I was enjoying myself and I could see a few beacons, signalling runners up ahead, and it provided a nice distraction to try and start reeling a few other runners in. 

I was having a little sing-song with Alison, which helped ensure I didn’t let myself off the leash and clip down to a pace I wouldn’t be able to hold. I vaguely remember a conversation about James Arthur being underrated... 

I wanted to keep things nice and steady for the first 10 miles at a consistent pace and then I’d see what I had left. 

There were some drags that certainly had an effect on my pace but to be honest I just felt relieved that I was able to run and feel strong. As I mentioned in last week’s column, it hasn’t been plain sailing in terms of recovery from the Helsinki Marathon at the end of August. 

When the 10th mile had gone, I quickened my cadence. The singing stopped. It was time to see what’s left in the tank. 

I felt strong, and grateful to my body that I had enough energy to run this leg how I wanted. I was starting to pick off a few more runners. 

‘5K - just a parkrun to go!’ came the cry from Kev on the support vehicle before there was a hill that reminded me not to get too complacent. 

There was another little incline right at the finish which robbed me of any thoughts of a sprint finish, and I was grateful to see my club-mate, Paul, waiting to be handed the baton. And suddenly my leg was over. 

The event moved on relentlessly and I trudged off to find my car quietly satisfied I had done a decent job for my team. 

I took a few minutes in my car to process my run before driving on to the next changeover point to pick up Paul upon the completion of his leg (I had promised him a McDonald’s if he ran well...) 

I’d had so much fun and I was very grateful to my support team and the timekeepers for keeping me safe. It's a proper logistical feat to get through the Round Norfolk Relay with minimal issues – the runners have the easy part. 

I must admit that within a few hours I was thinking ‘I reckon I can run that quicker next year...’ 

I will definitely be putting my name forward for a Wymondham team again or volunteer. I’ve been bitten by the RNR bug...