Fairly mild, dry and sunny conditions greeted a near record field of competitors at the annual turkey trot 10 mile road race,
The weather was in stark contrast to last years icy conditions and also the 2010 event when the freeze was so bad the race was called off for safety reasons.
The race , which was staged at Beccles, had 207 runners including wheelchair entrant Peter Downing, a regular on the regional road racing scene. The route took runners past Ringsfield Corner, through Ilketshall St Andrew and back to Sir John Leman High School via the village of Ringsfield. All finishers received Christmas puddings.
The overall race winner was Robert Reason of Harwich Runners who, by the half way mark, had established a lead of around 100 metres from Piers Arnold of City of Norwich A.C. and Gavin Davis of Ipswich Jaffa. At the finishing line, Reason clocked 55:24, just over a minute ahead of Arnold, 56:26, with Davis third in 56:40. First lady to finish was Marie Shirley of Colchester Harriers in a time of 1.04:25.
The first three men and three women to finish received Christmas vouchers, also the first in each veteran age group. The winning teams of Ipswich Jaffa ( Mens ) and St. Edmunds Pacers ( Womens ) also received prizes. Age group winners:- M40 Andy Jones, Conac 57:41; W40 Sarah Vick, Saxons 1.17:03; M45 Neil Shearer, Conac 1.00:42; W45 Claire Hoblyn, St. Edmund Pacers 1.14:26; M50 Mark Rutter, Harwich R. 1.02:44; W50 Jenny Sheahan, U/A 1.20:11; M55 Clive Purbrook, U/A 1.12:45; W55 Penny Edwards, Norwich R.R. 1.13:46; M60 Peter Edmunds, U/A 1.16:57; W60 Elspeth Knott, Harwich R. 1.18:27; M65 Ron McCullough, Ipswich Jaffa 1.08:33; W65 Judy Potter, Bungay Black Dog 1.30:26.
The finishing places and times of the host club, Waveney Valley:- 36 Chris Pimlott 1.06:36; 93 Wayne Freeman 1.17:04; 94 Lisa Knights 1.17:13; 101 David Mower 1.18:36; 134 Emma Locker 1.24:49; 177 Stuart Smith 1.34:27; 203 Tracy Mayne 1.49:14.
The race organisers thanked everybody who helped out on the day, from Mike Sharman and Peter Wicks for setting up the course, the marshals, timekeepers, caterers, through to Gary Finch who compiled the results. There was special thanks to Mike Sharman who donated £250 towards the running costs of the race, in memory of his grandfather Jim Wyatt, a former member of Waveney Valley A.C.