Dereham Runners AC hosted its annual 10 Mile race on Sunday with a record field of 484 competitors setting out from the race HQ at Neatherd School.
This popular event is the fourth in the Sportlink Grand Prix Series and a County Championship race, always popular with runners from all over East Anglia keen to beat an intermediate distance between 10 kilometres and half marathon.
Cool and perfect running conditions combined with the undulating course held the promise of outstanding performances from Norfolk club runners. The route runs east along the old A47 towards North Tuddenham before turning onto winding country lanes around Elsing, and finally looping back to Dereham.
Matt Pyatt, a three-time winner and existing County Champ from 2017, had to give way to the impressive Scott Walford (Bure Valley Harriers) who, came second overall but won the Norfolk County Championship trophy for being a Norfolk resident.
The overall race winner, Mark Sands, representing the Skegness & District RC, led the field from the start.
He completed the course in 56:18 and Walford 56:42, fantastic achievements when you add in that they both run in the V45-49 class. In third place was another very good veteran runner, Paul Holley, in the V50-54 class, crossing the line in 57:47.
The first female and new county champion was Kathryn Mathias, crossing the line in 1-04:55. Remarkably this was Kathryn's first running event in 17 years. Second, and not far behind, was well known Wymondham runner Cat Cummings in a time of 1:05:03, just eight seconds between them. In third was Kate Murell from Tri-Anglia in 1-06:34.
Pyatt, who runs for Dereham now, was fourth overall in 57:53 and won a county gold in the V40-44 class, followed by another new Dereham runner Darren Easter finishing in 28th and a time of 1-03:40. Jake Stearman was 35th (1-04:25), Emma Potter-Campbell 170th in 1-16:56, Lisa Pyatt 194th in 1-18:23, James Davis 204th in 1-19:18, Carl Manning 231st in 1-21:16, Gill Woodhouse 313th in 1-29:13 (second in her class including a county silver), Jennifer Neave 317th in 1-29:31, Teri Read 444th in 1-45:43 and Vicki Holland 453rd in 1-48:28.
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