womensrunninguk.co.ukUSUAL SUSPECTS CHALLENGE96 MARCH 2017THE
S TA RT
LINE UP
parrowfart is not my favourite
time of day, especially on a
Saturday, so you can be sure it
was something pretty special
that lured me out of my cosy bed at 6am
on 17 December, 2016. And it was! I was on
my way to join 150 like-minded individuals
in the Usual Suspects Challenge, a multi-lap
trail event where every participant’s name is
listed on the medal as a way to immortalise
all the runners who’d been part of our local
running community over the past year. The
race was particularly memorable because
2016 was the year I finally reached my goal
of joining the 100 Marathon Club. When I
started out running marathons, I’d run just
one a year in a foreign country and never
dreamed that, back in the UK, there were
dozens of marathon enthusiasts quietly
knocking off a marathon (or even more than
one) each week in small events I’d never
heard of. All that changed when I spotted
people running in the club’s distinctive blue
and yellow kit and was inspired to begin my
own quest for the vest. Turning up at dozens
of local marathons I soon noticed the same
ever-present smiling faces, and soon I too
was a familiar presence on The Circuit, as it’s
known among us marathon addicts.GOAL GETTERS
Since reaching 100 in April I’d only done six
marathons, so when I arrived at Samphire
Hoe, a nature reserve on a new piece of
land created by Eurotunnel during the
construction of the Channel Tunnel, it was
like attending a reunion, graduation and
prize-giving all in one. First up was David
Davidson, whom I’d met at innumerable
marathons and with whom I’d had a very
memorable conversation entitled ‘SerialS
LISA JACKSON HEADS TO DOVER
TO JOIN FELLOW MARATHON
ADDICTS AT THE USUAL
SUSPECTS CHALLENGE
Race photographer
Dee Rand captures
the festive runCrossing the fi nish line
of marathon 100!All smiles: you’d struggle
to fi nd a frowning runner
at a Saxons, Vikings and
Normans event