It was not smugglers footsteps and bobbing lights last Sunday morning but 116 runners racing through the night and dawn.
Former Thomas Peacocke pupil, Pieter Gray ran the Rye Leg – Jury’s Gap to Rye Harbour Car Park – of the 175 mile Ragnar Run from Sittingbourne to Brighton Marina over the weekend. Setting off at 1:45pm on Saturday they raced to Brighton via, Faversham, Whitstable, Margate, Broadstairs, Ramsgate, Sandwich, Deal, Walmer, Dover, Folkestone, Martello Tower, Dymchurch, New Romney, Camber, Rye, Rye Harbour, Hastings, Bexhill, Pevensey, Eastbourne, Beachy Head, Seaford, Newhaven and Brighton.
Team Captain Paul Naylor, led the ultra team of Pieter, Alistair, Beth and Gareth – and driver Katrin – who all raced over 34 miles each, along the coastline to arrive at the finish line on Sunday afternoon. Their official result was first place for the Ultra category in a time of 25 hours and 14 minutes out of the 116 teams.
Pieter, having recently completed an ultra 100k race and a swim run in Lake Buttermere and one in the Gower Peninsula, said running through his home town of Rye with St Mary’s Church silhouette as the backdrop was one of the most memorable.
Congratulations to the team who ran under the name Never Stop Chafing Your Dreams.
Image Credits: Adrian Gray .