With the busy marathon season coming to an end, the jewel of the calendar was yet to be contested.
On a dull and damp morning in Cromer, 20 Waccers among a field of 946 toed the start line in the inaugural Norfolk Marathon; A Hilly and challenging 26.2 miles of all that the north Norfolk coast can muster.
The race started in the centre of Cromer and quickly moved out into the hills, hitting the max elevation within the first 2 miles, the route was undulating with barely any flat road on any of the course, runners were even treated to a flooded underpass at mile 5 and another later in the race, just in case the near torrential rain hadn’t fully soaked into every fibre.
The support from the side lines was incredible, shouting support, dancing and waving banners was a real testament to the clubs sense of family and helped us along far more than they know.
From mile 20 the race returned toward the hill that had punished us in mile 2, one last test before the decent into Cromer, where the finish line awaited with our medals and some sweet treats to revive us.
Overall the race was a baptism of fire for me as a first marathon, but I’m glad I completed it, if I can complete this race, I can complete any race.
The Medal
A metal and enamel circular medal, as the race is held in Cromer and they are known for their crab, it is depicted on the medal surrounded with a textured gear like border, below the crab is ‘The Norfolk Marathon’ backed in pink, I question the pink background as it is somewhat at odds with the colouring of the rest of the medal and ribbon, but the quality of the casting and enamel is very high.
| Weight | 51g |
| Dimensions | 61mm Dia. |
| Material | Metal and enamel |
The ribbon is high quality, soft and silky with a yellow background and orange crab claws. The race name and date is displayed in white along with the organisers logo. the colour of the background somewhat washes out the text making it harder to read but ultimately the ribbon complements the pendant well. instead of stitching the ribbon ends are heat fused together in a very uniform and pleasing way.
Overall I rate this medal 7/10
The smaller size and weight of the pendant and background colouring behind the text of the medal hurt the score a little, but overall this medal would make a great addition to a collection.
