Run Norwich Race Director pleased with Run Norwich route

As part of the Run Norwich race technical advice team, Race Director Granville Courtnell’s focus is on planning and implementing a first-class road race experience for all participants; from securing race licenses and reaching high-level local authority Safety Advisory Group agreements, right through to the finer details such as race signage and the running of the water stations.

First approached by event organisers, Norwich City FC’s Community Sports Foundation (CSF) in February 2014, Granville Courtnell and his team were tasked to deliver an exciting mass participation city-centre race that takes in some of the city’s most celebrated landmarks.

He is pleased with the final outcome:

“We needed to cater for a broad cross-section of abilities. We wanted to attract both experienced racers who will be after PB times, as well as a large number of people who will have been inspired to run this as their first ever road race.

“It was in fact very difficult for us to come up with a route that avoided the hills. Despite the stereotypes there are more hills in Norwich than you would think!”

Granville is joined on the Race Technical Team by Richard Polley, the Start/Finish Director and Adey Ewing, the Course Director. Between the trio, the Technical Team have decades of experience in road race organisation; their impressive resumes include the Trowse 10k, the Lord Mayor’s 5k City Centre Classic, the Norwich parkrun and the City of Norwich Half Marathon.

“I’ve worked with Richard and Adey for many years on a large number of events, so we’re well used to working with each other!”

“Our primary focus in the technical team is concentrated on the course and road-race experience itself and ensuring that we achieve the necessary certifications and standards we are aiming for.”

The three are no strangers to organising city centre runs, as the City of Norwich Half Marathon, now based in its current home at the Showgrounds, started life originally in the city centre.

“To give you some idea of the scale of Run Norwich and how race organisation has changed, I often think back to these first Norwich-Half events in the 1980s.”

“Race day would involve around two rows of barriers for about 100 metres along both sides of the start in Gentlemen’s Walk and then the following year, we moved that Start/Finish to Chapelfield Gardens. The runners shared sections of the course with vehicle traffic and we had eight volunteers recording people’s race times by hand at the finish. It’s quite a stark contrast to the event we’ll be delivering on Sunday!”

The Run Norwich race route requires over a hundred road closures, will utilise 1,560 crowd barriers and well over 200 traffic cones.

A traffic management company will be deployed at the road closures to ensure safety procedures are met en-route, and a company has been employed to set up and record the finishing times via electronic chip timing, with results being available on the race website within a few hours of the race.

Hundred of volunteers from a variety of organisations and support groups will assist on the day.

While the city centre route is obviously a huge part of Run Norwich’s appeal, Granville admits it has thrown up some logistical challenges:

“The city centre will still be “living” all day Saturday, right through to the early hours. Most events of this size in more secluded locations usually have at least 24 hours pre-race in which to create their start/finish areas and for contractors to bring in the necessary equipment required – we won’t have this luxury.”

“It’ll be an early 4am start for the core team, before the army of support staff joins. We’ll have construction teams, first aid and medical support staff, Joint Operations Centre staff, resource teams, baggage teams, Race Village staff, hospitality and fundraising staff from our race charities…the list goes on!”

“Event Manager Fiona Roberts has put in a tremendous amount of work creating a very detailed time schedule that we all need to work to.”

“It’s incredibly exciting that we are so close to race day and that the original vision of Run Norwich will come to life.”

While Granville and his technical team have been concentrating on the road race, the Events team have been working hard to make sure that the atmosphere on race day will be one that this first year’s entrants and spectators will talk about for many years to come.

Live music acts, entertainment and the Race Village area in Chapelfield Gardens will mean the city is a hive of activity on race day.

So with just a few days to go to Run Norwich, have there been many sleepless nights in the Courtnell household?

“I would like to say this hasn’t been the case, but, as always with being involved with an event of this scale, it’s an inevitability. Nerves? Excitement? Probably a combination of both. There’s always so many thoughts and pieces of information to process, assimilate and remember. I doubt that any member of the core team has not had one of those 4:00am sit up in bed moments, find a notepad and write something down!”

“Months and months of work by a considerable number of people and organisations have been invested in bringing this event to life, since the first feasibility meeting back in early 2014.”

“I have every expectation that Run Norwich will become a prestigious annual event on the national road running calendar for many years to come.”