Runner overcomes injury to conquer Run Norwich course

One hundred and sixty nine days after the Run Norwich 2016 event, a Norwich woman has overcome injury to complete the course.

Unlucky Theresa Cornish tore her calf muscle just days before last year’s event, forcing her to pull out of what would have been her very first race. A charity runner for the Norwich City Community Sports Foundation (CSF), Theresa had collected in over £200 in sponsorship.

Determined, however, to fulfil her sponsorship, the 43-year-old vowed to complete the course once she had recovered from her injury.

Supported by 25 co-runners, among them work colleagues, members of the Catton Parkrun which she attends, and her Norfolk Gazelles running clubmates, Theresa made good on her promise and completed the route in full this morning.

Having been alerted to the run by a number of her fellow runners and, inspired by her story, staff from race organisers CSF surprised Theresa with full finish-line honours – complete with the official Run Norwich finish tape, a finisher’s medal and a goody bag.

Theresa, who finished the route in a time of 1:14.20, was overcome with the reception she received:

“I was absolutely devastated to not be able to do the run. I felt I had let down all those people who had sponsored me. It was really gutting, especially after all the training I had put in. To be able to do the course today, and with all the support from my friends and CSF, it has been incredibly emotional. I’m so grateful to everybody who ran with me or supported me at the finish.”

Co-runner and friend Justine Davenport, who helped organise the run along with James Bishop, said:

“We stuck to the route as much as we possible could, though obviously it was an added challenge with road and pedestrian traffic. We received some great support though – many of the cars stopped to let us cross the roads.”

Emma Fletcher, the Fundraising Officer from CSF and one of the staff to greet Theresa at the finish, said:

“When we told about Theresa’s run last week, we were really inspired by her perseverance and desire to complete the 10k. We wanted to show just how much fundraisers like Theresa mean to the charity by being there to personally greet her at the finish line today.”

One more surprise was still in store for Theresa: she was presented with a free place at Run Norwich 2017, so will be able to enjoy the race experience in full this year. How’s that for a Sunday morning, Theresa?

Entries for Run Norwich 2017 open this week. Charity entry opens tomorrow at 9am (to find out more about running for FREE for the Community Sports Foundation, click here) while General entry opens at 9am on Wednesday 25th January.