Story added: 17th November 2022

Katie's Story

“My amazing boyfriend and I ran Run Norwich 22 together to celebrate his incredible & miraculous recovery after he sustained a life-changing head injury whilst playing a game of rugby for the Norwich Rugby Club in October 2021.

He has sadly been told his career playing rugby is over, but he’s overcome this, mentally and physically, finding new and safer ways of enjoying sport and exercise – such as our running!

Our families came out to support us during the run and we both got choked up a few times with gratitude and disbelief that we were actually running this 10k both healthy and fit.

This run will always have a special place in our hearts!

Thank you, Run Norwich!”

 

 

Sally's Story

“I entered pre covid as a ‘regular’ challenge, but this year brought the biggest challenge of all.

My son has been extremely ill and needed major surgery to remove an enormous tumour in the summer.

Following a barrage of tests, he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer a month before the race.

This meant very little training – but my race time didn’t matter.

Every time it got tough during the race and stopping crossed my mind, I thought of my son and how he has battled through everything and it kept me going.”

 

James' Story

It feels appropriate that this story is shared in the month of November.

November is a month that has become prominent since the inception of ‘Movember’.

Movember is an annual event where people grow out their moustaches to raise awareness of men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men’s mental health and suicide.

James lost a close friend last year, so decided to dedicate his run and his fundraising efforts towards relevant causes.

“I was running on behalf of my friend who committed suicide last year.

He was really into competitive running and I wanted to get back into fitness and push myself to complete a 10k in his honour.

I managed to raise £260 to be donated to suicide prevention charities.”

 

James, from Ipswich, also participated in Run Norwich 2016.

Joanne's Story:

Lockdown was a difficult time for a lot of people. As guidelines started to ease and bubbles began to grow, many people found new comfort in sports, running or other physical activities that allowed them to spend time socialising with others.

Joanne Forster and her sister were able to do exactly this, growing a new branch in their relationship through running.

“My sister and I started running together through covid.

When we were allowed to meet a person outdoors we went running. It has been a wonderful bonding activity for us!

We run and chat about our lives – it’s one of the only times we have uninterrupted conversations.

During Run Norwich, she caught me up on her first term back at university and we planned our next goal – The Berlin Marathon!”

 

Joanne (left) holds hands as she completes her first Run Norwich.

Lewis' Story:

“Having taken part in every Run Norwich so far (including the virtual one in 2020) I was very keen for the 2021 race.

However, in January 2021 I received a cancer diagnosis.

When my partner picked me up from the hospital just after, one of the first things I said upon getting in the car was “I’d better be back fit for Run Norwich!”

Apparently it’s quite common after receiving such news, for people to fixate on something seemingly arbitrary, but from that moment Run Norwich took on a deeper meaning for me.

Surgery and chemotherapy followed, and I am now back to full health!

Obviously the 2021 race was cancelled and 2022 postponed so I had plenty of time to recover from my treatment but crossing the finish line on Sunday (in my 2nd fastest time) felt very much like the completion of an important goal.”

 

Lewis (right) photographs with his son before this year’s race.

Terry's Story:

“I was diagnosed with hip osteoarthritis three years ago.

I was told I would need a hip joint replacement operation sooner rather than later, and that I wouldn’t be able to do any more running.

However, with the pandemic and the long waiting list, I got fed up with living with the pain.

So, with a lot of research into natural remedies I have been able to alleviate the problem beyond what the specialist said would be possible.

I would rather try and fail than not try and simply accept things as they were.

The positive results I have achieved meant I was able to run every step of this event alongside my son in 1:11:16.

We have a combined age of 113 and we’re thoroughly looking forward to next year when, with a combined age of 115, we will be aiming to improve on that time!”

Terry, a Norwich local, also participated in Run Norwich 2019.

 

Terry (left) and his son (right) tackle the rainy Run Norwich 2022