Last Thursday, a very small crowd of three turned out to witness the handover of another baton in a relay to celebrate the Olympics.
Organised by Endurance Life, and setting off from Land’s End ten days after the official Olympic Relay, this rather lower key event followed the same route, but with real runners, running nonstop for between 8 and 15 miles each. Some of the changeovers were in the middle of the night and the relay would gradually catch up with the official one.
Noel Hogan from Newport and District Running Club took over the baton in Telford Town Park and ran back through the Granville and Muxton to meet up with Alison Lavender from Shrewsbury, who would continue the relay to hand over in Stafford.
The handover between them took place at the edge of the town near to Moorfields School in the pouring rain, but it could not dampen the sense of occasion and achievement for the athletes in an event which probably had more to do with the spirit of the Olympics than the sponsor dominated relay of the previous week.