9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2004 - Page 0079
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
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REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) 77 sary. Occasional sniggers at the sight of the competitors’ morale gradually sinking with distance helped tremendously. At the 20 mile mark cramp was starting to set in and the last few miles were undeniably the hardest. Sheer determination and the will- ing not to fail saw the team on to the finish line. For all apart from WO2 Turner, this was their first marathon, so the results were more than pleasing. Capt Garrett was home in a time of 3 hours 34 minutes, Cfn Williamson in 3 hours 47 minutes, W02 Turner in 3 hours 54 minutes and Capt Jones in 4 hours 12 minutes. The competi- tion was won by a team that clearly run marathons for fun and 9/12L did not disgrace themselves at all coming just outside the top three. Congratulations are thoroughly deserved to the competitors for the hard work and effort given to competing in this event. Thanks should also be given to Mrs Jones and Turner who lost their men for a few hours training at weekends and for the race. Maysan Half Marathon - 1 Jan 04 nevitable on a tour where drinking is discouraged and the facilities are limited an increase in personal fitness is the norm. This tour was no different; on any given day you could see the gym filling and the perimeter of the camp being trod down by those who wanted to lose a few pounds or gain a few seconds at the end of their BPFA. To encourage those with the bug and some without any interest whatsoever C Sqn organized an event not seen in Iraq since the Baa’th Party Sport Aid run for fun of ‘84, the first half marathon in Maysan (if not Iraq) and the very first half marathon of 2004. In early November it was easy to prize money out of people for charity and get them to say “yes” to a piece of history as the perimeter of camp continued to take a greater pounding. The competitors were spread to the four corners of the Brigade and at one point even Capt Corcoran submitted his own entry (with- out any money I might add). As time drew nearer the numbers swelled to over 100 competi- tors but some genuinely had to drop out for a series of Operations within Basrah, which forced them to work and seri- ously hindered the rest of us in training. But still the event stayed firmly in the calendar and at 0800hrs on Thu 01 Jan 04 the first half marathon of the year anywhere in the world took place with 88 runners (the majority ofpressed men from C Sqn). Concurrently the QRH in Basrah (our new parents for the tour) ran a 10km run to coincide with our event and the lonely duo of SSgt Emery and LCpl Smith ran their own half marathon in Az Zubayr Port also at 0800hrs. The main event in Maysan saw runners compete on rowing machines, stepper machines and the rest as runners in a variety of dress. LCpl Foster went to prove his worth and fitness by running the event in full combats carrying BCFT weight in his Bergen. When questioned about his madness he commented, “Well it was only 9 miles” Quite obviously fit enough to pick up a ton but not so confident on just how to spell it! The first home for the run arrived at the finish line in just over 1 hour 21 minutes with the first Lancer (SSgt White) not far behind him and the first female from the Regiment was LCpl Bertham (just goes to show their long nights of training togeth- er paid off!) Finally the stragglers and fun runners finished in time for a presentation and brunch supplied by lst Battalion the Light Infantry and a tally up of the entry fees followed by some late sponsorship saw the Regiment raise £674 for the Weston Park Cancer Research Fund a charity dear to the Regiments heart. For those that entered and completed the event it was a unique opportunity to complete two firsts for 2004 whilst nurse the ten- der heads from the night before. For those that are jealous, well I’m sure the opportunity to run in Iraq will rear its head again but to keep the event unique you will have to go one better than the first half marathon of the year anywhere in the world. tr:- A /Oflg s/Og m the heat, |
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