Channel swim
The Shuffler’s very own Gemma Cannon is not only a runner but a very talented swimmer.
As part of a team of five, she has recently accomplished the incredible feat of swimming the English Channel.
Gemma and her team completed this in the impressive time of 15 hours and 58 minutes with one member of the team always in the water swimming an hour at a time.
The unexpected arrival of a force 6 storm added 8 additional miles to the distance and the team were nearly turned around because of the challenging conditions, but despite this and a bad case of sea sickness, the team managed to achieve their goal.
Planning started back in 2019, and there were doubts due to the lockdown situation, but they managed to organise a qualifying swim whereby each team member was required to swim for 2 hours in water at a temperature of under 16 degrees.
The team have managed to raise a staggering £9,300 for The East Anglian Air Ambulance and Suffolk Mind, with donations still being made.
Gemma has come away from this experience with a feeling of great pride, but is not in a hurry to do it again and would rather run a marathon!! (We shufflers agree!)
Well done Gemma – we are also very proud of your achievement.
Sue Hargadon: A remarkable woman
Sue has been running for over 30 years; both for fitness and competitively. In 1985 she completed the London Marathon and in 2002 she competed in her second marathon race and has continued to run them irregularly since then.
She runs extraordinary distances to raise money for a cause close to her heart; the Cystic Fibrosis charity.
Sue decided to challenge herself to run 12 marathons in 12 months, which she started in January 2020. With three already completed in the freedom of the Suffolk countryside things were going well until lockdown struck in March 2020 and Sue, not one to be defeated, continued with her challenge and completed April and May’s marathons in her own garden using her dog for company and with continued support and encouragement from her husband.
Once she was permitted to hit the streets again, June proved to be a bumper month with Sue completing a further two marathons.
Local friends kindly joined Sue during the final marathons to encourage and support her along the way.
Her fellow Shufflers generously offered encouragement but with none living locally she accepted their support from afar; this support was gratefully received and was a great motivator to continue.
She went on to complete this challenge raising an impressive £4,000.
Sue was the most recent recipient of the prestigious ‘Shuffler of the year’ award as voted for by her fellow club members and is a much admired and valued member of our club.
We’re Back
March 29th saw the first phase of lockdown easing in England, which meant we could begin to start running as a group again!
Our first group runs of 2021 resemble those of 2020, with runners using the SPOND app to pick the running group of their choice with 5 other runners.
As of the second phase of lockdown easing, we have tentatively increased group numbers to 12 – more shuffler fun for all who attend!
If you’d like to join us on one of these runs we’d love to see you, please drop us an email at membership@woodbridgeshufflers.org.uk to arrange.
The Woodbridge Shufflers are as much about community and friendship as they are about running, so we are all thrilled to be back out running together.
Here’s to a great 2021 of running!
