6 out of 10 Foxes does Countdown
Think Richard Whitely and Carol Vorderman then erase that from your mind and think more along the lines of Jimmy Carr, Rachel Ripley and inflatable hippos, buzzing bees, Harry Potters and nuns!! This is how Saturday 1st July unfolded.
The Challenge
All our summer challenges are designed to be a free fun event for club members to bring different people together that may not have met before and to have a laugh.
The challenge this year simply put ….was a letter running relay with questions to solve a conundrum.
In more detail….Members of the club were invited to form teams of six to take part. Bonus points were given if they included a new member, a vintage one (60+), a youth member, an injured fox, and someone from a different training session.
A clue was released on our private Facebook page at 8am to give the location of the meet up point. This turned out be Shoreham FootBridge on the beach side.
The injured team member (Team member no 1 -TM1) was left at the Footbridge where they would take part in a quiz and a series of challenges, including some conundrums and earn vital points for the team. The rest of the team were given clues to the next location where they found a former Countdown presenter (marshal). Each marshal asked a question to the next team member and when they got that right, they would be given some letters to run back to TM1. TM1 collected the letters which would form a conundrum once all the other 5 members were back at base. The distance between team members was approximately 0.5 miles, spread along the river path. Each time they received the letters, they had to run back to the team member before them.
The Teams
Teams submitted their team names prior to the event and were awarded points for clever, funn,y or imaginative names.
Team names included The Rule Breakers, 6 go Conundrunning, The Yabbadabadoos, The Bounty Hunters, Taking The Mickey, Potters Plodders to name but a few.
As 0815 rolled around so the teams appeared, and the efforts that had gone into the costumes and the characters was not only amazing but hilarious. Points were awarded to the teams in the order in which they arrived.
From Top to Bottom : Hungry Hippos, The Proud Foxies and The Rule Breakers looking like they are lost!
The Points
As well as TM1 gathering points from the quiz, bonus points were given over the course of the morning for other achievements. Team names and outfits earnt points along with answering the questions at each marshal point and having a picture taken with a wooden object. They also obtained points by solving the conundrum, being the first team back with all the letters and for producing a photo collage or video of their morning. This levels out the fairness so it’s not all about the running or the speed at which you can complete the task.
Entertaining the Public
In past challenges, the public have absolutely loved being entertained by the antics and this year was no different. We had people sitting and watching the quiz take place whilst various team members ran back in their fancy dress over the footbridge with the letters. Ladies asking to join the club saying, “this is just what I am looking for”. After the event, we were told, that cafĂ© owners were happy as customers bought extra drinks as they wanted to stay and watch the action along the high street. Some people took to social media sharing their pics and wondering what it was all about … just some women who love running having a bit of fun!
The Winners
It’s always a close race in terms of points and this year Potters Plodders claimed 1st place, just pipping The Rule Breakers to the post by 40 points. Closely followed by joint third place winners 6 go Conundrunning and The Queen Bees. To be honest everyone has such a fun morning that the winning is just the icing on the cake.
Thank you
Big thank you to all the marshals for giving up their time on a Saturday morning to help set up and be part of the madness. Massive thanks to all the teams that took part you went to so much thought and effort with the team names and outfits. Lastly thank you to Shoreham residents for putting up with our shenanigans hope you enjoyed the show!