Over the course of 24 hours, eight Crick Running Club members collectively ran 310 kilometres, finishing third out of 34 teams. The team consisted of: Crick Academy's David Bacon alonsgide Paul Mercer, Christopher Cox, Sarah Macfarlane, Bakir Kudic, Abdul Zafar, Rozbeh Baradaran, Matthew Murphy and Evie (the team dog!)

The Spitfire Scramble is a popular annual relay race held in Hornchurch, Essex, where teams of runners take turns completing continuous 10 km laps around a scenic off-road course. The event draws participants from clubs and workplaces across the UK and celebrates inclusivity, camaraderie, and the shared challenge of running through the day and night.

Here's what some of the runners had to say: 

The running club wanted to do a race together, and the Spitfire Scramble combined that idea with a fantastic way to spend time with colleagues from different floors. It was gruelling, exciting and wonderful. We were competing against some very good athletic clubs and fighting for every point. To have won a trophy is due to the collective effort of every member of the team. We also had the Crick logos on our t-shirts and of course wanted to come out on top.

– David Bacon, Software Tutor and Training Developer

The race was a fantastic chance to take part in a team event, meet colleagues from across the Crick, camp out in nature, and share our love of running together. The night runs were especially memorable – it was both exhilarating and surreal to be out in the woods at 3AM, running in the dark with only a headtorch lighting the way.

– Bakir Kudic, Doctoral Clinical Fellow

It was such a great, life affirming event and amazing effort to be part of. We all worked so hard for each other to get the miles in our legs and as it turned out we came up on top against some well-established running clubs with historic pedigrees. It really was quite an achievement! That said, the wonderful ethos of the Crick Running Club that David Bacon has nurtured is all about enjoyment rather than out-and-out competition and it is this that made the experience and podium place even more special.

– Paul Mercer, Head of Industry Partnerships