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The annual spring 12 and 6-stage relays were held once again in the grounds of Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield - a big national fixture but one requiring, as ever, a big journey south and a full day’s commitment.
This year’s fixture had one difference, however, in that, due to ongoing work in the park and the Streetly Gate remaining open to traffic, the longer 10k stages, had all been stripped out and all stages were now 5.08k for the first time since the event’s inaugural running in 1967. With the team shaping up very nicely midweek, team manager David Swinburne was unfortunately hit by a double whammy on Friday teatime necessitating some special pleading to make sure Morpeth even had a full team. Cometh the hour, cometh the men, and Rob Hancox (who was travelling down anyway with Sam) and then Tom Straughan stepped into the breach to make sure the team would be complete – a big thank you to them from not just the team but the whole club. As it was, the club were still able to make a top 20 place, and were indeed right up to 4th at the end of leg five and still in the top ten two thirds of the way in, finishing in a respectable 19th overall in a combined time of 3 hours 16 minutes and 30 seconds. The race was won by Bristol and West in 3:02:35, with Highgate Harriers 2nd and only 22 seconds behind, and in fact actually in the lead after stage 11. Cambridge and Coleridge AC were 3rd in 3:04:27, with Tonbridge AC 4th and Leeds City, missing some of their big hitters, 5th . Peter Smallcombe got Morpeth’s challenge off to a good start with an excellent 15:11, with Carl Avery clocking 15:15 on leg 2 and George Lowry 15:29 and the club steadily moving up the standings. Finn Brodie’s 15:25 got the team up to 4th and Phil Winkler kept them there with 15:22. Joe Dixon, already no stranger to these big relays despite his young age, ran 15:56 on leg 6, Sam Hancox 16:12 on leg 7, and Connor Marshall 16:09 on leg 8, with the club still in a top ten place. In their first outings at this level, Ethan Bond clocked 17:23 and Dan Melling 16:34. Thereafter, Tom Straughan’s 17:35 and Rob Hancox’s 19:59 saw them finish in 19th overall and 4th team from the North of England behind Leeds, Salford and Liverpool, but 1st from the North East, ahead of Gateshead in 43rd (for whom Calum Johnson ran one of the day’s fastest legs of 14:34), Birtley (48th) and Tyne Bridge (51st). Jake Smith of Pontypridd ran the day’s fastest time of 14:28. Some 65 teams in all finished (although remarkably a big club like Birchfield Harriers could only field seven). Full results here The Women’s Six Stage was won by Aldershot, Farnham and District in a time of 1:46:01, ahead of Leeds City AC (1:47:10) and Herne Hill Harriers (1:47:47). Neither Tyne Bridge nor NSP, 2nd and 3rd in the Northern Relays, travelled. In fact, only Birtley AC and Elvet Striders turned out from the NE, with Birtley A finishing 26th in 2:05:27 and their B 42nd in 2:27:49. Elvet were 37th in 2:19:28, with some 43 complete teams finishing. Lucy James of Herne Hill ran the fastest time of the day, 16:48. Full results here Comments are closed.
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