Southern Six Stage Relay 2018 Crystal Palace
COMFORTABLE QUALIFICATION FOR SENIOR TEAMS WHILE M40’s WIN AGAIN AND W40’S TAKE BRONZE
For the second year running the South of England Relay championships took place at Crystal Palace with the start and finish on the athletics track of the iconic old stadium.
There was a big contingent of Kent AC runners at the championships – with the senior men turning out four teams. There was success again for our V40 men who have a fantastic record in this competition. They were winners again for the fifth time in row. Plaudits must also go to our women who had a very good day. The V 40 women actually took bronze medals in a very competitive race. In addition, our senior women finished a highly creditable fifteenth in their race and an in form Amy Clements ran the third fastest time of the day.
In the senior men’s race our men came in fourteenth with the B team putting in a very strong showing coming home 19th. And when you consider there were 78 teams closed in, the 41st position of our C team further indicates our strength in depth. There were also a fair few teams behind our D team. Although our A team was pretty strong, it wasn’t the one we hope to field in the upcoming nationals. On the day, though, the performance of some of our rivals certainly gave us food for thought. Clearly some teams have got a large pool of talent. In the senior men’s race, James Connor, unusually for him, ran the opening leg. He showed he’s in form by bringing us home in thirteenth. We did drop back a few places, but on the fifth leg Tom Mower overtook several to bring us back to fourteenth. Jordan Weaver on last leg closed the team in on fourteenth, finishing things off with a very impressive sprint as he came onto the track.
Finishing in fifteenth spot our senior women comfortably qualified for the national relays. As mentioned, Amy Clements, who ran the first leg, continued her good run of form and ran strongly to post the third fastest of the day. Her three team mates all ran well though with Alexa Parker, posting a swift time on leg 2. Big congratulations must go to our V40 women who came in third and so claimed bronze medals. All the team ran well but perhaps special mention should go Teresa Murphy who anchored the team. She took over in fifth spot and her excellent run brought the team up into third place. The V40 men yet again claimed victory and it’s quite streak their on. Barring injuries I wouldn’t be surprised if they can continue the streak. Rob Laing ran a very strong first leg and was just a fraction away from handing over in the lead. Phil Sanders kept them in second before Che Compton swept the team into the lead. By the time Chris Greenwood took over on the last leg he had a considerable advantage. However, he showed his class by running the fastest lap which was like a time trial for him. Showing impressive powers of recovery this run followed only a week after Chris had run 2:28 at the Berlin marathon! Our V 50 and 60 men put in a decent shift but were up against pretty formidable opposition.
So there is now just a short wait before our teams will be taking part in the national relays at Sutton Park. And then it’s the start of what promises to be a really exciting cross country season