Southern 12 Stage Road Relay 2017
A good day by any description ! On our return to Gravesend the weather was warmer than last year but times were affected by a strong headwind on the climb back to the start which on this short lap course meant it had to be tackled three times.
We had a solid opening leg from the reliable Chris Greenwood who sensibly had a conservative start and then worked his way up to a fine 12thposition before handing over to Ben Harding. He tore through the field securing 6th pace by the end to demonstrate that he is beginning to return to form. Then James Bowler had a good run, despite the heavy legs that training for the London Marathon produces, and gained a place to put us right in the mix. Lawrence Avery was next and he produced the run of the day as he ran our fastest short leg and in the process got us up to 3rd place.
Another new recruit on leg 5, Jordan Weaver, then demonstrated his recent improvement as he chased the Serpentine runner, none other than Dave Morgan, all the way before overtaking him on lap 3 and pulling away decisively. Tim Alexander then had a solid run despite the pressure than 3rd place brings and he hung on well to 4th place for the team.
Next up was none other than James Connor, who was running his 16th Southern 12 Stage, who demonstrated that his recent return to form is no fluke as he ran our fastest long leg of the day and increased our lead as he held onto 4th place. Next up was Rob Laing who had a solid run and who maintained our position despite the unexpected pressure of us running far better than expected. Yet another new recruit to the team was Jonathan Tipper who ran solidly, despite full Marathon training, who held 4th place for us and who handled the pressure well.
The first three teams were getting away from us which gave Stuart Beaney some slack as he had another solid run and he held onto 4th place for the team. Neil Phillips was next up on our last long leg and he held onto 4th pace with another solid run as some of the big guns were making a charge behind him. So all our six long legs were finished with less than a minute between them. Our last leg runner was another new recruit to the A team, Joe Hartley, and the pressure was really on him as AFD. Bedford and Belgrave were all within 15 seconds of him. He ran extremely well and sensibly hung onto the AFD runner who caught him early on and this gave them both some headway over the other guys as he secured a fine 5th place for the team – way better than predicted by Ken.
So by any standard a good day for the club as no less than 7 guys were making their debut for the A team. They really delivered well which given that most can improve dramatically is a real bonus for future events.
Not to be outdone the B team were led off by ever reliable Tim Lawrence who got them up to 32nd pace on the opening leg out of 53 teams and with a good legs from Anthony Johnson they were on course to make the top 25 teams and therefore qualify for the National 12 Stage in two weeks time. He ran well, despite months out through injury, and moved them up to 26th place before regular Caium Fraser moved them into 24th position with a solid run. Next up was Rowan Critchton, who was making his debut, and he ran well securing 22nd spot and almost certain qualification for the Nationals. Another new boy was Chris Minns who delivered the goods with a fine run as he held onto his position. Matt Moroney then ran well to gain another position by getting us up to 17th position.
Then Niall Robinson had a good run, only a second behind the fastest long leg for the team, as he worked hard on a really competitive leg. Another of our injured A team runners was next up and Adrian Lowther ran well off limited training gaining another place to secure 16th place. Tom Muddiman, on a day trip from Southampton, then produced then goods as he ran another fine long leg gaining one more position into the bargain. Sam Rowlands, yet another new boy to the team, then delivered the goods as he secured 15th place with a good debut run.
Our last long leg was in the hands of a certain John Gilbert who had only run 3 times since a stress fracture and he delivered a fine run giving the A team something to consider. Another much injured guy who was coming back, Pete Lighting, was last up for the team and he showed that class is permanent as he secured our excellent 15th place for the team – first B team by a mile and one of only two B teams that qualified for the National 12 Stage.
We were still not done as we had entered a C team for the first time and loads of guys ran well giving the B team a fright for places next year. They were first C team by some way and sealed a great day for the club on so many fronts.
Southern 12 Stage Road Relay at Cyclopark, Gravesend on Sat 25th March 2017
.1. Chris Greenwood 20 23 12th
.3. James Bowler 20 26 5th
.5. Jordan Weaver 20 19 3rd
.7. James Connor 20 00 4th
.9. Jonathan Tipper 20 58 4th
.11. Neil Phillips 20 46 4th
.2. Ben Harding 13 32 6th
.4. Lawrence Avery 13 30 3rd
.6. Tim Alexander 14 34 4th
.8. Rob Laing 14 25 4th
.10. Stuart Beaney 14 41 4th
.12. Joe Hartley 13 44 5th
Team: 5th out of 53 starters in 3 hours 27 min 18secs
B team
.1. Tim Lawrence 21 59 32nd
.3. Calum Fraser 22 15 24th
.5. Chris Minns 22 29 22nd
.7. Niall Robinson 22 00 18th
.9. Tom Muddiman 22 04 15th
.11. John Gilbert 20 54 15th
.2. Anthony Johnson 14 18 26th
.4. Rowan Critchton 14 45 22nd
.6. Matt Moroney 14 32 17th
.8. Adrian Lowther 14 25 16th
.10. Sam Rowlands 14 47 15th
.12. Pete Lighting 14 41 15th
Team: 15th out of 53 starters in 3 hours 39 min 09 secs
FIRST B team
C team
.1. Barny Day 22 35 36th
.3. John Cox 23 25 39th
.5. Nick Ostrowski 23 02 37th
.7. Ben Smith 23 25 36th
.9. Tom Webb 23 56 35th
.11. Ian Elwood 24 07 31st
.2. Adam Garcia 15 29 40th
.4. Richard Archer 15 50 40th
.6. Arif Merali 15 36 36th
.8. Darryl Coulter 16 07 36th
.10. Jules Gevers 15 07 33rd
.12. Len Reilly 15 54 32nd
Team: 32nd out of 53 starters in 3 hours 54 mins 33secs
FIRST C team
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Photos below from Flickr