South of England 12 & 6 Stage Road Relays
Our men's and women's teams both finished 7th yesterday at the South of England 12 and 6 Stage Road Relays in Milton Keynes. Our men's B team was also the first B team to finish.
On Sunday 29th March, Milton Keynes once again hosted the 12 stage road relays. The weather was more wintry than last year, but the enthusiasm from all the assembled teams was always high. It was the tale of three teams for us, each involved in their own battles and challenges on this the culmination of the season.
A team
Leading out was Martyn Cryer. Having put a pre-Christmas illness behind him Martyn has been training well for the London Marathon, even running a recent half-marathon PB. High hopes were expected and he did not disappoint, leading the team in 6th place with our fastest long leg of the day, 24.28. Following Martyn is never an easy task in the relays as he will always put you in the top group. As some teams had front-loaded it meant our next man, Donatas Tumaitis, had to keep very focused, which he did well, not getting dragged off his pace by flyers such as Adam Clark from Aldershot. 16.57 was the result and we were in 12th place. Out third for the team was Tom Phillips (photo, left). 
Not a good time trial man, this manager had everything crossed that third leg would give him a good enough racing environment to do well in. This manager's prayers were answered in the form of Dara Chesser of Newham, who started 4sec ahead of Tom, finishing only 3sec ahead by the end, as Tom ran a very good 25.18 to put us back in the top 10 in 8th place. Fourth out for the team was Tomaz Plibersek. The weather was starting to get bad, with rain showers and the wind picking up, but Tomaz ran a very controlled leg to run 16.40 and, although just passed by Blackheath at the end, we had two teams just 5 seconds in front of us.
Our next man out was Gavin Lewis. By all reports Gavin (photo, right) has been going very well in training and his recent 70.00min for a half-marathon showed that he was in great shape. And his lap underlined this as he ran and passed talented athletes such as Rory Chesser of Newham, running 24.58 to move us up 3 places to 6th. 
Half way man was Angus Holford. With recent training going well, Angus had a tough leg with some flyers on his lap, but held it together well as, although passed by a couple of teams, he reeled Aldershot back in as he ran a good 16.47, so that at the half way mark we were in 8th place. Next for the team was Omar Mansour. He was probably cursing himself for running so well over the longer distances this season, as the 800m man found himself on a long leg for the first time. Getting sucked in to trying to catch the Aldershot man early, he went through the first couple of miles a bit quick, and this meant that by mile 4 a stich and survival mode had kicked in. But Omar is made of tough stuff and although annoyed that the pacing of the lap had robbed him of running a better time he still came in with 26.25 and kept us in 8th place. Eighth out for the team was Tom Beedell. Tom had had a friend's stag party the night before, but had felt obliged to turn out for the team as he had said he would, which was much appreciated by this manager, who assures Tom that he ran a fair bit faster than this manager would have if he'd had to pull on the vest. Tom, training for the London marathon, has had injury trouble in recent times and so had taken the week easy to avoid any injury lapse in the build up to this race. And although not delighted by his time of 16.45, it was good to see Tom moving well, so much so that he then had a surprise for the C team (see below).
Belgrave had just got ahead of us on the last leg so next man Harold Wyber found himself in 9th place in the team race. This manager found out that Harold had a novel approach to the relays as he'd been out on Thursday and Friday, and then run (and won) the Orion 15 the day before! Before his leg he confessed that an espresso could be a useful thing, but the ultra man is a tough runner these days, and his 25.45, given all the factors, was a very good time. Next out was Andrew Mariani. It was good to see Andrew return in the green and white as he'd missed last season due to injury, and his time, our fastest short leg of the day and 10th fastest short leg of the day, of 15.56 underlines his talent. Andrew (photo, left) had managed to catch Belgrave who were ahead, so now the team was in 8th place with two legs left to run. 
Out 11th for the team was Ed Shepherd. Ed, looking forward to next season where he will be in America, has been a quality man for us at the relays and so it proved again as he ran 24.45, our second fastest long leg of the day. Although he made up 50sec on Highgate and passed them, Belgrave had a flyer on his lap who passed Ed so the team remained in 8th place. Anchoring the team home was Matt Shone. Matt, only ticking over these days, as he has commitments taking up all spare time, makes it a priority to try and get into shape for the relays, and so at Christmas each year, a couple of months of mileage is then supplemented by a few sessions in the build up. The results? Second fastest time on his leg and 19th fastest short leg of the day as Matt came in with a time most full-time athletes would be delighted with of 16.08. Matt had managed to catch the Aldershot anchor leg so the team finished in a very creditable 7th.
For the team's efforts and quality, seventh perhaps does not do the team justice. But in beating Highgate, Serpentine (who had an athlete get lost on the course - every manager's nightmare!), and last year's winners Aldershot shows how good our team was and that the standard of these relays was very high. Congratulations must go to Shaftesbury Barnet who won with a very talented group of mainly homegrown or long-standing club men. Mention must also go to Bob Smith of Newham who, after a tough season, got together a very decent team to gain a bronze medal.
B team
Starting the team was Daniel Mann. Daniel is looking to do the Paris Marathon in 2 weeks and said in recent times his form has been good, so he is hoping to get his time as near as possible to the three hour mark. His improvement in form was shown by how he was one of the few athletes to significantly improve his time of a year ago at these relays, taking it from 28.04 down to 27.13 and getting the team off to a very good start in 30th place. Out next was Rob Wilbraham, who had already saved the day as the club Gazebo couldn't be put up due to the wind, but he'd brought a tent which provided shelter for both the men's and ladies' teams on the day from the frequent rain showers. Rob then matched his help off the course by what he did on it, running 17.24 and taking the team down into 28th. Third out was Tony Russell. Having been in good form Tony caught a bug in the week which had laid him low. He had recovered enough to run, but such things usually take 10% off your peak, and Tony found this as he ran 27.33 but only lost one place to Newham's B team. Fourth out was Julian Russell. Julian has had a good season, and was unfortunate to be on a leg where the weather turned a bit more nasty so that his time of 18.16 was worth a good deal faster in better conditions. This was shown by how he made up a place overtaking Newham B and putting us in 28th place.
Up next was Simon Beedell, and this is where we made our move to be number one B team. At the start of the leg we were 3rd B team, with Shaftesbury and Bedford ahead of us. But Simon (photo, right) put his recent good form to great use, cutting through the field and taking us up to 23rd. 
It is fortunate he did so, as Serpentine B had also made a move to get through the field as Hendrick Zietsman took them from 33rd to one behind us! But there was no let up from us - next in was Tommy Bower who, since joining the club, has been an A team man this season so far. His 17.18 significantly cut into the gap ahead and pulled us clear of the other B teams. Seventh out for the team was Darren Southcott. Looking to get back into form, Darren had been training well in the week and his 26.55 came at a good time as Bedford B had a flyer, but although he closed the gap he could not catch Darren. Out eighth was Sam Benge. Sam was probably not best pleased to find that his training group was the one we were tied in a battle with as he had the pressure to hold them off. Such was his keenness to do this he started too fast and this told as a stitch considerably slowed him later so that his time of 17.55 didn't do his current fitness justice. The team was in 25th but now behind Bedford B.
Fortunately our next man was Joe Everitt. Joe has been getting into fine form and showed this by running 27.17, looking strong throughout, as he made up one place and overtook the Bedford B team runner, putting us back into the lead in the B team race by 13sec. Up next was experienced man Jim Roche. Jim had emailed this manager to say his that leg may not be the best due to a cold, but his estimated time still put Jim in the B team. So it was pleasing that, although Jim could not be 100%, his effort helped the team massively as he made up 2 places to put us in 22nd and put 40sec more on the Bedford B team as he ran 18.05. Daniel Steel was our next man out. Back in good form and aiming for a sub-2.30 in the London Marathon, Daniel paced his effort very well and was rewarded with the team's second fastest long leg of the day, 26.41. It was lucky he did so, as Serpentine B had now replaced Bedford B as the team right behind us as we were in 23rd place. Closing the team was Bertie Powell. Bertie was exactly the man you want for the job! He put 40sec on Serpentine B and moved us up into 20th place just missing 19th by 5 seconds, after he had caught the man in front by 30 seconds!
To get our B team in the top 20 was a fantastic achievement, and rudimentary calculations show that we have the best combined time for 24 men. This highlights that in our region we have had the best squad all season, no mean feat when against the depth and well organised clubs of Serpentine, Highgate, Bedford and others. It was a fantastic result with which to round off the season.
C team
Starting the C team was Terry McCarthy. Asked to open the C team in order to free up Daniel Mann for the B team, Tel showed what a club man he is, agreeing to do the opening leg where he knew he would have to overcome the mind games from the other teams, such as the Bedford's manager telling him he'd bring a calender to time Tel's lap with. But Tel stuck to the task well and came in with 33.11, to put the team in 49th place. Up next was Simon Rayner. Good to meet Pilot Simon, whose work takes him far from these shores. Simon, like our A team man Tom Phillips, does not like a time trial, but here the field had already stretched out, and so it was a lone leg he ran and the fact he ran nearly the time he expected was testament to his ability, of 19.52. All he could do was close the gap on the teams ahead as we stayed in 49th. Next up was A teamer Martyn Cryer who'd already done one long lap, but his marathon training said two was good. So out he went as the weather started to turn worse but he still ran 26.15 to move the team up into 44th place. Martyn handed over to Nick Andrews. Nick, our second-claim man from Telford, has been a great help this year, coming out to races and scoring some very decent points for the team. He ran a good 17.49 and moved the team up to 42nd.
In next was Dave Cox. Dave not feeling fully recovered from two weeks where things hadn't been fully clicking into place, was still pleased to come and run a leg for the team, and with 29.46 he helped move the team up by one place into 41st. Handing over to your son is an unusual thing, (One I hope we will see with club man Gareth Cavell and his son Harry in the next couple of years), but this happened here as out next was Robbie Cox. Nursing an Achilles injury, it was good that Robbie felt able to get round, and seemed happy to not feel any pain at the end as he did 18.56 and kept the team in 41st. Next out was Tony Pamphilon. Never can this manager remember two athletes both wanting to do a long leg, but in Tony and Mark Cambridge they were both happy to come out and do a long! A quick chat ensued and it was agreed Tony would do the long, and he did 29.51 and moved us up to 39th place. So Mark was next and even though he has been carrying an injury recently he managed to beat the 20 min mark running 19.58 keeping us in 39th.
Now here the team should have had its last man. But Simon Beedell, in marathon training, had decided that he'd do another leg. Running 27.39 he kept the team in 39th but closed on those ahead. Simon had also convinced his brother Tom to do another leg, which Tom was happy to do as not delighted with his leg time and in marathon training also. So it meant one more was needed, a search was done around the camp to find someone who'd complete the team. And it was Tommy Bower, who showed excellent team spirit by saying he'd go out for another short lap. So Tommy went out and did lap 10. This set up Darren Southcott (photo, below right) for his second long lap on leg 11 who still managed a creditable 28.58 keeping the team in 39th. 
And then it was Tom Beedell, who was "interested" to see the mass start that he was supposed to be in setting off 4 minutes ahead of the scheduled time, so he raced off to get his number recorded and catch up the runners. His recorded time of 17.51, this manager would put much nearer the 17 mark if his time had been started at the mass start gun, and Tom got one more place so the team finished in 38th.
This team showed clearly the spirit that has been in the squad all season. We had people willing to change legs to help the team, people running although not 100% and people doing double legs in order to complete the team. The weather had been awful but Woodford had again taken up a good number of supporters, and the atmosphere and spirit in the camp were excellent as they have been all season. Next team event is National 12-stage Road Relays on Saturday April 11th.