Race Report - Midlands Road Relays - 29/03/2025

Women

4 Bristol & West AC. ‘A’ 1:55:47

1 Chelsea Baker (5) 17:56 2 Katrina Entwistle (2) 18:45

3 Maria Jones (4) 20:43 4 Miranda King (5) 19:26

5 Eleanor Carney (4) 20:18 6 Amy Hammersley (4) 18:39

12 Bristol & West AC. ‘B’ 2:03:43

1 Emma Clarke (30) 21:02 2 Megan Powell (25) 20:34

3 Sarah Everitt (19) 20:42 4 Ailish Craig (19) 21:20

5 Amy Brammar (16) 20:11 6 Katie Strange (12) 19:54

It was another great day for the Nippy Ladies, with the A team finishing 4th and the B team 12th, securing the title of the first B team out of 77 starting teams. Chelsea Baker had the unenviable task of running the highly competitive first leg. She likely had some fatigue in her legs from her individual gold medal triumph at the British Trail Championships. No worries, though—Chelsea finished a commendable 5th.

Kat Entwistle continued her comeback trail, looking strong on the long hill and visibly closing in on Cath Treble (Westbury Harriers), bringing the team up to second place. Maria Jones drew the short straw, with Weston Tempo storming through, but she held on well to secure 4th place. Miri King also ran mostly on her own but posted a strong time, just narrowly losing out to Chloe Hawkins (City of Stoke) by a second. Eleanor Carney looked strong as she tackled the long hill, bringing the team back up to 4th place. That left Amy Hammersley with the responsibility of bringing the team home in what turned out to be an eventful final leg. Amy was only just recovering from the stomach bug that kept her out of the National Cross-Country Championships. She overtook Isobelle Shaw (City of Stoke) but lost out to Freya Bradley, who ran a spectacular last leg for Westbury Harriers.

Emma Clarke led off for the B team. Although not quite at her best following a chesty cough, she still ran a minute faster than last year, bringing the team into 30th place. Megan Powell, fresh from qualifying for June’s World Hyrox Championships in Chicago, pulled back five places. Next up was Super Vet Sarah Everitt, who demonstrated her class by gaining another six places, moving the team up to 19th. Ailish Craig held onto 19th place during the fourth leg. That left Amy Brammer and Katie Strange to complete the team. Both produced their best runs of the season, creating a dilemma for the team selectors! On the plus side, their times left one beaming coach very pleased. Amy gained three places, and Katie four, overtaking City of Stoke’s B team and Coventry Godiva’s A team in the process.

Men’s Race

1 Bristol & West AC ‘A’ 3:05:16

1 Felix McGrath (1) 15:10 2 Ben Robinson (1) 15:04

3 Jonathan Thewlis (1) 15:55 4 Milan Campion (1) 15:33

5 Jack Millar (1) 15:11 6 Luke Burgess (1) 15:10

7 Joe Morrow (1) 15:26 8 Dylan Rigby (1) 15:48

9 Flynn Jennings (1) 15:20 10 Dage Minors (1) 15:34

11 Max Davis (1) 15:19 12 Daniel Studley (1) 15:46

8 Bristol & West AC ‘B’ 3:21:28

1 Adam Stokes (25) 16:42 2 Andrew Grigg (16) 16:34

3 Alastair Matheson (12) 16:20 4 Richard Elston (12) 16:58

5 Sam Parsons (12) 16:25 6 Aled Anderson (10) 16:50

9 Lee Gawler (6) 16:52 10 Daniel Shepherd (6) 16:15

11Miles Chandler (8) 17:41 12 Alistair Burleigh (8) 17:01

74 teams started

As the men’s A team arrived at Sutton Park, there was a palpable sense of tension, as they were considered favorites. Rumors circulated that Weston Tempo was out to disrupt Bristol & West AC’s dominance, having signed a new star—and they had! Felix McGrath led off, setting the pace from the start of the long hill. Any fears of an upset were quickly dispelled as he finished 45 seconds ahead of Weston Tempo’s lead-off runner. Ben Robinson built on this, increasing the lead over Alex Lee (Weston Tempo) by a minute by the end of leg two. Ben is in incredible form, having won the international masters race a fortnight ago and finishing second in the British Trail Championships last Sunday.

Jonny Thewlis, now happily recovered from injury, extended the team’s lead by a few more seconds, as did Milan Campion on the fourth leg. Jack Millar, who has been in stellar form, faced former club member Phil Wylie but still extended the lead by another 39 seconds. Luke Burgess proved his recent sub-30-minute 10K was no fluke by running just a second faster than Jack and stretching the lead to three and a half minutes.

At this point, Weston Tempo’s strategy became clear—they had backloaded their team. Their big guns emerged: Dom James (15:13) on leg seven and new star Jacob Cann (14:33) on leg eight. Joe Morrow and Dylan Rigby had the tough task of holding off their charge, and although both ran well and posted good times, the lead was cut to just over two minutes.

Flynn Jennings had another fantastic run on leg ten, increasing the lead by 22 seconds. Dage Minors started conservatively but stormed up the finish line like the sub-4-minute miler he is. Max Davis, returning from injury, showed he’s regaining form with a 15:19 finish—coincidentally, the exact time posted by Weston Tempo’s Dylan Gillet, keeping the lead at 2 minutes 25 seconds going into the final leg.

That left one of the club’s longest-serving members, international Dan Studley, to “enjoy” the glory leg. Judging by his expression in the final straight, “enjoy” might not have been the right word, but he safely secured victory with a winning margin of 2 minutes 23 seconds.

Given the results, you might wonder why other teams didn’t factor in. The bronze medal team, BRAT, was 11 minutes and 18 seconds behind. Notably, the B team was ahead of them until the end of leg ten!

Adam Stokes successfully navigated the scrimmage at the start, running a smart race to finish 25th. Andy Grigg then gained nine places with a strong second leg. Alastair Matheson, taking a break from London Marathon training, showed he’s in great shape with the second-fastest B team time, moving the team up to 12th. Richard Elston, recovering from injury, maintained 12th place, as did rising star Sam Parsons on the fifth leg. Ever-reliable Aled Anderson gained two places on leg six, while Aaron Bruce delivered another solid run, holding onto 10th on leg seven.

James Palmer made his club debut on leg eight, impressing by overtaking three teams. Lee Gawler, a revelation this winter, fought through a cold to bring the team up to 6th place. Dan Sheppard, in top form, recorded the fastest B team time of 16:15, holding onto 6th place.

It was a welcome return for Miles Chandler, who has been sidelined for over a year with injury; he lost a couple of places to backloaded teams. Alistair Farleigh, a former junior now a seasoned master, ran a solid final leg to secure 8th place.

Kurt Taylor & Jack Millar are selecting the A team for the National Road Relays on Saturday, April 12th, while I’m selecting the B team. With Kurt, Will Battershill, and Pete LeGrice available for the A team, the B team may be exceptionally strong. Please ensure you register your availability with Kurt or me if you haven’t already.

- Chris Elson