AFD Road Relays inc. SEAA Men’s 6-Stage Championship, Rushmoor Arena, nr. Aldershot
Absorbing struggle at Mount Rushmoor
Will Cockerell reports.
Back to Rushmoor then, scene of so many Bels triumphs (six wins in the last 8 years) for this first major championship of the new term. Last year we scored a 2, 2, 2, 8 for the four road-relays, what would this season bring?
Leg 1 and Sharpy was back in the team after having his sensational streak of road relays (35) so cruelly interrupted by the volcanic ash last spring. Steve nailed his 10th consecutive Southern 6-stage all but dead centre, but some lower back pain during the week found him struggling to let go on the descents, and on the steep drop a kilometre into the second lap, several runners flew past. But SS tucked in, and set up Wardy for his favourite game of Space Invaders.
Fast forward seven minutes and 10th had become 4th as an always grimacing Wardy tried to keep the medallists in sight. This he did while having to bow to Ben Noad later on. Handing over to JB and it occurred that the top three in this team all made their relay debuts for Belgrave in 2001. We’re not stuck in the past though – they may once have been good runners, and they still bally-well are! Jon expertly did something about the Newham threat, and they’d never bother us again in this race, and also edged us ahead of a fine Highgate outfit. A flying James Connor floated by for Kent, but he was about to hand over to a pal who was 141 seconds slower. That’s relay running for you. Consistency is key.
Right, no disrespect to the 2001 brigade, but perhaps the time had come to inject a little precocious and fearless youth into the fray, and none comes more so than ‘Nickyboy’. Only recently back into full training, this ferociously competitive athlete stormed to our fastest of the day thus far, and placed us into the medals. Surely Shaftesbury would come back, but Aldershot were now looking, alas, untouchable. Unless...
Paskar Owor versus Paul Rodgers was an excellent match-up fresh from a similar tango at the Surreys. Our only chance was if ‘PO’ could somehow turn his 14 second advantage from the Surreys into a 40 second one here on the longer course, to at least give Dan a sighter of AFD’s last man. Rodgers went through the half in 8.59... and so did PO. We now needed a miracle. PO clawed a tenacious 4 seconds back in the second lap, but this meant 1:26 needed to be found by our master-blaster.
The good news, if there was any, is that the last time Dan Mulhare and Jonny Hay clashed, at the National 12 Stage, Jonny ran 28:41, and Dan 26:14. A breath of hope perhaps? Hmm not really when 18-year-old Hay’s recent BMC 14:02 is taken as evidence, with a last lap of 56. Dan did all he could; feeling heavy with a head cold, he still blasted the day’s fastest and reclaimed 21 seconds but could do nothing about the other 65.
Hats off to AFD which was a fantastic team, with all running within 25 seconds of each other and harks the mind back to our 2001 National 6 stage team who all ran within 23 seconds. But those two stats are duly bettered by AFD’s 6th placing B team who were all within 20 seconds. What exceptional depth in quality.
As for our boys, nothing to be sorry for, everyone ran to scratch, and with our talisman Wicksy (unwell) on board, Hay’s mission would have been considerably more fraught. Our time would have won in eight of the last 11 years. Finally, a word for the Baby B’s, not at their strongest for this one, but special menche for Lander, Ben and Dave who ran well, and of whom much is expected, and required, over the coming six months.
1 Aldershot F&D AC 1:49:21; 2 Belgrave H 1:50:26; 3 Newham & Essex Beagles 1:51:07; 4 Shaftesbury Barnet H 1:52:10; 5 Highgate Harriers 1:52:52; 6 Aldershot F&D AC ‘B’ 1:53:14; ... 50 Belgrave H ‘B’ 2:09:14; … 88 teams started; 62 finished.
A – S Sharp (10) 18:24; R Ward (5) 18:56; J Blackledge (4) 18:39; N Goolab (3) 18:21; P Owor (2) 18:13; D Mulhare (2) 17:53.
B – K Hegvold 20:57 (63) B Hurley (45) 20:19; D Mason (46) 20:52; L Eguia (39) 20:22; A Lang (54) 24:53; M Humphrey (50) 21:51.
Fastest: 1 D Mulhare (Belgrave H) 17:53; 2 F Tickner (Wells City H) 17:59; 3 B Moreau (AFD)/D Mitchinson (NEB) 18:00
Restored from the club's earlier website, belgraveharriers.com, and published here as originally written.