Aldershot F&D Relays, inc. SEAA 6-Stage Championship, Rushmoor Arena

Claret & gold pyrotechnics

Alan Mead reports: With a few guys missing we were not going to be able to turn out a medal winning team so with the team manager suspecting that Nick Goolab was in good form, he took the decision to front load the six and showcase our colours. Having lit the blue touch-paper he then retired to a safe distance to watch the fireworks; and weren't they spectacular!

Nick simply ripped up the starting straight, disappearing from sight on the first loop, only to re-emerge a couple of minutes later with a 12 second lead. He’d torn the heart out of any opposition but the TM suddenly had a doubt in his mind … “I suppose he does remember that it’s two laps!” ‘Course he did, but it was quite staggering for all to behold a claret and gold vest going through at half way in an astounding 8:30 with a good half minute lead. The course record goes back years – to Brighton’s Andy Bristow with 17:07 – and has withstood runs from the likes of Mo Farah and Chris Thompson. Nick worked hard over that second 3k circuit but one could see from the occasional flicker of pain on his face that he had overdone it. Goodness alone knows what he would have run with a slightly steadier start. Nevertheless his 17:37 equalled Mark Miles’ club record from 2004 and he gave James Kelly a 28 second lead.

Knowing that it was going to be a front-loaded non-medal winning team, James had put in a hard old 20-miler the previous day as he works toward donning an England vest for the Toronto marathon. He was expecting to have company to take him around Rushmoor but here he was defending a mega-lead: “Thanks Nick!” But James is as strong as they come and not only did he defend the lead, he extended it to 34 seconds as Bedford dropped away and Thames Valley took up the chase.

A daunting task, then, for Craig Ruddy, making his Belgrave début? Not a bit of it; quite unfazed, our man who had just returned from a break in Turkey eased another few seconds away from the pack and we were 36 seconds to the good of an Aldershot squad that had supplanted the ‘Valley’.

Right in the firing line it was inevitable that Will Cockerell was going to be run down by the next AFD man and Bedford & County also squeezed into the frame but Will held it together to send Mike Trees away ahead of the Beagles’ John Beattie. How wonderful to see Mike, a day or two short of 51, battling it out with the youngsters; but the mêlée didn’t disturb his metronomic pace judgement as he was 9:55 for each circuit to run a time that would have put him top of the pile in the earlier M50 race. Wonderful running from our new M50 UK mile and 1500 metre record holder.

It was all up to Royston Maddams, then, stepping into the big time after a good run in the 'Surrey's'. It seemed that with luck we should finish 11th, 12th? Roy was having none of that though. A steady opening lap saw Kent, Highgate and Tonbridge come by and perhaps Brighton and one or two others moving up behind, but opening up his stride on the second tour of the arena the Belgrave rear-gunner wasn’t letting anyone else get on his tail and he brought us home a marvellous seventh.

Sometimes a non-medalling performance can be as pleasing as one that gets us on the podium. This was such a run. Nick’s time was fastest of the day by miles and he later admitted that while feeling the pain on that second circuit, he was driven on by the desire to show the running world that the Bels are alive and well after recent setbacks. Roll on the ‘National’.

Good to see James Browne back in a Belgrave vest after working abroad for years.

1 Aldershot F&D AC 1:51:53; 2 Newham & Essex Beagles 1:52:38; 3 Bedford & County AC 1:53:12; … 7 Belgrave H 1:55:35; … 96 teams started, 80 finished.

‘A’ Team: N Goolab (1, 1) 17:37; J Kelly (1, 6) 18:32, C Ruddy (1, 3) 18:50; W Cockerell (3, 20) 20:04; M Trees (4, 11) 19:49; R Maddams (7, 31) 20:43.

‘B’ Team: R Norville (85) 22:35; P Willis (79) 22:21; J Browne (70) 20:58; T Weeks (68) 22:11.

Fastest: 1 N Goolab 17:37; 2 J Davies (Reading) 17:57; 3 J Beattie (Newham &EB) 18:03; =4 J Goodwin (Bedford &C & M Bergin (Bedford &C) 18:05; 6 A Maud (Clapham C) 18:06.

Restored from the club's earlier website, belgraveharriers.com, and published here as originally written.