ERRA Men's 12-Stage Road Relay, Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield

Out of the chaos - bronze medals

This was no occasion for the faint of heart. An Achilles tendon injury took out long stager Hassan Raidi three days before the race but we were already concealing the fact that David Anderson had been unable to run at all since the previous Friday due to a calf muscle problem. We hoped against hope that he would recover in time and in the event, David ruled himself ok with two days to go. We breathed again as, already missing the talents of Spencer Barden, Kevin Nash and Mark Miles, we were desperately short of long stage backup. In spite of all of this, an undoubtedly good and excitingly young team hoped to secure another National win.

Then, only half an hour before the start, we were hit by the shock that our planned first stage runner was not going to be allowed to run.

Unaccountably it seemed that Paul Freary's name had been left off of the list of 72 names from which our A and B teams could be selected. There is no doubt that it was our own mistake and the Team Manager was absolutely "gutted" by his oversight. An appeal to the Race Referee met with a stone wall response. "You cannot run him - if you do then you will be disqualified."

While struggling to cope with this the TM then found that Richard Ward's name was also not on the declaration list. This seemed unbelievable - but reference to a photocopy of our entry showed that Richard HAD been entered. Another audience with the Referee was needed: "Ok, if you can prove that you did enter him then he can take part."

Our response: "But surely you can now see how a minor administrative error can be made by either party. Surely an athlete should not be penalised for such an oversight."

Sadly, there was no softening of attitude. It seemed that the official line was to be more accommodating with their own mistake than with ours.

Chaos ensued as the team order was hastily changed to bring in a reserve, and then changed again to avoid running him when it was suggested that an appeal against the Referee's decision might be worth pursuing. A couple of long stages and five short stages were brought forward to give breathing space during which time we hoped the decision could be changed. In the end it was not to be and, in hindsight, it was probably the right decision. Imagine the slating we would get if allowed to medal - or perhaps win - with an un-entered runner.

The day was as windy as we can ever remember at Sutton Park, becoming very cold and finishing with a hail storm and freezing rain.

Stage 1

Karl O'Connell, the man due to start off the Bs was at first drafted in to take Paul Freary's place but the need not to bring in a reserve until we knew the decision had gone against us changed that plan, and with a minimum warm-up, A-team member Tim Watson came forward a leg. He'd arrived at the hotel in the small hours of the morning having finished work at 10pm in Dartmouth, Devon! Tough these Marines - and he was fired up too, running well and only ten seconds off the lead as the pack returned from the far end of the park. Sale H Manchester were rumoured to be at full strength and looking for the win, and through Stuart Stokes they made an early bid to complete the initial stage 12 seconds clear. Tim suffered from stitch on the last section of the lap, probably brought on by the upset in his eating schedule through coming on early, and he lost 30 seconds in the final mile or so. But 12th was a good start and all our expected rivals were close by, with the exception of the Beagles - back in 25th.

1 S Stokes (Sale) 26:21; 2 M Lole (Coventry G) 26:33 3 M Scaife (Morpeth) 26:35; 4 B Raeside (Notts) 26:41; 5 M Hilton (Leeds) 26:41; 6 D Norman (Altrincham) 26:42; 12 T Watson 27:03; 61 J Fairbourn 'B' 30:34.

Stage 2

On his favourite second stage, Richard Ward was on song, his sub-15 bringing us up 5 places as he was chased all the way by Aldershot's Chris Bolt. Ex-Belgravian Rick Hayman kept Sale's colours near the front while back down the field Karl O'Connell, who by this time had worn more race numbers than contained in the Sutton Coldfield telephone directory, thanks to the team switches, had a great run for the Bs, moving past a dozen rivals.

1 Coventry (+1) 41:18; 2 Morpeth (+1) 41:24; 3 Sale HM (-2) 41:26; 4 Derby (+4) 41:32; 5 Leeds C (0) 41:38; 6 Sunderland (+5) 41:49; 7 Belgrave 'A' (+5) 41:59; 49 Belgrave 'B' (+12) 46:08.

Fastest: 1 J Mellor (Liverpool) 14:33; 2 R Weir (Derby) and B Jones (Coventry) 14:45; 9 R Ward 14:56; ... K O'Connell 'B' 15:34.

Stage 3

We were playing a stronger hand than bargained for at this stage of the race and Simon Jones pushed things along even more, pulling back two more places and keeping very good company with the likes of Andy Vernon (Aldershot) and Rob Birchall (Notts). National cross country champions Leeds City were now making the pace and were race favourites in the eyes of many but Bob Smith's Beagles were coming back - now in 11th.

If the Bels felt that bad luck had dogged them at all on this day, consider the sorry state of affairs for Bedford & County. Having lost a handful of runners before the race, a thief visited their tent and stole items which deeply upset another of their number who lost the will to race. He was replaced by a reserve - who then badly pulled a calf muscle but somehow kept going to the end of the stage to hand over in 63rd and last place.

It was now obvious that the blustery conditions were having a huge effect. Not one long stage runner had gone below 26 minutes at this point.

1 Leeds C (+4) 1:07:54; 2 Coventry G (-1) 1:08:58; 3 Morpeth (-1) 1:09:04; 4 Altrincham (+5) 1:09:06; 5 Belgrave (+2) 1:09:08; 6 Aldershot F&D (+2) 1:09:10; 51 Belgrave 'B' (-2) 30:51.

Fastest: 1 D Webb (Leeds C) 26:16; 2 A Sutton (Preston) 26:23; 3 P Sly (Thames H&H) 26:24; 10 S Jones 27:09; ... M Byansi 'B' 30:51; M Kinnane (Swansea/2nd-Cl Belgrave) 31:57.

Stage 4

Last man into the SEAA team at Milton Keynes, Pete Willis was raided from the Bs here at Sutton Park to plug the gap caused by the removal of Paul Freary from the line-up. Obviously we were expecting to go back here as Pete was dropped into a bubbling cauldron but, just as two weeks earlier, he raised his game accordingly. Only three positions were lost by the Belgravian and two of these were caused by scorchers from Jackson (Sale) and Hepples (Newham &EB). Pete had done an absolutely brilliant job and the success of the Tom Osment coached squad was added to by eighteen year-old Joe van der Toorn who took the Bs up six places.

1 Leeds C (0) 1:23:04; 2 Sale HM (+5) 1:23:36; 3 Morpeth (0) 1:23:53; 4 Aldershot F&D (+2) 1:24:01; 5 Newham &EB (+6) 1:24:07; 6 Coventry G (-4) 1:24:33; 8 Belgrave (-3) 1:24:42; 45 Belgrave 'B' (+6) 1:32:48.

Fastest: 1 S Hepples (Newham &EB) 14:18; 2 E Jackson (Sale HM) 14:23; 3 J Mays (Kent) 14:30; ... P Willis 15:34; J van der Toorn 15:49.

Stage 5

At this point the 'B' team became disqualifiable as Paul Freary set out under the name of Stephen Zealey, taking them up 11 places. But eight minutes up the road Will Cockerell had played his Captain's role well, moving up to a long stage to let in the short stage reserve Pete Willis, and running several seconds faster than his first stage effort of last year, run in more benign conditions. Well done Will!

Our problems had probably cost us 50 seconds - maybe a minute. We were 2 minutes 19 seconds off the lead - still Leeds - but more ominously 1:17 down on the Beagles; we had a great line-up to come but, frankly, so did they.

1 Leeds C (0) 1:50:15; 2 Newham &EB (+3) 1:51:07; 3 Altrincham (+7) 1:51:13; 4 Notts (+5) 1:51:18; 5 Sale HM (-3) 1:51:26; 6 Bristol &W (+1) 1:51:37; 9 Belgrave (-1) 1:52:34; 34 Belgrave 'B' (+11) 2:00:08.

Fastest: J Ward (Altrincham) 25:56; 2 N Talbot (Notts 26:04; 3 N Leighton (Bristol &W) 26:57; 10 P Freary (Belgrave 'B') 27:20; ... W Cockerell ('A') 27:52.

Stage 6

The wind was now atrocious; and as a club tent opposite our own was ripped from the ground and deposited in the branches of an obliging tree, Darren Gauson toured the short stage in our first of only two fastest stages of the day. By now aware of what the East London club had to come, most supporters were tipping the Beagles for the win (AW correspondent Martin Duff still persisted with the thought that it would be Leeds) but we pulled back half a minute on both of them thanks to Darren. All was not yet lost.

1 Leeds C (0) 2:05:32; 2 Sale HM (+3) 2:06:20; 3 Newham &EB (-1) 2:06:24; 4 Bristol &W (+2) 2:06:46; 5 Notts (-1) 2:07:09; 6 Aldershot F&D (+2) 2:07:11; 7 Belgrave (+2) 2:07:23; 33 Belgrave 'B' (+1) 2:16:24.

Fastest: 1 D Gauson (Belgrave) 14:49; 2 J Bailey (Sale HM) 14:54; 3 S Ablitt (Aldershot F&D) 14:55; ... J Webb ('B') 16:16.

Stage 7

It was Stephen Sharp's first attempt at a long stage and one would have liked to have thought that the extra distance to be covered by our speedster might give us the chance to recover some ground. Not so! Mark Warmby of the Beagles took nearly half a minute out of Leeds but he in turn was being chased down by Bristol's Rob Whalley. Still in 7th, it was going to be an almighty battle for the Bels to reach the medals.

1 Leeds C (0) 2:32:09; 2 Newham &EB (+1) 2:32:34; 3 Bristol &W (+1) 2:32:50; 4 Sale HM (-2) 2:33:02; 5 Altrincham (+3) 2:33:46; 6 Aldershot F&D (0) 2:33:52; 7 Belgrave (0) 2:34:08; 34 Belgrave 'B' (-1) 2:46:44.

Fastest: 1 R Whalley (Bristol &W) 26:04; 2 M Warmby (Newham &EB) 26:10; 3 A Norman (Altrincham) 26:15; 8 S Sharp 26:45 ... M Humphrey 30:20.

Stage 8

Long time leaders Leeds were under severe pressure now. Chris Thompson ran the fastest time of the day to bring Aldershot up into the frame for the first time but also pulling back ground, if only one place, Chris Moss ran our fastest short stage so far. The final top six had now been established and all of them went through the take-over zone in less than one minute - but which would be the three to gain the medals?

1 Leeds C (0) 2:47:38; 2 Newham &EB (0) 2:47:41; 3 Aldershot F&D (+3) 2:47:54; 4 Bristol &W (-1) 2:48:08; 5 Sale HM (-1) 2:48:12; 6 Belgrave (+1) 2:48:35; 33 Belgrave 'B' (+1) 3:04:39.

Fastest: C Thompson (Aldershot F&D 14:02; 2 C Moss (Belgrave) 14:27; 3 D Robinson (Stroud &D) 14:31; ... R Poulter ('B') 17:55.

Stage 9

"Oh Yes!" shouted Mo Farah, unable to contain his exhilaration when the announcer indicated that the incoming runner from Newham & Essex Beagles was only 3 seconds down on the leaders. And his excitement was not in vain, for this was where the gold medals were decided. Also going into action, for the Bels, was Phil Wicks. Just 22 years of age and with only four years of running on the clock, Phil's 26:35 was superb - and again, in spite of the conditions, nearly half a minute faster than the previous year. Mo's was far and away the day's fastest long stage and the Beagles went into the last quarter of the race with over one and a half minutes to spare over Sale, who, together with Leeds, were now within striking distance of both Aldershot and Belgrave.

An interesting thought at this point: but for our team entry problem, Mossy might have given Phil the task of setting out alongside Mo Farah at the start of this stage!

1 Newham &EB (+1) 3:13:08; 2 Sale HM (+3) 3:14:41; 3 Leeds C (-2) 3:14:51; 4 Aldershot F&D (-1) 3:14:54; 5 Belgrave (+1) 3:15:10; 6 Bristol &W (-2) 3:15:44; 49 Belgrave 'B' (-16) 3:42:07.

Fastest: 1 M Farah (Newham &EB) 25:27; 2 G Cornish (Sale HM) 26:29; 3 P Wicks (Belgrave) 26:35; ... H Corbett M45 ('B') 37:28.

Stage 10

By now there was sleet and hail in the air. Kris Gauson may be 18 but he has some extraordinary racing times behind him, having in his two years of membership already relieved John Gladwin of his Youth club records for 800m and 1500m. His 15:15 cemented our position in the top four and now made medals a strong possibility. Newham's Stuart Major has had a patch of poor health and while not in the best of form, he was as solid as a rock and with Dave Mitchinson to come, nobody was going to get back to the Beagles.

A final brush with officialdom came when we offered an additional and final runner to the 'B' team's complement - D. Anderson. "Have you cleared this with the Referee?" came the retort when the name was declared. (A Belgravian of very similar name had just finished the 11th stage for the As.) "No. And we don't intend to! This is Don Anderson."

1 Newham &EB (0) 3:28:20; 2 Sale HM (0) 3:29:39; 3 Leeds C (0) 3:30:00; 4 Belgrave (+1) 3:30:25; 5 Aldershot F&D (-1) 3:30:52; 6 Bristol &W (0) 3:31:09; 50 Belgrave 'B' (-1) 4:01:24.

Fastest: 1 M Bond (Sale HM) 14:58; 2 A Osbourne (Leeds C) 15:09; 3 S Major (Newham &EB) 15:12; 4 K Gauson (Belgrave) 15:15; ... Don Anderson ('B') 19:17.

Stage 11

The gap to Leeds, and bronze, was 25 seconds; the gap to Sale, and silver, was a further 21 seconds. Anything could happen here.

Well, something did happen; yet another twist in an extraordinary day. David Anderson set out looking pumped up but when spotted by our supporters at the top of the hill they noted the lack of fluency in his running. David was in trouble. That calf muscle had almost immediately tightened and in trying to isolate the muscle and restrict its use to avoid further damage and pain, the hamstring and gluteal muscles also tightened. We've no doubt that pulling out was not an option in his mind - and somehow, David held the gap to Leeds and clocked equal fourth fastest on the stage. An heroic run - but now our man faces yet more rehabilitation before getting back to his athletic career.

1 Newham &EB (0) 3:55:08; 2 Sale HM (0) 3:56:31; 3 Leeds C (0) 3:57:24; 4 Belgrave (0) 3:57:49; 5 Bristol &W (+1) 3:58:25; 6 Aldershot F&D (-1) 3:58:38.

Fastest: 1 D Mitchison (Newham &EB 26:48; 2 D Augustus (Sale HM) 26:52; 3 C Nicholson (Bristol &W) 27:16; =4 D Anderson (Belgrave) 27:24.

Stage 12

It had always been felt that the race for first place could be tight over the final stage. In fact it didn't turn out that way - but, for the first time in his road relay career at Sutton Park, Jonathan Blackledge set out in full cry with a runner in sight. One had to feel sorry for the Leeds City team. They'd led from stages 3 to 8 and then occupied third place for stages 9 to 11, only to have one the country's most voracious young athletes unleashed on their tail, eager to feed on the scraps left over by the Beagles.

Jonathan brought us into the bronze medal position and such was his pace that even the smell of Sale blood was in his nostrils at the race end. He was fastest on his stage and third fastest of the day in spite of the worsening conditions; and but for those conditions we may have been close to our third ever sub-14 clocking by a Belgravian.

Don't know about you - but this writer felt pretty shattered by the end of all this, until the realisation dawned: this young team had responded tremendously to the setbacks ... they have years of relay racing ahead of them in which some really exciting events should unfold ... our medal streak has extended to six years ... a young man had come along not dreaming that by the end of the day he'd be going home with a National medal ... we'd all received a jolt to remind ourselves what a tough job it is to get everything in winning order ... and we are even more hardened and determined to face the road battles ahead in Sutton Park.

1 Newham &EB (0) 4:10:08; 2 Sale HM (0) 4:11:39; 3 Belgrave (+1) 4:12:09; 4 Leeds C (-1) 4:12:31; 5 Bristol &W (0) 4:13:04; 6 Aldershot F&D (0) 4:13:55; 66 teams started, 62 teams finished.

Fastest: 1 J Blackledge (Belgrave) 14:20; 2 R Bugden (Bristol &W) 14:39; 3 A Robinson (Newham &EB) 15:00.

Fastest stages:

Long - 5.38 miles. 1 M Farah (Newham &EB) 25:27; 2 J Ward (Altrincham) 25:56; =3 R Whalley (Bristol &W) and N Talbot (Notts) 26:04; 5 M Warmby (Newham &EB) 26:10; 6 A Norman (Altrincham) 26:15.

Short - 2.995 miles: 1 C Thompson (Aldershot &F) 14:02; 2 S Hepples (Newham & EB) 14:18; 3 J Blackledge (Belgrave) 14:20; 4 E Jackson (Sale HM) 14:23; 5 C Moss (Belgrave) 14:27; 6 J Mays (Kent) 14:30.

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