SEAA Women's 6-Stage Road Relay, Milton Keynes

The Future’s Bright For Patchwork Belles

Will Cockerell reports: Some teams are assembled seamlessly, others need to be patched together by a beg, a steal and a borrow. The latter was the case on this occasion as the 2010 Southern Belles were battling against injuries to key personnel, a spate of competing races, and yes, a startling baby-boom. The Milton Keynes side for 2030 is practically writing itself.

So, to those who are currently in the wings, take your time and then come and join the party; and for those that toed the line yesterday, huge thanks and bouquets all round. Check this out for a team: the jet-setter (Vicki flying in from Geneva an hour before kick-off, and then flying straight back out); the purist race-walker Maureen; super-vet triathlete Anne; convalescing from laser eye surgery Jen; coming off a heavy cold Tilly; and then the small matter of Sam, who’d romped to a top ten finish in the Reading Half-Marathon three hours earlier. Gulp – these ponies could be cruising for a bruising.

But not a bit of it! On stage one, full of one-hit-wonders, Vicki dug in and set up the race for us. Maureen then nibbled a pip up the leaderboard for a job well done. Anne ran beautifully to take out three more, before a less than her fittest Jen leaked just a single place.

Time to wheel out the heavies. Tilly, a veteran of our teams for some 10 years, set about the opposition before somehow contriving to turn right instead of left, 2k from home, in a flagrant attempt to pad out the old training diary. After a few hundred yards of being on the road to nowhere fast, she set about correcting her error, but by the time she’d rejoined the course, some two minutes was down the 'swanny'. However, this all set up new Belle Sam Amend a treat, who hungrily devoured five of her prey before, much to her chagrin, running out of road. How she’d love to have pattered along for another hour or so.

So, there it is, a heart-warming 11th. Yes, the standard was somewhat lower this year, and big guns like Aldershot gave the race a miss almost entirely (save for honorary Belle Emily Adams, fiancée of Phil, who ran a stormer); but if our opponents can point to factors that held them back, then so, most certainly, can we. The National is next, runners are waiting hungrily in the wings, in particular the Smurph, so let’s keep this momentum going.

1 Bedford & County AC 2:00:44; 2 Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow AC 2:05:43; 3 Marshall Milton Keynes AC 2:08:15; … 11 Belgrave H 2:19:57; 25 teams started, 18 teams finished.

Belgrave: V Goodwin (19) 22:44; M Noel (18) 24:03; A Hegvold (15) 21:11; J Beecroft (16) 26:55; T Heaton (16) 24:20; S Amend (11) 20:44.

Fastest: S Morris (WSEH) 18:53; 2 E Adams (AFD) 19:08; R Gibbs (Bedford and County) 19:18.

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