National Road Relays - Men's Team - 12/04/2025
- Lucy
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED - WE’VE DONE IT! NATIONAL ROAD RELAY AND CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONS – WHAT A 21ST ANNIVERSARY FOR THE CLUB!
Talk about going down to the wire! After unexpectedly dominating the UK 12-stage road relay championships at Sutton Park for most of the race and looking set for victory, our eternal London rivals, Highgate, fought back to overhaul us with three stages remaining, establishing what appeared to be a potential race-winning lead of just over half a minute on the anchor leg. But that was exactly the challenge Will Battershill had been waiting for. Applying the afterburners, he delivered an inspired run to not only reel his rival back in but open up an ultimate winning gap of over 20 seconds. Meanwhile, the team we most feared, Cambridge and Coleridge, were left a full minute and a half behind in the bronze medal position, followed by Tonbridge, last year’s winners Leeds City, and another top London club, Belgrave. Scotland’s Central AC finished as the best of the other home countries’ teams in 8th place.
Of course, waiting at the final hill to see who would appear first brought more than a few heart-stopping moments for all our supporters!
The result of our victory is that we can now legitimately claim the title of the top endurance men’s team in the UK this season—a target we’ve been relentlessly pursuing for the past ten years and more. We’ve now added the prestigious 12-stage relay to our National cross-country triumph at Parliament Hill seven weeks ago.
Overall, this was an exceptional all-around team effort and speaks volumes about the team spirit fostered by our current group of runners, who must now be considered the best the club has ever fielded. It’s been one of the privileges of my long career in the sport to work with such a dedicated and harmonious group, and the club should be incredibly proud of them.
The race itself had all the drama you could want as a fan, though perhaps a little less so for a team manager. Peter Le Grice, who had made the long trek up from Cornwall, had to withdraw from the team due to a chest problem he has been battling since Covid.
Luckily for us, despite the official first reserve, Hugh Sadler, deciding not to take his place in the B team, Dylan Rigby, who was only contacted the night before, stepped up to the plate. Dylan went on to add a UK and English gold medal to his Midland gold from two weeks earlier.
But let’s rewind to the start. One lesson I’ve learned over the years is that if you want to have any chance of being in the mix for this race, you need to be in contention from the outset. Not only does it boost morale and confidence within the team, but it also means you’re not chasing the race the whole time. And what a fantastic start Felix McGrath and team captain Kurt Taylor gave us on the opening two stages. Felix, in the form of his life, tracked the leading group up the climb to the top of the course before moving up to 4th place. Though he lost two places on the final stretch, he broke the 15-minute barrier for the first time, clocking 14:58.
This was just the incentive Kurt Taylor needed, and he duly moved up four places, almost catching Liverpool, who were in the lead by just two seconds, in a time that exactly matched Felix's 14:58. We’d certainly gotten a better start than expected, but what followed over the next six stages was even more surprising. Though Highgate was always close, we actually stayed in front.
Dage Minors knew he needed to start faster if he was going to stay near the front, and not only did he do so, but he also produced his usual powerful finish to hold off Highgate by just three seconds, recording a time of 15:22—12 seconds faster than his Midland performance. Milan Campion looked much more comfortable than he had at the Midlands, running 16 seconds faster with a time of 15:17 to not only maintain the lead but open up a gap of about 40 seconds on Highgate. Joe Morrow’s 15:14 also clipped more than ten seconds off his Midland time, extending the gap to nearly a minute at the front. Though, predictably, substitute Dylan Rigby lost some time despite almost matching his Midland time with 15:55, we were still nearly three-quarters of a minute ahead at halfway.
Although Luke Burgess stayed in front on the next stage with a time similar to Joe’s and Milan’s of 15:18, Highgate was beginning their late surge. The lead at the changeover had dwindled to just a quarter of a minute. Undeterred, though a little apprehensive, Max Davis, who loves this course, underlined his talent once again, extending our lead back to 50 seconds with another run about 12 seconds faster than he’d done two weeks earlier.
With Highgate now in full flow and backloading their team with star men Peter Chambers, Alex Lepetre, and Jacob Allen, the race took on a different complexion. Not that Dan Studley didn’t virtually match his Midland time of 15:48, but Chambers not only overtook him but also put Highgate 15 seconds in front with three vital stages remaining.
The key question now was whether Ben Robinson and Jack Millar could limit the losses to Highgate’s top two to give our star man Will Battershill a fighting chance on the final leg. Ben, who like Felix has never run better, did his part with a cracking leg of 15:08, losing no more than five seconds. Meanwhile, Jack’s even quicker 15:03 conceded only another ten seconds to Allen’s 14:53.
And so, to the exciting finale. Will stormed around to victory, leaving his Highgate rival in the dust. The only downside for Will was that his heroic effort came at a cost: he badly sprained his ankle on a cobbled patch less than a kilometre from the finish and was in pain at the end, which probably cost him the day’s fastest time, held by Jake Smith with 14:28. Will’s time of 14:30 was just two seconds slower. Hopefully, there’s no major damage, and he’ll be able to resume his training for the upcoming track season in a week or so.
As for the B team, they more than held their own, finishing 33rd of the 67 teams that started—right in the middle of the exclusive field. Sam Parsons (16:07) clocked their fastest leg on the opening stage, finishing 46th. Though Miles Chandler (17:38) slipped back eight places, Dave Lewin (17:39), Ben Ashby (18:03), Andy Grigg (16:55), and Adam Stokes (17:25) kept them within shouting distance of the top 50.
It was left to Alastair Burleigh (16:47) to gain six places to 47th, while Aled Anderson (16:50) continued the progress to 42nd before the stricken Pete Le Grice (16:23) took the team into the top 40 for the first time. James Palmer (17:02) moved them up another place before Alex Stewart (16:19), with the team’s second-best time, and Robbie Stewart (16:44) brought them home in 33rd place—a more than creditable effort considering the many changes that Chris Elson had to make due to late substitutions and withdrawals.
It was certainly a day I’ll never forget. Achieving this long-term objective has been a huge milestone for me. As captain Kurt rightly pointed out, “Now that we’re at the top, we’ve got to stay there.” “It won’t be easy, I know,” Kurt said, “but we can hold our own against anyone now, and hopefully, more of the South West’s aspiring runners will join the crusade that has helped us reach this championship level.”
Finally, my thanks to Dave Bedwell and my niece Emma for making sure I was able to leave the hospital for the day and fully participate in this remarkable occasion.
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