Reading Roadrunners returned to Rushmoor Arena in Aldershot for the SEAA Road Relays, an annual fixture that attracts some of the fastest athletes in the south of England, with the top 25 men’s teams qualifying to race in the English National cross country championships next month. Similar qualifying races also took place in the midlands and the north. It was a warm, sunny day, and the heat made the undulating 6km legs quite demanding.
This year we fielded two women’s teams: a senior team of four and a V50 team of three. The senior team of Holly Sedgewick, Helen Pool, Pip White and Sarah Dooley finished 41st of 57 teams in a total time of 1 hour 43 minutes and 22 seconds. Holly was our fastest, completing her leg in 24:24. The winning women’s team was from Aldershot Farnham & District and won in a time of 1 hour 24 minutes and 42 seconds. The fastest leg was completed in 20 minutes and 04 seconds.
The men fielded four teams: two senior teams of six, a V50 team of four and a V60 team of four. The A team had an enforced late change after Mark Apsey broke his foot the night before. A quick reshuffle brought me, Chris Moseley, into the A team, with Tony Page stepping into the B team.
Callum Evans got the A team off to a strong start before handing over to me. I struggled to hold the pace and lost several places, leaving the remaining runners – Chris Burt, Matt Sarjent, Ali Olrog and James Lyne – with ground to make up. The team responded with some strong runs, and James recorded our fastest time of the day: 19:42. The A team finished 40th of 84 teams in a total time of 2:03:47. The winning Men’s team from Tonbridge AC won in a time of 1 hour 48 mins and 15 seconds. The fastest leg was completed in 17 minutes and 35 seconds.
The men’s V50 team – Fergal Donnelly, Alex Harris, Dave Parton and Ollie Parsons – showed good consistency, with all four finishing between 22:51 and 23:51. They finished an impressive sixth of 17 teams.
It was pleasing to field a men’s V60 team again: Pete Jewell, Alan Nesbit, Bill Watson and Mark Allen. Remarkably, Pete and Alan recorded almost identical times: 25:37.210 and 25:37.225. The team finished sixth of nine.
The senior B team – Tony Page, Marco McKerlie, Jon Green, Tom Knight, Jon Lloyd and Tom Wright – were among the last teams on the course. That didn’t stop Tom Wright from producing a great sprint finish to pip another runner on the line.
It was a fantastic team event, with excellent running and great camaraderie throughout the day. Thanks to everyone who ran and supported the teams.
Full results can be found here:
https://results.frsys.uk/events/jd7a96a50fxqzgwgsyqwaa4abh8f1h02