ERRA National Road Relays 2012

Below is a press report from the relay that took place on Saturday.  The road relays have proved to be tremendous fun and I would urge anyone to train hard and break into the teams.  Hopefully this year will set a precedent for KAC being present at the road relays to complement the fell relays in the future.  It would also be great to see a ladies team entering the 4 stage relays in 2013. 

Keswick AC had qualified for the National Six Stage Road Relays as a result of finishing in the top 25 clubs at the equivalent Northern competition held in Leigh in September.  This was a great success for a club which has always had a strong presence on the fell-running scene but for many years had been absent from the national road relay competitions.      

But for a while it seemed that the effort put in by the Keswick team was to have been to no avail.  The planned venue for the National final was in Sutton Park, Birmingham.  But due to an e-coli outbreak the event had to be cancelled and there seemed little enough time for an alternative location to be organised.  It seemed that one of the most prestigious road running events on the UK calendar was not going to happen this year.

But shortly after the cancellation had been announced, rumours began to abound that an alternative venue had been found.  And after some hasty work by the English Road Running Association the announcement was made that Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire had indeed been secured for the event and the relays were back on!  This was welcome news for all clubs, including Keswick AC, who had qualified via the regional relays and runner’s training schedules were quickly rearranged and travel arrangements organised for the race.

Clumber Park was to prove an excellent venue for the race and a more than adequate substitute for Sutton Park.  The National Trust property was an exquisite setting with rolling countryside and prodigious woodlands.  The runners were once again blessed with fine weather; the skies remained clear for much of the day and the rain which had been forecast held off until the last of the runners had finished.

The format of the Nationals mirrored those of the Northern Relays.  Namely each team is made up of six runners with each runner having to complete the same course and same distance.  The National course proved to be a little shorter than its Northern equivalent with a two loop run of just over 5 kilometres.  The course designed was excellent for both competitors and spectators alike; there were plenty of good vantage points for the viewers to watch as the race unfolded and the loop included a mix of undulating and fast running to test those taking part.     

The Keswick team had decided to replicate the same running order that had performed so well at the Northern relays.  So the onus was once again on Club Captain Steve Hebblethwaite to tackle the opening leg.  Each club was keen to get their respective efforts off to a positive start and consequently there were some strong runners on the start-line.  And the leg one runners did not disappoint with a ferociously fast start.  But Steve avoided getting caught up in the initial excitement and ran a tactically astute race to work through the field, picking off runners who had expended too much energy at the start.  Steve ran a time of 16:18 and Keswick AC found themselves in 45^th place at the handover.

The middle triumvirate of John Beetham, Josh Hebson and Ian Davies were once again given the task of holding a steady position for the Club.  Each has shown considerable improvement on the road during the year and with Beetham running 17:44, Hebson 17:07 and Davies 17:58 they managed to place the Club in 51^st place going into the final two legs.

The pattern of the race was to follow that of the Northern relays.  Keswick had strategically placed two of their stronger runners at the tail-end of the relay and such a plan was to pay dividends.  Russell Maddams, a week before he was due in Italy to represent Great Britain in the International 50km race, proved he is no slouch over the shorter distance running 16:43 and bringing Keswick AC into the top 50.  It was then down to Carl Bell to run the final leg and, repeating his excellent performance at the Northern relay, Carl went on to reel in a number of runners in a time of 16:07 and taking Keswick AC into 46^th place. 

This was a highly satisfactory result for a Club the size of Keswick AC, considering they were competing against some of the finest Athletics sides from across the country.  Cumbria was to be well represented with three clubs finishing out of the total of 55.  Joining Keswick were excellent teams from Border Harriers in Carlisle (25^th) and Barrow & Furness Striders (33^rd).
 

The winning side was Newham & Essex Beagles finishing in a combined time of 1:30:36.  There was some tremendous racing for the podium spots as Newham held off strong challenges from Liverpool Harriers (1:31:07) and Belgrave Harriers (1:31:16).  Johnny Mellor of Liverpool Harriers was to record the fastest individual time of the day clocking an amazing 14:23 for the 5km distance.