South Downs Relay - 2nd June 2006
THE best things in life are three - and so it proved for Stubbington Green Runners at the South Down Relay. The club won not one, not two, but three awards from the stamina-sapping 100-mile relay, staged across some of the most picturesque parts of the south coast.
The men's team, despite an eleventh-hour reshuffle, and one runner going off course, retained their title and a fourth win in a row by winning in a time of 10 hours 31 minutes - 10 minutes slower than 12 months ago. Those 10 minutes were lost on leg four around Newhaven when Kiran Raval made a slight detour.
But the team of Kiran, Tor Duffin, Tony Allen, Andy Simpson, Mark Le Gassick and Ray Gunner, who was a late replacement for the non-available Pete Turrell, stormed away with a 25 minute winning margin over Steyning (10hrs 56mins), with Brighton-based Phoenix AC in third in 11hrs 31mins.
It was an astonishing performance from the Stubby crew, seeded at one, and who started off last from Beachy Head of the 37 competing teams with a 9.30am start time, three hours after the first of the clubs.
For the early starters, a severe early morning mist shrouded the cliffs and covered the English Channel, but that soon burnt off to provide glorious conditions on the hottest day of the year. Temperatures reached 26 degrees on the South Downs, which made running very tough.
One Brighton runner collapsed early in the race and had to be rescued by Air Ambulance before being taken to hospital. He is understood to be making a good recovery. A few teams failed to finish because of injury or in one case through disqualification because of fielding just five and not six runners.
First of the Stubbington starters were the B team who set off from Beachy Head at 8am. The six-man squad of Nick Crane, Phil May, Dave King, Jon Leigh, Andy James and Marcus Lee ran extremely well throughout the day - each runner completes three separate legs and so by the end of the day they will have run up to 18 miles. With the undulating terrain and hot weather, this made the achievement all the more satisfying.
The B team, anchored home by Nick at the Chilcombe Sports Ground near Winchester, completed the distance in 12 hours 49 minutes, to take second place in their category, finishing just three minutes behind winners Steyning. The squad were surprised to be called up to collect their medals at the presentation ceremony having not realised they were in contention.
To complete a glorious day for the men in green, the vets, who started at 9am, took second place behind Chichester, finishing in 11 hours 44 minutes, some 21 minutes behind the West Sussex club. Chris Hall came in as a late replacement for the Vets, with Ray Gunner moving up to the A team. The rest of the squad consisted of John Exley, Mike Bainbridge, Steve Marshall, Chris Vernon and Alasdair Ewing.
The route took runners from East Sussex through to Hampshire, along some spectacular countryside along 17 stages.
One of these at Harting Hill was marshalled by a Stubbington team of Jenny Hearnden, Chris and Eric Haskell, Caroline Street, Gilbert Yeates and Colin Elderfield. Wendy Hall, as always, was 'volunteered' to bring all the cones and marshalls' bibs, as well as registering the runners too.
They, along with the drivers who ferried the runners, who included Liz Hall and Caz Lee, helped provide a real team atmosphere.
The race has been running for 23 years and is organised by Hayward Heath Harriers. Chichester Vets won the Cooper Cup, which is an age-related award, and the ladies prize went to Hailsham who won in a time of 12hrs 28mins from Arena A (12:36) and Steyning (12:38).
RESULTS | A Team | B Team | Ladies | Vets | Leg Times |