South Downs Way Relay
TWELVE months ago, in a spirit of generosity typical of Stubbington Green Runners, we kindly surrendered the South Downs Way Relay trophy which the men’s team had won four years on the trot. It was, after all, only fair to allow other teams to get their hands on this prestigious award.
But you can only allow those kinds of spirited gestures to last so long, and at the weekend, the Stubby men regained their grip on the trophy by winning the 2008 South Downs Way Relay.
The team of Mark Le Gassick, Alasdair Ewing, Richard Thomas, Gordon Reid, Zippy Grice and Andy Simpson barnstormed their way to the finish in Chilcomb near Winchester in a time of 10 hours 40 minutes 4 seconds, a good 12 minutes ahead of nearest rivals Chichester & District AC, with third-placed Steyning AC 27 minutes adrift.
Two years ago, Stubby’s men won the 100-mile relay in a time of 10 hours 31 minutes, and were 10 minutes faster than that in 2005 – so they’re getting slower, but still winning! Last year, the event was won by Steyning, when Stubby’s men were forced to settle for second place in a time of 10:59.27 – losing out by just 99 seconds.
Stubbington A also finished second in the competition for the Cooper Cup, which works out performances based on age. Chichester A won that trophy, with Phoenix Old Boys in third.
Stubbington this year fielded four teams, including a ladies squad of six who finished in 13 hours 47 minutes, despite drama around Storrington when because of roadworks team manager and coach driver, Chris Hall, had to perform a rapid piece of reshuffling. With runners unable to get to their leg starts because of the delays in traffic, Chris and Tony Allen had to escort runners over new routes.
The Stubbington Vets and B teams also competed over the 18-stage relay from Beachy Head to Chilcomb on another stinking hot day. The ladies event was won by Steyning in 13hrs 19mins 43secs, the B team by Chichester & District AC in 12:02.11 and the vets competition by Brighton & Hove in 11:49.51.
Full results and more pictures to follow shortly.
Click here for photos.