South Downs Relay 2009
Mens 'A' Team Report - by Andy Simpson
The A team set off in the last group at 8.30 which meant a lay-in for our team whereas the Ladies and B Team (also known as the Planning Team due to planning everything being like a military operation!!) had a much earlier start.
We left Fareham at 6.15 and soon arrived at a chilly Beachy Head for our debrief. The team had a mixture of experience and virgins to running the South Downs.
Alasdair ran the tough first leg in 45.03 and handed over to Simon in third place with Steyning A and Hailsham Harriers A racing flat out for 1st & 2nd both teams looking completely shattered after only one leg of three!!!
It soon became apparent after about 6 legs that Steyning A team were looking invincible barring injury or taking a wrong turn as they had established a big lead already. Simon had run the race before but it didn’t stop the nerves creeping in, with Simon already dreading leg 13 and thinking about it while still on leg 2!! Ray and Alasdair both put in solid performances to make big contributions to the team.
The Team’s motto for the day was to turn up and run your heart out and with that there can be no complaints with everyone giving 150%. It was great to see the new boys in the team enjoying it so much, Lewis putting his name in the hat to do it again next year before the race had finish and beating Andy into 2nd place on that one!! Graham was so excited about running the race that he hadn’t slept properly for 3 nights before the race and said it was like being a kid again at Christmas.
We had started the day on a wager with the B team that we would catch them before the end but it soon became apparent halfway through the day that this was a not going to be the case and Nick Kimber’s wallet could breath a huge sigh of relief. So very well done to the B team.
The team then focused their attentions to catching and passing the Ladies who were having an incredible race. All day the A team had hoped to see and support two other teams but it was through speaking on a mobile which was the only contact we’d had with the two teams. By the time we started leg 16 the ladies were already on leg 17, so we needed a miracle.
Lewis had a cracking run in 23.43 and handed over to an excitable Andy. He was full of energy and blasted out of the blocks to run an astonishing leg 17 in 53.44 to handover to Graham who had to make up 8 minutes on the Ladies. At the halfway stage of the leg the gap between Georgie and Graham was halved to 4 minutes. Although Graham could see Georgie at the end the ladies held on to win by about 300 metres!! Very well done to the ladies on their 5th place.
Steyning did go on to win the race by over 21 minutes and Hailsham finished 2nd, over 8 minutes ahead of green & white army of Stubbington who took 3rd in 11 hours 17 minutes.
Finally, a big thank you from all the runners, to all the drives of all the teams for navigating our teams around the 18 legs.
| Leg | From | To | Senior A team | Miles | Time | Leg Start Time | Leg Finish Time |
| 1 | Beachy Head | Exceat | Alisdair | 6.5 | 8.30 | 9.15 | 45.03 |
| 2 | Exceat | Bo Peep | Simon | 5 | 9.15 | 9.57 | 41.44 |
| 3 | Bo Peep | A26 Itford Farm | Ray | 5 | 9.57 | 10.26 | 28.53 |
| 4 | A26 Itford Farm | A27 Lay-by (north) | Andy | 7 | 10.26 | 11.11 | 45.05 |
| 5 | A27 Lay-by (north) | Ditchling Beacon | Graham | 5 | 11.11 | 11.49 | 37.45 |
| 6 | Ditchling Beacon | Saddlescombe Farm | Lewis | 5 | 11.49 | 12.19 | 30.05 |
| 7 | Saddlescombe Farm | River Adur footbridge | Simon | 5 | 12.19 | 12.56 | 36.55 |
| 8 | River Adur footbridge | Washington Church | Ray | 7.5 | 12.56 | 13.45 | 48.47 |
| 9 | Washington Church | Nr. Springhead Hill | Alisdair | 4 | 13.45 | 14.14 | 29.23 |
| 10 | Nr. Springhead Hill | Houghton Lane | Andy | 4 | 14.14 | 14.36 | 21.54 |
| 11 | Houghton Lane | A285 Littleton Farm | Lewis | 5 | 14.36 | 15.15 | 38.56 |
| 12 | A285 Littleton Farm | A286 Nr Hill Barn | Graham | 5.5 | 15.15 | 15.51 | 36.03 |
| 13 | A286 Nr Hill Barn | Harting Hill car park | Simon | 7 | 15.51 | 16.45 | 54.25 |
| 14 | Harting Hill car park | Rear Q Elizabeth Park | Ray | 4.5 | 16.45 | 17.13 | 28.03 |
| 15 | Rear Q Elizabeth Pk. | HMS Mercury | Alisdair | 5.5 | 17.13 | 17.53 | 39.54 |
| 16 | HMS Mercury | Old Winchester Hill c/p | Lewis | 4 | 17.53 | 18.17 | 23.43 |
| 17 | Old Winchester Hill c/p | Holding Farm | Andy | 8 | 18.17 | 19.11 | 53.44 |
| 18 | Holding Farm | Chilcomb Sports Ground | Graham | 5.5 | 19.11 | 19.47 | 37.08 |
| TOTAL TIME = 11.17.37 | |||||||
Ladies Team Report - by Susie MacGregor
It was an early morning start for the Stubbington Ladies South Downs Relay Team. They were due to start their race at 6:00am at Beachy Head. This meant meeting up with their driver for the day Chris Hall at 3:30am. The team consisted of Penny Forse, Lucy May, Sally McGrath, Georgie Gair, Georgie Wallis and Margi Pritchard. It was a very cold start for Penny who was running the first leg.
All ladies were very nervous as it is a very hard race to run and also not getting lost is foremost on their minds. The day was absolutely fantastic. The weather was great for the runners as it was cool at times with some sun and a little rain. The ladies have requested travel straighteners next time as the rain and wind paid havoc with their hair ! Margi at times looked like Kevin Keegan and Penny had a "Speed Quiff." A couple of times we were caught out when Georgie Gair and Penny arrived sooner than expected at the end of their leg and it was a mad dash for the next runner to be in place and ready to go.
The day was very tiring and by about 3:00pm I could see that a few of our ladies were feeling the strain of the day. This in no way dampened their spirits as they all just dug in and kept going. All the ladies ran really well with enthusiasm and determination and should all be very proud of themselves as I am of them. I would just like to say a special well done to Penny as I hope she won't mind me mentioning that she was 60 the next day ! What an achievment! She gave ALL the ladies a run for their money.
Georgie Wallis ran the last leg and came in at 7:30pm. We finished in 5th place.
Even after such a gruelling day, the only talk afterwards was about the next years relay ! This is on the 5th June 2010 so make sure you keep your diaries clear for this as I will be calling on you again! Even though I was unable to run, which was frustrating, I had a brilliant time and can't wait for next year... Also I would just like to say a big thank you to Chris Hall and Mike Harper on behalf of all the ladies, they were fantastic on the day, driving us all around and supporting us. Thanks, we couldn't of done it without you... Susie.
Mens 'B' Team Report - by Phil May
For the 06:30 start the team met up at the Solent Hotel for 03:50 and then travelled to Beachy Head for the start.
On arrival we were just in time to see the Stubbettes off led by Penny. Nick Crane led our team off along the Seven Sisters hills and imagine our amazement when Hailsham ladies came in a good 6 minutes ahead of Nick. But Sam from Hailsham proved a very strong fast runner and we alerted the girls to their competition. In fact Hailsham went on to win from Steyning Ladies by a minute and a half after 97 miles and 13 hours of running, a very close call.
Marcus and Phil were both overtaken by one Steyning lady over two of their legs!! The team performed really well with no problems. Chris hall performed a Thai body massage on Phil at the end of Phil’s last leg at Harting Down but thirteen stone of hole digger didn’t go down too well! And he was ugly!
Euan McGrath on his first South Downs run really enjoyed the occasion and Tim Sullivan’s hamstring held out after the scare at the RR10 last week. Nick’s van was invaluable in that we could throw all the gear into it and not worry. The rain that was forecast to hit us around 16:00 held off and never came to anything.
The team finished fourth in the ‘B’ race and was only 26 minutes from the first place and 16 minutes behind second.
Finally, a special thanks to Nick Kimber's for his stirling efforts as team captain and organiser. Unfortunately, Nick felt a bit down after the Butser leg because he found it such a slog and was overtaken by 2 runners early in the leg. To be fair though, he was recovering from injury and was a stalwart on the day, not least in rushing around after Nick Crane on the 17th leg plying him with water and opening gates for the poor old gentleman!
All in all the whole team really enjoyed the event and are preparing for next year already – suckers for punishment or what?!
Click here for a veritable feast of photos.