South Downs Way Relay 2010
South Downs Way Relay - A Speedy Review by The A Team
What an amazing day out and we can feel very proud of our performance! Here is a quick collection of reviews from the A Team…there are in depth reviews to read and more pics to see, so check them out!
Lewis ‘Boy Wonder’ Chalk, “Thanks to Simmo, a brilliant captain and gave us a resilient and gritty performance! I never had any doubts about how he would perform and I always said I’d take a 90% fit Simmo above any other runner – he possesses unrivalled competitiveness! From a personal point of view, I loved every minute of the event, from the winter recces to finishing leg 18 and being offered several ciders. Stubbington is an awesome club, great characters and awesome team spirit throughout…I cannot wait to proudly represent the club in Miami and across the world”
Tony Smith, “Here here to our Team Captain.....I just want to echo what Lewis said about the day it was a fantastic experience. Performance of the day... I think it will have to be performances of the day.
Wayne Ewens who smashed Butser added, “Excellent effort all round guys! Comedy moment was definitely Kev at the end of his second leg, I didn't think we were getting him back to do a third. His head was rolling, eyes were rattling in his sockets and I was sure he'd found a stash of Vodka shots somewhere! Fair play though Kev, you came back strong a third time after we all force-fed you with water. The only other notable point was an insatiable appetite for an obscene amount of food by myself through the day. I think I finished on 1 large bowl of porridge for breakfast, with 4 bananas, 4 oat bars, a big tub of tuna pasta, 2 mars bars, 1 snickers, 1 bounty, a few handfuls of minstrels, 3 energy gels and an apple before the finish, at which point i topped it all with 3 pints. Get those calories on board! Fantastic day and can't wait to do it all again next year!”
Peter Hutchinson commented, “I had no idea what to expect of the day as I had never had much to do with this sort of race before - but what a day it turned out to be. What are the memories which stick in the mind? --- Hurtling down the A27, my fingerprints now firmly impressed in the door handle of Andy's car --- a lovely place to start the race and Wayne haring off in the lead ---- a lot of very hard earned sweat from amazingly fit and dedicated runners --- injuries, from John's broken foot to Andy's knee, to Lewis's bloody thigh ---- Andy's toilet rolls ---- wonderful scenery through which the race was run --- the continuous battle for first place --- sat-naving our way through narrow country lanes to full car parks --- happy and friendly people from all the teams --- the heat of the day --- the food and lots of water --- the happy feeling that you are taking part in an amazing event --- and finally the finish, with Lucy's graceful slide over the finish line on her back and where Tony, Andy, John, Wayne, Kevin and Lewis gained their well-deserved medals. What a fantastic performance on their part!”
Phil May our other driver added, “…a great day out. It was a change to see it from a non-running point of view but still had the excitement of a race!”
And now rise to our Team Captain, Andy Simpson… “Great effort from you all and well done on coming SECOND, next year FIRST?? A big thank you for the chauffeurs who put up with all the sweaty bodies and moaning about our aches and pains. The Test Way Relay is in September so maybe a good opportunity to get you all out again!”
And to finish we want to also say a huge thanks to the Vet and Female team members who supported us throughout and provided great banter and friendly rivalry! ...and of course a huge thanks to the race organiser, club marshals, and the other teams! The SDW Relay is a top event…and long may it continue!
Thanks, The A Team
Individual Performance 'Analysis' by Tony Smith (and Lewis of Tony!)
Phil & Peter, human sat navs, they both managed to get all the runners to their legs with plenty of time in hand. It was a long days driving for them, but their support and administration was fantastic throughout the day.
Simmo, what a warrior! Smashed out three fantastic legs carrying a bad knee injury. Lots of athletes wouldn’t even run, yet he just dug in without a moan or groan and went for it.
Kev, was given the lead at the start of Leg 9 and ran his socks off holding off the Brighton runner to give John a minutes advantage. He didn’t look too well at the finish, in fact he was whiter than the chalk paths of the South Downs!
John, had a storming leg 10 and retained the lead. In leg 17 he was up against Brighton’s strongest runner and managed to match him for time an outstanding leg.
Wayne, led every leg he ran and was only 30 seconds off the leg record for leg 15 (which included Butser Hill!).
Lewis, better known as ‘The Machine.’ I am sure he had been eating all the blue Smarties on the way down to Beach Head, more hyper than my 7 year old on Christmas eve! Unfortunately we had dropped down to third at the start of Leg 6. Not only did he make up over 5 mins on the other teams ahead he handed us back the lead at the end of this leg and was only seconds off Mark Le Gassick’s Leg record.
My funny moment was the sheer panic I had at the start of Leg 7. There I was sat in the shade waiting for Lewis ‘The Machine’ to come in for the two-baton hand over. I knew I had a bit of time in hand as the Brighton & Lewes AC guys were still to go and it was near impossible task for Lewis to catch and pass them both. All of a sudden I hear the marshal shout, “Team 2 go!” That can’t be me, I look down at my number and sure enough it was... in my rush I forgot to start my watch, but think the extra adrenalin rush helped me have a good leg.
Now Lewis’ review of Tony – he was strong throughout the day both on the running side of things and providing great encouragement and support to the team. Tony smashed the finish to Leg 7 where he really stretched the lead out to the other teams, awesome…and he told me he doesn’t do speed work! I disagree, 3 very good legs and all powerful finishes, well-done buddy! And finally, perhaps Tony was not quite as excited as a 7 year old, but I know he was buzzing throughout and his smile at the end was for all to see! Plus he’s already started training for next year!
Full Analysis and Leg Performances soon available on http://www.southdownsrelay.co.uk/
Phil Mays’ review of the ‘Gladiators’
“…a great day out. It was a change to see it from a non-running point of view but still had the excitement of a race. Here’s how the day panned out.
Up at 3am to get Lucy to her pick up point for the ladies team and what a beautiful morning with the Moon and Jupiter the only objects in a turquoise sky, I know it was Jupiter coz I got my telescope out, then fill up the car and check the tyres before going back to bed for an hour! Collected Kev and Tony and dashed off to Eastbourne for registration and were told the rest would be late. I’d forgotten to pack the trainers but tried to remember leg 1 just in case!! I had a spare vest for emergencies.
As we got near the start we then picked up a convoy of mini buses going the other way for the early starters. Registered the team, got the numbers and was about to declare the rest would be late when a cloud of dust was observed hurtling towards Beachy Head from up the road, similar to the world speed record attempt on the salt lakes of America!! The rest had arrived jus tin time!
The four teams set off at 9 o’clock, the best teams in the race. After leg 1 Wayne placed us in the lead, where was Hailsham, the fab four were down to 3 after 1 leg. Leg 2 and Brighton were starting to pull away. Legs 3,4 and 5 they kept pulling away bit by bit.
Leg 6 and ‘Boy Wonder’ took on his first leg. Tony waiting at Saddlescombe for the off with the Brighton guy, when he was called into action. The Boy Wonder had put pressure on Brighton and he had gone wrong somewhere on the course. Back in the lead we had 10 mins on Brighton now with Lewes in second, the team held on.
But once again Brighton began to chip away at our lead. Lewes were starting to feel the heat of the day which on top of Ditchling was an incredible 35 degrees C. And didn’t drop until late afternoon at Winchester Hill! Brighton again took back the lead towards the end of the day and eventually won by just 4 minutes.
The Stubbington Fans were gathered at The Milburys pub to cheer on Susie, Mike and John as they all went past within 10 minutes of each other.
The last leg was were all the Stubby teams met up, Lucy away first had threatened Lewis and Ray with painful massages if they overtook her. It fell on deaf ears, at the A272 crossing Brighton went through but was very tired and couldn’t get past the Brighton lady just ahead of him, or he didn’t want to!!
‘Boy Wonder’ came charging up to the crossing only to be stopped by the marshal before crashing to a number of cars and cyclists that had appeared at the wrong moment. But once he was off he was on a mission. Lucy came through looking very strong quickly followed by Ray. Both Ray and Lewis are now in for a painful recovery massage next time they book with Lucy!!
At the end Pete (snaps) and I had got them a round. Everyone at the end thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were high on adrenalin. Pity the teams having a 2-hour drive back to their homes…but that’ll teach Brighton to beat us! 2nd place and fully deserved”
Team Captain Review by Andy Simpson
A great day with a great bunch of lads. Thank you for all giving 110% on the day. My best leg of the day was from Hedge End to Beachy Head. I do believe it’s a leg record, which will take some beating!! Lewis you'll need to pass your driving test to have a go at this one!!!!!
My worst legs were losing the lead twice to Brighton and having a particularly dodge tummy before Leg 11, thanks goes to 'The Pharmacist (aka Euan) who had a pill for all occasions and plasters galore!
Leg 12 saw Andy shouting Tony's name 3 times, it was third time lucky. Those blasted Henfield Joggers need to change the colour of their club vests!!
Lewis's Leg 6 & 13 were amazing where he took minutes off the opposition and regained the lead twice for us. His leg 6 time was less than 10 seconds of Mark's leg record.
Wayne has been a revelation this year and he ran 3 awesome legs coming close to a leg record on the Butser leg.
Kev and Tony were involved in their first SDR and were looking forward to race but not quite knowing what to expect. At the end of the day they had delivered 3 fine performances each and were buzzing about the whole day. They had already said they were looking forward to coming back next year.
John didn't have the best start to the day. Overslept - due to his sleep patterns all over the place with a new baby and working nights before the race. Then found the M27 closed both ways!! He performed really well despite having what he suspects to be stress fracture on his foot, which flared up after his first leg. He then managed to run the gruelling leg 17 in the heat with temperatures above 25C.
Peter & Phil our Red and Gold Leaders were excellent in getting our boys around without any really hiccups, BIG thank you to you both.
Well done again lads on coming SECOND, next year we want FIRST!!!
South Downs Relay 2010 - Vets
Another fantastic day for Stubbington Green. Three teams, the Senior men, the Vet men and the Ladies raced over near on 100 miles, against 57 other teams from the South of England. It was a resounding success, with our 18 athletes battling the heat, the terrain, and strong competition. None of this would have been possible though if we hadn't the support of several key Stubbies in driving the teams and marshalling our changeover leg at Harting Down.
So, massive thanks to Tracy Bell, Georgie Wallis, Phil May, Peter Hutchinson and Nick Kimber who gave up an entire Saturday to drive us in the early hours, through tight country lanes on a ridiculously hot day to get home well into the late evening. I think each of them deserves an extra 50 points for the SGRAC Championship, even Phil!
Although not involving the whole day, equally important was the marshalling at Harting Down during the afternoon. Chris Haskell and Tim Crumpton were complete stars and undertook the major responsibilities. They were assisted by Eric, Julia and John and Anne Fairhurst who rearranged plans at the last minute to help. So a great effort by all to enable us to run.
The race itself was quite something, a really hot morning, most agreed that their first leg even as early as 8am was the the hottest. Dave set off from Beachyhead and brought us in second from ten starters, only his brother Steve had got away from him! An excellent run from a lady from Midhurst Milers saw her finish a close fourth place on this leg. Euan took on the very hilly climb from Jevington and again another monstrous climb out of Alfriston to hand over to Graham for his ONE easy leg of the day. I took over about a minute down on Phoenix vets for the long leg 4, my ONE tough leg off the day! Despite planning to run fast but steady, with a main rival just ahead all logic goes by the wayside and I spent 49 minutes chasing him down, to finally out sprint him to the changeover. At the end I was a mess, couldn't walk straight for a few minutes, so was guided under a nearby tap!
We then headed up to Ditchling Beacon, where ice creams were the treat for the drivers at least! We saw Mike White battling to the top with the Phoenix runner and things looked ominous as Mike is probably our strongest runner, then Ray took over and made a little headway with a great run. So with all six having completed a leg each, the day was set up for a close battle and that was without the vet teams that had started 30 mins before us, not to mention a super charged Stub A team, with Lewis and Wayne in particular making Theo Walcott look like a slouch.
As our second legs of the day developed, we started to shake off Phoenix, not by much but by leg 12 we had over 5 mins and things were looking good, though with the toughest legs, 13 and 17 to come, you never know. We had Dave and Mike W on those so we felt confident. Not so confident of holding off the stormimg A team though. There had been significant banter for weeks, and though we were on schedule, they were ahead of schedule and closing fast! Our time was almost the same as last years A team, when conditions had been kinder, so we weren't hanging about, but a phenomenal run up Butser from Wayne took them ahead after starting half hour behind, and although I tried to claw back a bit on Andy on leg 16, even limping he held me off! Mike took on the hour run that is leg 17, where we all watched from the Millberrys pub and encouraged Susie, John and Mike past us within 5 minutes of each other. Ray brought us home in 11 hours and twenty mins, to give us an 8 minute winning margin over a gallant Phoenix team.
Of the 57 teams that started, 52 finished, and Phoenix vets came second in the Cooper Cup, given to the best age graded team. This was won once again by Chichester vets with 91.63%.
We came third with over 90%, so with our A team finishing 9th with 87% it does at least go to show that when they reach our age, they won't be as quick as we were this year:)
It was a superb day, of course success helped, but none of our 18 runners got lost, all enjoyed the day immensely and the good natured banter from all teams shows what a great friendly Club we have. Mike Harper.
South Downs Relay 2010 - Ladies
Just getting up at 2am for our 3am departure from Whiteley for the SDW Relay was a challenge for us ladies, though Sally thought she would sneak an extra hour on us by oversleeping, giving her an immediate advantage before we even started our legs. With Sally failing to show at our rendezvous point, and Susie discovering she had left behind her lucky SDW sweatshirt (Penny ferried Susie home to retrieve sweatshirt), we had a bit of a wobble before we even hit the road. However, Penny turned up at 3am with her lippy applied, our very own Stubby fashionista, and even though we wondered if she was on her way home from a night out partying rather than getting ready to slog herself up multiple hills, she instilled in us the confidence we needed to attack our day.
We may have all felt a little unsure of exactly what we were undertaking, but when Lucy told us all that she had had two hours sleep, an hour less than myself, we decided to laugh at what we were about to do. We knew that the other ladies teams would be peopled with 20-something spring chickens, but we were not put off. Instead we four vets placed all the responsibility for failure on Lucy’s and Rachael’s heads, and we all stated to each other that anyone who was overtaken by another woman on one of their legs would be thrown out of the club. That means we are all now looking for a second club to take pity on us!
We got to Beachy Head at 5.30am, after rattling our way for two hours in a tank of a minibus masterfully driven by Nick Kimber. Nick started the day in good humour and calm, but it must be said that as the legs went on, and we asked for more and more toilet stops Nick started to get a bit tetchy and at one point wouldn’t let us get out to talk to the men’s team as it would be “another 20 minutes before we got back in the bus”. Really Nick, we weren’t that bad were we?
Rachael headed off on leg 1, with six other teams, at 6am and it was already hot. Even though she hadn’t recced this leg she did extremely well to find us at the beginning of leg 2, and we were all relieved to see her. The first legs for all of us were gruelling in the heat, and we all seemed to feel sick for a while after, but eventually we got into our strides. We managed to get ahead of the other women’s teams that set off with us, and keep up just about with the men’s. No one got completely lost, and we didn’t have a chance to think about how tired we were as we hopped in and out of the mini-tank. Nick did an excellent job driving to each leg and kept us in order so that we arrived early for each changeover. Once we heard the men’s vets team and A team had started we knew that we had to try and get to the finish before them (even though they set out hours after us!), yet with each new leg we finished they both seemed to be catching us incredibly quickly.
Our second legs all went well though already we were tiring and we all started to doubt how we were going to get ourselves round the third legs. There was neither a breeze in the air nor a cloud in the sky on the Downs, so the sweat was dripping off us all day. Poor Nick had to inhale clouds of deodorant all day, and our carbon footprint for the day, from body spray alone, must have been huge. Still we soldiered on and as our third legs approached silence descended in the bus. I was the first to finish all legs, but the truth is that leg 13 finished me long before I got to the handover. The relief that it was over then slowly washed over all six of us as we tried to keep smashing the hills that just kept coming. Rachael, Sally, Penny and Susie put everything they could into their last legs to hand over to Lucy on the final leg, with the men’s teams very close behind but not quite catching us. Lucy took off, and even though we had instructed her to trip up Lewis and Ray if she saw them coming up on her, she knew how devastated they would be to be beaten by us girls and took pity on them, graciously letting them pass her during Leg 18. But Lucy really showed the men how to do a sprint finish, and such was her speed in the final 100m that the driver for the Brighton ladies team (the overall ladies winners) came over to us, worried that we may have beaten them with such fine runners in our team. The final Brighton lady had come in only minutes before Lucy. However, they had set off an hour an a half after us, which was met with a heavy “Oh,” from the driver.
So we finished our relay in 13hours and 51minutes, which was the fastest we could have possibly done in the heat, coming sixth, one place lower than last year and a few minutes slower. Susie didn’t get lost during any of her legs, Penny truly inspired us all with her speed and endurance and fashion style on the hills (though we didn’t see a return of the speed-quiff this year), Rachael discovered that she had endurance even though she told us at the beginning of the day that long distance wasn’t her thing, Sally instructed us through out the day on how we were to all look away from our men’s teams if they caught us and pretend they didn’t exist, Lucy managed to stay milk-bottle white despite the heat of the day making us suspect she may be a vampire and I won the prize for eating the most during the day. Nick got us where we needed to go in ample time and was incredibly patient with our endless toilet stops and reapplying of deodorant in the van, so thank you Nick for delivering us so promptly and to Susie for organising and encouraging us along the way. We all doubted whether we would ever run up a hill again after our third legs, but despite the hard work it was an amazing day, with great team mates. We may not have been the fastest but we smelt the best, and we probably had the most fun. Oh and we suppose we should congratulate the men’s teams for doing quite well; we are, of course, extremely proud of you all.
The winning ladies’ team was Brighton & Hove City AC in 12.12.56.
Tina Chantrey.
| Results: South Downs Way 100 Miles Relay 2010 | |||||||
| Race no. | Team Name | Cat. | Start Time |
Finish Time | Elapsed Time | Race Category Position | Overall Rank |
| "A" Race | |||||||
| 1 | Brighton & Hove AC | A | 09:00 | 19:42:30 | 10:42:30 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Stubbington Green Runners | A | 09:00 | 19:46:33 | 10:46:33 | 2 | 2 |
| 20 | Lewes AC | A | 09:00 | 19:59:32 | 10:59:32 | 3 | 3 |
| 5 | Steyning AC | A | 08:30 | 19:41:23 | 11:11:23 | 4 | 4 |
| 6 | Midhurst Milers | A | 08:30 | 19:54:07 | 11:24:07 | 5 | 6 |
| 9 | Black Sheep Runners | A | 08:30 | 19:55:21 | 11:25:21 | 6 | 7 |
| 4 | Ranelagh Harriers | A | 08:30 | 20:27:42 | 11:57:42 | 7 | 12 |
| 10 | Basingstoke & Mid-Hants AC | A | 08:30 | 20:34:01 | 12:04:01 | 8 | 13 |
| 19 | Phoenix AC | A | 07:30 | 19:44:06 | 12:14:06 | 9 | 16 |
| 22 | GO Faster | A | 07:30 | 19:50:33 | 12:20:33 | 10 | 17 |
| 32 | Brighton Hash | A | 07:00 | 19:25:58 | 12:25:58 | 11 | 19 |
| 29 | Wessex Road Runners | A | 07:00 | 19:34:27 | 12:34:27 | 12 | 20 |
| 21 | Henfield Joggers | A | 07:30 | 20:36:24 | 13:06:24 | 13 | 26 |
| 43 | Martlet Runners | A | 06:30 | 19:42:29 | 13:12:29 | 14 | 30 |
| 15 | Heathfield Road Runners | A | 08:00 | 21:21:02 | 13:21:02 | 15 | 32 |
| 30 | Southampton Running Club | A | 07:00 | 20:24:36 | 13:24:36 | 16 | 34 |
| 31 | Chichester Runners | A | 07:00 | 20:44:35 | 13:44:35 | 17 | 37 |
| 41 | Seaford Striders | A | 06:30 | 20:18:26 | 13:48:26 | 18 | 38 |
| 44 | Arena 80 | A | 06:30 | 20:20:35 | 13:50:35 | 19 | 39 |
| 45 | Haywards Heath Harriers | A | 06:30 | 20:33:08 | 14:03:08 | 20 | 43 |
| 42 | Amphibians 2 Tri Club | A | 06:30 | 20:40:15 | 14:10:15 | 21 | 44 |
| 52 | Victory AC | A | 06:00 | 20:32:45 | 14:32:45 | 22 | 48 |
| 33 | Burgess Hill Runners | A | 07:00 | 21:25:32 | 14:25:32 | DSQ | DSQ |
| 14 | Crawley AC | A | 08:00 | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF |
| 3 | Hailsham Harriers | A | 09:00 | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF |
| 7 | Orpington Road Runners | A | 08:30 | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF |
| 53 | Crowborough Runners | A | 06:00 | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF |
| "VETS" Race | |||||||
| 13 | Stubbington Green Runners | V | 08:30 | 19:50:55 | 11:20:55 | 1 | 5 |
| 12 | Phoenix AC | V | 08:30 | 19:58:31 | 11:28:31 | 2 | 8 |
| 17 | Arena 80 | V | 08:00 | 19:45:52 | 11:45:52 | 3 | 9 |
| 11 | Chichester Runners | V | 08:30 | 20:15:55 | 11:45:55 | 4 | 10 |
| 16 | Brighton & Hove City AC | V | 08:00 | 19:47:48 | 11:47:48 | 5 | 11 |
| 23 | Amphibians 2 Tri Club | V | 07:30 | 19:50:45 | 12:20:45 | 6 | 18 |
| 36 | Marshall Milton Keynes AC | V | 07:00 | 19:42:45 | 12:42:45 | 7 | 21 |
| 24 | Basingstoke & Mid-Hants AC | V | 07:30 | 20:16:36 | 12:46:36 | 8 | 23 |
| 8 | Liss Runners | V | 08:30 | 21:27:03 | 12:57:03 | 9 | 25 |
| 18 | Heathfield Road Runners | V | 08:00 | 21:08:01 | 13:08:01 | 10 | 27 |
| 34 | Haywards Heath Harriers | V | 07:00 | 20:14:54 | 13:14:54 | 11 | 31 |
| 35 | Crowborough Runners | V | 07:00 | 20:28:06 | 13:28:06 | 12 | 36 |
| 54 | Brighton Hash | V | 06:00 | 20:17:54 | 14:17:54 | 13 | 45 |
| "Ladies" Race | |||||||
| 25 | Brighton & Hove City AC | L | 07:30 | 19:42:56 | 12:12:56 | 1 | 15 |
| 26 | Steyning AC | L | 07:30 | 20:13:30 | 12:43:30 | 2 | 22 |
| 39 | Chichester Runners | L | 07:00 | 19:48:50 | 12:48:50 | 3 | 24 |
| 38 | Liss Runners | L | 07:00 | 20:25:16 | 13:25:16 | 4 | 35 |
| 46 | Phoenix AC | L | 06:30 | 20:20:59 | 13:50:59 | 5 | 40 |
| 55 | Stubbington Green Runners | L | 06:00 | 19:51:45 | 13:51:45 | 6 | 41 |
| 56 | Pigs Trotters | L | 06:00 | 20:31:08 | 14:31:08 | 7 | 47 |
| 37 | Hailsham Harriers | L | 07:00 | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF |
| "B" Race | |||||||
| 27 | Hailsham Harriers | B | 07:30 | 19:38:37 | 12:08:37 | 1 | 14 |
| 47 | Basingstoke & Mid-Hants AC | B | 06:30 | 19:40:35 | 13:10:35 | 2 | 28 |
| 28 | Steyning AC | B | 07:30 | 20:40:41 | 13:10:41 | 3 | 29 |
| 40 | Lewes AC | B | 07:00 | 20:23:44 | 13:23:44 | 4 | 33 |
| 48 | Midhurst Milers | B | 06:30 | 20:25:05 | 13:55:05 | 5 | 42 |
| 51 | Liss Runners | B | 06:30 | 21:12:04 | 14:42:04 | 6 | 49 |
| 57 | Burgess Hill Runners | B | 06:00 | 20:45:04 | 14:45:04 | 7 | 50 |
| 50 | Henfield Joggers | B | 06:30 | 21:22:42 | 14:52:42 | 8 | 51 |
| 49 | Heathfield Road Runners | B | 06:30 | 21:40:30 | 15:10:30 | 9 | 52 |
Photos here: Tracy Bell | Lucy May | Georgie Wallis | Nick Kimber