Stubbington Green Runners

What a day it turned out to be. With last minute changes to the team and the week before recceing of leg 1, we were ready to go. It felt quite strange to me thinking that the relay had started while I was pegging out my washing and going to the shops! I was also anxious about being on time as even though we had estimated times it can all be quite different on the day.

Donna gave us an excellent start and handed over to Susie in 2nd place. We were wondering if Susie would be able to navigate her way around leg 2 but she didn’t disappoint us and she handed over to Lucy maintaining an excellent 2nd position.

When Lucy started off she was excited that we were second behind Winchester. Her leg went well and she only got overtaken by some good mixed teams.
We were still 2nd to Winchester when Lucy handed over to Rachael.

Before the start of leg 4, Rachael was anxious about the route and her need for the toilet. However, she needn’t have worried as she ran the fastest time over leg 4 for ladies, didn't get lost and no one overtook her. Gill was ready and raring to go as Rachael approached.

It rained on Gill’s leg. On the plus side this meant that she wasn't tempted to stop by the river for a picnic and a cooling dip. On the down side she was left looking like the hair bear bunch which she didn't worry too much about at the time. Her leg started with her face in permanent contact with her watch as she couldn't work out if she'd started it properly and she couldn't rely on her increasingly temperamental Garmin which was prone to switching itself off without permission. Eventually she gave up on it as she realised that her face was going to make close contact with the ground if she continued to try to sort it out. The rain and wind came just as she reached the lovely open and exposed river bank then went away as she reached more sheltered territory. 

When Gill handed over to me, yes, we were still 2nd to Winchester by about 8 minutes. I had arrived at the start of leg 6 an hour early, and Tanya had already sent me a text to say she was at the start of leg 7! At least I knew she was there, and we were going to have to rely on spotting the green Stubby vest as this would be our first meeting. Tanya also felt it was a rather strange way to meet her new running club ladies captain for the first time. My leg was straight forward and with a fleeting glimpse of Tanya, she was gone with still 8 minutes between us and Winchester. What I hadn’t appreciated was quite how fast she would fly over the 100 styles (well almost!) in leg 7.

Tanya hoped to run fast and not to slip in the middle of the wood and break her ankle.  On first seeing the Winchester lady (and escort) in a field in front of her, she kept her breathing really quiet, sneaked up on her, took a deep breath and sprinted past her whilst pretending that her legs and lungs weren't burning. She was actually just hanging on for the finish of her leg. She was relieved to see the finish line and Emily waiting for her.

Emily set off 2 minutes in front of Winchester meaning that Tanya had made 10 minutes up on the Winchester team. As the rest of us were making our way to the finish, we all heard one way or another that our team was in the lead and couldn’t quite believe our ears! I was driving to the pub and had to contain my speed as I realised that we could actually win.

Donna, Rachael and Gill were waiting with excitement and anxiety at the end and Gill can honestly say that she has never felt so proud and elated to see the green Stubby vest coming across the fields. Not so elated that there may be a very public photo shoot and her hair style was now a concern. Those 20 or so minutes that we waited for Emily to finish seemed like the longest 20 minutes ever! But there she was in first place and bringing the Stubbettes home in style (for the first time since 2000). The sound of Donna's squeal as she spotted Emily coming across the wooden boards in first place and pinching the trophy from Winchester after 6 years. . . . absolutely priceless.

What a fantastic day and one hell of an achievement for us ladies!  We are the champions, we are the champions, no time for losers, we are the champions of the world....Yeh!

The final thought was the South Downs Way Relay Team looks good for next year-best get training!

Written by Sally McGrath with contributions from Lucy May, Rachael Openshaw, Gill Rose and Tanya Brady.