A recap of all the action from the Midlands men’s 12 and women’s 6 stage road relays.
MIDLANDS MEN 12 & WOMEN 6 STAGE ROAD RELAYS, Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, March 28
On a cold and blustery day, complete with sun, rain and the occasional hailstone, Western Tempo dominated by taking the women’s race for the third time in a row and the men’s for the second time in three years.
However, it was apparent that entries were down on some recent years with organisers battling to limit entry pricing against increasing costs.
Moreover, the two races were again on stages of equal length as there is still no sign of access being allowed down to Streetley Gate for the long legs.
This year the lap used was the 5.47km distance used in the Autumn relays and longer that the 5.06km one used for this event last year.
Men
Their 12-stage race over the 5.47km lap was a race between the two west-country clubs, holders Bristol & West and Western Tempo.
Both were however, upstaged on the opener when Miles Clisham, who had run a 13:57 5km two weeks earlier and freed of recent injury worries led home 73 teams in 15:56. However, many of those did not even declare, yet alone finish, a full dozen runners.
The time was consistent with his 15:52 and 15:56 over the same course in the national events last year, despite the strong blustery winds around the course.
Jon Stolberg brought BRAT home second but the eventual medallists were all well over a minute down.
After the first loop, he led throughout and said: “Apart from the stray dogs, I felt good going up the hill where the wind was but going back down you couldn’t feel it. I am not sure what my best track distance is as I have been injured for years.”
Then Charlie Davis gave BRAT a second stage lead before Will Battershill, who was fastest in the national event last year posted the quickest lap of the day at 15:50 to take holders Bristol well ahead on stage three.
He said: “It was windy on the whole top section and then I took the lead just after the hairpin turn.” After twisting his ankle here in the Autumn relays he said that he now gets on better with the go faster shoes.
However, the eventual winners were still a minute down, albeit gaining a slot to fourth on the road.
After a no change fourth leg, David Awde kept Bristol ahead, this time from Edward Buck’s Newark’s 16:08 on stage five before it all changed at the half-way point.
Dillan Gillett took advantage of a weaker effort from Bristol to open out a one-minute lead, as Newark too lost ground but further back, Swindon had been inching up the field and were now sixth.
Max Kelly increased the Tempo on stage seven leaving Bristol 95-seconds shy as Newark stayed third but Swindon ended closer to fourth on the road.
Stage eight saw Dom James open Western Tempo’s lead to more than two minutes and stated “we did it without Jacob Cann.”
Gwynant Jones also added to the advantage on stage nine. But fastest here was Notts’ top master Alastair Watson who gained three spots to sixth with a 16:27 split.
With just two stages left to run Peter Mollloy turned the Tempo knife even more with a fastest stage ten time of 16:33 and they led by nearly three minutes.
Jack Millar’s stage 11 best of 16:21 closed the gap slightly for Bristol, but they had no answer when Western Tempo threw in one of Bristol’s winning dozen from last year in the shape of Ben Robinson, who was having his first relay outing for his new club.
He said: “I’ve been living in Gloucester and train with these boys,” explaining he came after a win in the 12-stage and English National cross-country for Bristol.
Swindon had continued to inch towards the Podium through the latter stages before Harry Woods took them to third on stage ten, a position that they held to the end and with it their first ever medals at this level.
Men (6×5.47km): 1 Western Tempo 3:21:48 (H James 17:09, L Carroll 16:58, C Jones 16:49, C Hartmink 17:09, C Wright 17:12, D Gillett 16:31, M Kelly 16:51, D James 16:07, G Jones 17:00, P Molloy 16:33, S Derrett 16:46, B Robinson 16:43): 2 Bristol & West 3:24:15 (J Thewlis 17;10, W Parkin 16:47, W Battershill 15:50, D Minors 17:09, D Awde 17:43, T Dun ford 18:02, A Stewart 17:33, L Burgss 16:34, M Campion 17:09, D Rigby 17:17, J Millar 16:21, F McGrath 16:40): 3 Swindon 3:26:37 (L Byrne 17:26, H Edwards 17:03, D Giles 17:47, E Pierce 17:50, I Mould 17:32, P Mochan 17:37, M Woodward 17:18, F Hart 16:58, B Lines 17:11, H Woods 16:38, A Bampton 16:41, S Byrne 16:36); 4 Newark 3:28:32; 5 BRAT 3:29:09; 6 Rugby & Northampton 3:31:43; 7 W Tempo B 3:35:08; 8 Notts 3:36:35; 9 Westbury 3:37:45; 10 Coventry Godiva 3:37:38
Fastest: J Battershill 15:50; M Clisham (Cov G) 15:56; J Tuffin (BRAT) 16:03; Jagger (Newark) 16:05; James 16:07; E Buck (Newark) 16:08
Women
Just 52 women’s teams of six completed the course after 66 started, a figure well down on 2025 when 67 of the 78 starting teams finished, although up on 2024.
Western Tempo made it three wins in a row, with the last two being in this new format of equal length legs.
They started off in third after stage 1 behind Leamington’s Rachel Gilworth and Birchfield’s Annie Testar.
This was new territory for Gilworth, who said: “I took the lead at the top of the hill but I was only sixth last year but here I got to enjoy it despite the hail!” She put her improvement down to moving up a training group at Leamington.
Charlotte Brown soon took Western Tempo well clear on the second stage, as Bristol & West’s Maria Jones saw them up to second before team captain Megan Marchant put the boot in with the fastest women’s split of the day. Her mark of 18:49 gave them a three-minute margin over Birchfield, with Bristol a minute further down at the mid-way point of the race.
She said: “I felt really good but it’s hard when there is nobody around you. I am captain and it’s hard when you have to rally the troops.”
Tayana Ozoux and then Emma Powell’s nippy 19:19 saw Tempo more than five minutes clear with just the ‘glory leg’ to go. Birchfield held second but Amy Nicholls closed for Bristol here.
Finally Amber Watson trotted round for a Western Tempo victory of over four minutes from Birchfield, whose Rae Nicholls was fastest here with 19:38.
Bristol failed to put out a final stage runner which left Tipton to take the third spot. Word had it that a motorway accident had delayed the Bristol sixth runner, who then allegedly turned round and went home.
Women (6x 5.47km): 1 Western Tempo 1:58:37 (A Milnes 19:09, C Brown 20:05, M Marchant 18:49, T Ozoux 20;23, E Powell 19:19, A Wilson 20:52); 2 Birchfield 2:02:52 (A Testar 19:01, K Nee 20:57, E Symes 21:15, J Wright 20:42, E Walters 21:19, R Nicholls 19:38); 3 Tipton 2:05:47 (G Slater 21:32, H Carruthers 19:22, C Holden 21:17, J Charlton 22:05, B Walker 20:25, A Hadley 21:p6); 4 harnwood 2:07:40; 5 Bromsgrove & Redditch 2:08:11; 6 Swindon 2:10:43; 7 Rugby & Northampton 2:12:40; 8 BRAT 2:12:46; 9 Notts 2:14:40; 10 Mansfield 2:15:19
Fastest: I Marchant 18:49; Gilworth 18:53; Testar 19:01; Milnes 19:09; Powell 19:19; Carruthers/K Marsh (Notts) 19:22
