CLC Striders Race report: Sutton Park Road Relays 2017
A warm and sunny Saturday 23 September 2017 saw two ladies’ and three men’s teams from the CLC Striders club compete in the annual Midland Counties Road Relay Championships at Sutton Park.
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Pictured: All the CLC ladies on the day, from left to right: Rebecca Reynolds, Rachel Vines, Amanda Steer, Helen Knight, Amelia Mullins, Nicola Weager, Patricia Sturgess and Emma Abbey
Comprising four-stages of 4.33km per leg, the women had a particularly strong showing, with the A-Team finishing in 25th place overall out of more than 100 teams on the day! The A-Team were led off by Rachel Vines in a time of 18:22 for her leg, handing over to Amanda Steer who ran 18:30 and then Helen Knight who ran 18:29. The anchor leg for the A-Team was run by the resurgent Patricia Sturgess, who stormed the team into their 25th position with a blistering leg of 17:49.
The B-Team also put in a solid performance, coming home in 60th place overall. Emma Abbey ran 20:20, Becky Reynolds 21:01, Amelia Mullins ran a standout leg of 19:19 and Nicola Weager brought them home in 20:59.
The men’s race was a six-stage event, with legs of 5.88km. In a large and competitive field from all over the Midlands, the men’s A-Team achieved a very creditable 57th place out of the more than 100 teams running on the day. Will Pearce led off in a time of 23:05, Iain Porter ran a storming 20:47, club debutant Tom Kabala ran 22:19, Javid Norat turned in 23:13 5, another club debutant, Mark Fuller, ran a really strong 22:13, and loyal clubman Chris Driskell anchored the A-Team home in 22:27.
Finishing in 86th place, the B-Team saw Tom Vickers set a cracking first leg pace with 22:22, Mike Crossley run 27:23, club captain Joel Freeland 24:54, Kyle Sollars 27:18, Martin Bick 27:17 and evergreen vet John Willson anchor home in 23:38.
Meanwhile, for the incomplete CLC C-Team, Christopher Thomas registered 28:55 and super-vet David James clocked 29:51.