NAC men’s team achieved a fantastic result at the Midland 12 Stage Road Relays Championship on the week. Although bittersweet in 4th position just outside the medals it was another fantastic step up for the Newark squad – last year they were 13th!
The Midland Road relays is a longstanding competition open to running clubs in the Midland region (from Avon in the SW to Staffordshire in the North and Nottinghamshire in the East). It involves teams of twelve running relay legs of 5.4 on a hilly course in Sutton Park. The top 25 teams in the Midland Championships are then invited to compete in the National 12 stage Relays final in Mid-April.
The team worked on a pre-race plan for the early Newark runners to keep in touch with the leading clubs in the early legs. Jacob Parkinson, Will Tucker, Joe Wilkinson, and George Hatton did a great job, competing against big clubs like Bristol, Coventry, Birchfield, Western Tempo, Birmingham. Holding 6th place the team was well placed for the first of Newark’s big hitters Ed Buck to charge through the field and get up to 2nd place just behind Bristol AC, with the middle pack runners of Tom Marshall, Rob Lindsay seeking to hold off the chasing teams.
Running the 8th leg Lewis Jagger then ran the fastest Newark time of the day (16.05) to provide a bit of a cushion that the team hoped with would enough to keep them in for the bronze medals. By this time the big outfits of Western Tempo, Bristol AC, were well away in 1st and 2nd.
Unfortunately, the wolves were massing behind the Newark, with Swindon Harriers having backloaded their team with some form runners to come through with a late charge.
Despite sterling efforts from Marcus Chesterton, Steven Sims and team caption Conor Pacey to keep in touch on legs 9 to 11, the gap had grown too much for Newark’s Danish international Elliot Smith-Rasmussen to close on the last leg.
The final result, after over 3 hours and approximately 40 miles of racing was;
Team manager Ady Dix commented after the race “……. Although it was a bittersweet end to the day, as we dared to dream of a podium finish. An impressive 4th place overall out of 60 teams, beating some bigger clubs in the region, certainly shows the progress that the club is making.
…..”
It’s worth noting that the strength of the team hasn’t come out of nowhere but is a product the group training that goes on behind the scenes in the Newark Area Endurance Group. This is a structured training group for aspiring runners from all around the Newark area, who want to work together to reach their potential. Many of the team running on Saturday developed through this group from modest beginnings. The process continues with any new runners over the age of 16 (male and female) who want to get involved invited to get in touch. Contact coaches Rob Lindsay or Bill Taylor
