3rd place for relay team

Last edited: Sun 9 Jul 2017

A team of five led by Brian Pearson did us proud at Gillingham School on Sunday, for the second week running beating everyone except the Bristol, the team already crowned champions and the usual dominant force, Wessex. Results

With an increased team size of five for this event (teams of three is the norm) there was more chance of something going wrong, like a mispunch. With the 'rotating maps' format, it can also be trickier for the captain to plan- he or she needs to play to each runners' strengths but is hindered by second-guessing which is going to be the critical map. Brian guessed correctly that it would be the long course ("Line Course A") and made sure someone was running it at any one time. But it could easily have been the memory map course.

More about relay formats

The plan worked well- each of our runners completed their runs within three minutes of each other!

The team:

Brian Pearson (captain), Pete Shirvington, Graham Hartley, Jim Mallinson, Graham Pearson.

Reserve Jim Pearson was also in the travelling party and was almost called up to the team! With the team car-sharing, we appeared to be one man down at the first rendez-vous. A couple of phone calls later: panic over. Our "missing" runner would be at the second meeting point. Even the route to the event normally has three 'legs'!

Event review by Mike Kite (Wimborne OC)

Series

Bristol OK win the series having won each of the first four relays and with each team scoring from their best four events only. Wessex look destined for the runners-up spot.

League table

Although we sit 4th in the league behind Sarum, they have taken part in one more relay than us. We are nicely poised to leapfrog them into a "podium place" in the six-event long series.

That would be a good achievement, especially as some of us who helped us win trophies in previous seasons are either not at the club anymore or were unavailable this summer.

Next up

The next relay in Poole next Sunday. We have a team but no further entries are possible now. Brian hands the captain's armband over to Steve Robertson, accompanied by Jim Mallinson, who is heading south east with the team for the 3rd week in a row. The trio is completed by Roger Dickey, Roger set to enjoy a first relay run of the season.

Chris Philip is recruiting for the Devon Relays on Dartmoor on Sunday 23rd and needs at least one more person so we can enter three teams. Please contact him (see relays page for details) if you are interested in running.

Event review

WIM put on a great Furrow Hopper Relay, with no furrows in sight! Some technical running around Gillingham School and then out into the town for the longer courses. 11 Open teams of five and four junior teams competed. The denouement of the Relay was almost as close as the Tour de France. WSX were waiting for two courses to be completed whilst BOK had three courses still out. Then it was WSX waiting for one course to BOK’s two courses. Then one course each and finally the last BOK team member appeared just 21 seconds in front of the WSX runner.

The upshot of this means BOK now have an unassailable lead in the Chairman’s Trophy competition. However, can they match the unique 2013 feat of WSX who won all six of the summer relays?

- from SWOA Facebook page, "with thanks to Gavin Clegg"

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