National Road Relays

National Road relays. Every year the race has different dramas, great runs and defining moments- this year was no exception. I think the gold medal was already pretty much sorted before the race had started-- those belgrave swines had managed to put together a fantastic team, and evidently one that proved a class above the rest in the end. Although from a personal point of view- Tipton stepped up to the plate this weekend. The lads ran great, and after a really successful winter season, the team were rewarded with a bronze medal- A credit both the lads and the team manager mike, who even as late as friday evening had to re-order the team because of drop outs. We now look forward to more success next winter, giving time for those with injuries to re-coup and the team managment to get on the hunt for new talent to bring in or bring through.

Now the relays from a personal point.  I went into the race with a complete open mind. I was ready to run fast, had felt good in training and excited to have a pop at sub 25.30. The aim as ever for the relays was to just welly it from the start... I always go with the theory that if at any point on the leg you feel good-- your not running hard enough. I set off hard then and had two guys ahead of me to chase. luckily for me both were class runners, janes of bedford and kihara of birchfield-- Its good when you are chasing good runners because you now that if you catch them or at least match them, then you must be doing something right. As it happened I caught both guys just before the turn at the back of then long leg, so from then on it was head down into the wind and like the midlands, a battle against myself. I felt good the whole way round the leg-- tired, but never in a position where i thought- "damn im battered here".

When I finished i stopped the watch "25.37". (Im always 2 seconds out by the way), and thought yea thats okay. Wasnt exactly what I wanted but i had run my nuts off. People were saying that it was the fastest time of the day so far, so i was fairly upbeat and buoyed by the news... that was until wicksy ripped me apart!! A great run by phil, and one that serves as inspiration for future relays. It also gave me a kick up the arse- to say thats where you need to be. Great run and fully deserved phil!! So it was a battle of the "two phils" as someone put it, and a battle that im sure will now continue into the track season. There were loads of great runs on saturday-- Hobdells army of lads racing it out on stage two was great to watch, and seeing the return of mark miles doing what he does best-- flying through the field!

So heres to next years relays and hopefully another great race. Well done to all the runnerslife boys-- Great to see the cameras there filming and thanks for the support. See you all on a track somewhere soon........