Adershot Farnham & District’s runners retained the senior men’s National 6 Stage Road Relay title when Jack Rowe repeated his feat of anchoring them with the fastest time. Josh Grace had begun their campaign at Sutton Coldfield on Saturday in third place, seven seconds behind the leader. Will Barnicoat then took the lead, clocking a time that stood as the fastest until Rowe’s performance. The third fastest time was recorded by Phil Sesemann as he hit the front for Leeds City, passing Ricky Harvie who brought AFD to the halfway point of the competition in second. After legs by Ben Bradley and Sam Eglen, Rowe set off with a deficit of 53 seconds which he turned into an advantage of five at the finish.
The club’s under-13 girls won what was probably the strongest race of the day, featuring as it did the four clubs that finished immediately behind them at Rushmoor Arena plus the top five from both the Midland and Northern championships. AFD went ahead on the second of three stages where Kitty Scott, having taken over from Jessica Allen in ninth, clocked the event’s third quickest lap. Tiily Robertson clocked the fourth quickest when increasing the lead over Birtley by eight seconds to 26 on the anchor. Chelmsford were third and in fourth was AFD’s B team of Katie McBride, Naomi Walmsley and Felicity Croucher.
The club’s u15 girls were silver medallists. Taking over from Lottie Quinn in twelfth, Katie Pye had put them into the lead by clocking what turned out to be the joint-fastest time of the competition but, clocking the fourth fastest, Imogen Saunders overtook Emmeline Orbell to gain victory for Wreake & Soar Valley. There were bronze medals for AFD’s u13 boys. Daniel Orbell, having taken over from Jack Procopakis, improved nine places to second with the eighth best time of the race but Blas Rivero-Stevenet lost out on the anchor to Caspian Holmes of Herne Hill Harriers, South of England cross country bronze medallist in this age group last season.
AFD also came third in the senior women’s 4 Stage Relay Championship. Following legs by Katie Bingle, Maddie Jordan-Lee and Kate Estlea, Philly Bowden improved the one place required for a set of medals. The club’s B team was fifth in the u17 men’s event, thus beating 35 clubs’ A teams, including their own. Jacob Pearce sent them on their way with the equal-eighth quickest lap, followed by Dan Shattock and Toby Spencer. James Dargan ran the seventh quickest lap to bring the A team home in ninth.