We sent two teams to the National Road Relays this year: Senior women and Under 17 men.
Mohamed Ali (photo courtesy of Bryan Dale)
The U17 men, comprising Arun Manget, Mohamed Ali and Elias Ahmed, finished a very respectable 12th out of 42 teams. Mo was the quickest of the leg two runners, clocking 11:50 over the 4.33km course. He was joint second fastest U17 on the day- the fastest being just one second quicker!
Jessica, Sarah, Cameron & Kat
We rarely send a women’s team to the Nationals, and thanks are due to Patricia Thomas for initiating it.
Jessica Leane (photo courtesy of Bryan Dale)
Jessica Leane led out for the team and finished 22nd out of 83, showing a strong return from injury back at the middle of the summer. Sarah Gerrie displayed a positive piece of running on leg two, after a few months away from racing. Cameron Thomas took over on leg three, having clearly enjoyed her first taste of senior road relays at Crystal Palace a couple of weeks earlier.
Kat Mertens (photo courtesy of Bryan Dale)
Indeed, it was exactly the same team again – albeit in a different order – with Kat Mertens on the final leg. It was Kat’s first race back in three years, and she said afterwards she “loved being out there running for the first time and having the opportunity to run with such an awesome team”.
Full results of the U17 men’s race here and of the women’s race here.