Kent clubs take the honours at the South of England Road Relays at Milton Keynes on Sunday

Although two Kent clubs – Cambridge Harriers and Tonbridge AC – dominated the South of England Road Relays at Milton Keynes on Sunday (March 28), there is a vast difference to their back story over recent years.

Tonbridge's men, under the guidance of Mark Hookway, have firmly built up a reputation over recent years of being one of the top distance running clubs in Britain with continual successes in English National and regional events and here they carried on their good form with a strong second half to overhaul early leaders Highgate.

It is only in recent years that Tonbridge have become a major force but Cambridge's women were once the best female club in the country in the late 1960s and early 1970s thanks to the likes of Olympians Joan Allison and Margaret Coomber and national track and road champion Glynis Penny but they haven't even entered this event in the last few decades.

However, helped by the guidance of team manager and coach Penny with a good mixture of young athletes and promising triathletes they have suddenly improved their depth and here they turned out in full force for the first time this century.

A solid start from Kent League overall winner Megan Marchant (17:08) put Cambridge fourth on the opening short leg (5km) as Bedford's English National under-20 14th-placer Tia Wilson impressed with a 16:18 which would prove to be comfortably the day's fastest.

Cambridge's second leg runner Kate Curran soon powered into the lead with a 29:47 clocking for the long leg over 8.6km. The former international triathlon medallist had been eighth in the Southerns in her one 2022 cross-country race but the week before the relay had run a 1:21:14 half-marathon at the end of a half Ironman competition in Lanzarote!

Coming up from 11th to second on leg two was Lewes' South of England under-20 champion Harriet Bloor who ran the fastest of 29:23.

Emily Proto carried on Lewes' momentum and temporarily went into the lead on the short third leg with a 18:12 but Cambridge's Natasha Sinha got back ahead on the finish on the track and at halfway they led by a second on 65:23.

Norwich (66:29) were up to third after CAU Inter-Counties under-20 fourth-placer (and BUCS 6km winner) Megan Gadsby ran the quickest leg of 17:26.

Multi champions in this event Aldershot were just behind in fourth (66:33).

Cambridge still had two of their strongest runners to come and Holly Dixon, the Inter-Counties senior sixth placer quickly increased her lead and at the end of her 29:23 leg which temporarily equalled the day's fastest long leg.

The gap was now two minutes with English Championships 1500m bronze medallist Lily Coward (30:15) moving Aldershot into second with Lewes third.

Belgrave moved up from eighth to fourth with Sarah Astin, the week after a 33:17 10km PB going fastest overall with a 29:05 clocking.

On the fifth leg, Caroline Ford, a 2:06.48 800m performer, had not raced since 2020 according to her Power of 10 profile but she showed no signs of rustiness as she powered to the fastest on her leg of 17:19 and the lead was now up to two minutes 44 seconds.

Olivia Papaioannou moved Belgrave (1:54:49) into second with a 17:32 leg while Lewes (1:55:46) went back Aldershot (1:56:22) as the other medal places still seemed up for grabs.

On the last leg, Cambridge had no worries with former multiple National age group champion Sabrina Sinha in action and the BUCS Indoor 1500m champion who ran a leg in Britain's winning team in the World Students Cross-Country recently, ran the quickest final leg of 16:51 as the margin stretched to just 10 seconds short of four minutes.

Belgrave held on to second with Aldershot's Inter-Counties under-20 champion Pippa Roessler's 17:05 leg denying Lewes as the Sussex team produced their best performance to date at this level.

Southampton, hosts Marshall Milton Keynes, Basingstoke, Belgrave B, London Heathside and Cambridge and Coleridge completed the top ten.

Kent AC would have been in the battle for a top 10 place but their fourth runner Jennifer Berg was sent round the long leg loop twice and took over 50 minutes for her leg.

Tonbridge did not dominate the men's race to the same extent as Cambridge as they ran out to a 52-second win.

Always in the top three but with none of any of the fastest times on the first 11 legs, they bided their time in the early stages as Alex Howard (25:39) came in third as Winchester's Toby Cooke, who ran a 29:21 10km earlier in the month at Trafford, led the way with a 25:26 from Highgate's Alex Lepretre's 25:31.

Thomas Keen, the 2018 European under-18 3000m champion, who improved his 800m PB to 1:47.97 last summer, showed his endurance is also progressing as his 14:41 was the quickest short leg of the day and brought Cambridge & Coleridge into the lead as Ben Murphy (14:51) took Tonbridge into second.

South of Thames cross-country champion Jamie Goodge (26:27) kept Tonbridge in second on leg three but Highgate's 13:43.75 5000m performer Jacob Allen (25:40) went ahead though even faster was former English National junior champion Ellis Cross (25:25) who moved Aldershot up to third and that woudl prove to be the quickest of the day on the long legs by a single second.

On leg four Highgate, through London champion Seyed Taha Ghafari (15:12), marginally increased their lead over Tonbridge's Mike Ellis (15:18) to 42 seconds with Cambridge & Coleridge again supplying the fastest leg through English Schools runner-up Alex Melloy (14:56) who moved them back up to third.

Highgate stayed ahead on leg five through VPH 5 runner-up Alex Bampton (26:26) who stretched the gap to exactly a minute to Tonbridge's Ben Cole (26:44).

Further back the South of England champion Andy Coley-Maud moved Guildford into the top 10 with a 25:39 which was probably the fastest leg as the results suggests Bournemouth were faster but appear to have done a short leg with a 18:00 clocking which advanced them from 31st to sixth!

At halfway Highgate (2:03:12) still had a substantial lead through Sean Renfer (15:13) over Tonbridge (2:04:23) through Jamie Bryant (15:24) with Cambridge & Coleridge (2:05:02) back up to third with again the fastest leg of 15:00 thanks to English Schools steeplechase champion Tom Bridger.

Roger Poolman (27:22) kept Highgate ahead on leg seven but Tonbridge's Southern 1500m runner-up Steve Strange (26:38) closed the gap to around half a minute. Aldershot's Sam Eglen (26:08) was fastest.

On leg eight, Highgate's Pete Chambers (15:16) got closed down further by Tonbridge's Cameron Payas (15:01) and now the margin was just 12 seconds though there was a big gap to Bedford in third. Southampton's Jonathan Roberts (14:59) was quickest though he only moved up a place from ninth to eighth such were the gaps.

Finally on leg nine, Tonbridge hit the front as Southern under-20 runner-up Jamie Kingston (25:56) went ahead and stretched the lead to 49 seconds over Highgate.

Working out who was running the fastest legs was less clearcut. For instance, As late as Monday the results were unreliable and had Belgrave's Dan Wallis taking all of five seconds for his eighth leg going into the lead and then Nick Goolab who looked to be moving fast given a 42:13 on leg nine!

Once the dust had settled on Tuesday we were able to learn Wallis actually ran 16:29 and Goolab, the 13:27 road 5km performer, was credited with a 25:49 for the second best on this leg.

It was Bedford's South of England runner-up Ben Alcock (25:31) who was quickest and he made significant in roads in third and they now had Highgate within their sights.

Dan Bradley (15:42) kept Tonbridge ahead on leg 10 but the lead was down to 31 seconds as Bedford's Matt Bray (15:05) was fastest and moved past Highgate.

Corey De'ath (27:10) held Tonbridge's advantage to over half a minute on leg eleven though Charlie Haywood's 26:48 got Highgate back past Bedford in second. Further back, consistent Tom Jervis - top eight in all four Surrey Leagues this winter was quickest with a 26:46 but again only advanced Hercules Wimbledon one place to fifth.

On the final leg, former National youth 800m record-holder Sean Molloy ran an assured 15:03, which was the quickest on the leg, to move the lead back to 52 seconds as Highgate (4:10:52) were a clear second over Bedford (4:11:58).

Hercules Wimbledon (4:13:47), Cambridge & Coleridge (4:14:39), Aldershot (4:15:27), Southampton (4:17:39), Victoria Park (4:19:19), Winchester (4:21:40) and Woodford Green (4:23:17) completed the top 10.

Olympic 800m semi-finalist Daniel Rowden (16:03) ran the final leg for the latter.

It appears a modest 39 teams completed 12 legs though as of Tuesday lunchtime the results were still showing that some of those 39 teams that clearly ran short distances.

Senior results
Men (8.66km & 4.99km alternating):
1 Tonbridge 4:10:00 (A Howard 25:40, B Murphy 14:52, J Goodge 26:28, M Ellis 15:19, B Cole 26:45, J Bryant 15:25, S Strange 26:39, C Payas 15:02, J Kingston 25:57, D Bradley 15:43, C De'ath 27:11, S Molloy 15:04)
2 Highgate 4:10:52 (A Leprêtre 25:32, J Ross 15:11, J Allen 25:41, T Ghafari 15:13, A Bampton 26:27, S Renfer 15:14, R Poolman 27:23, P Chambers 15:17, R Bahelbi 26:58, J Sudmeier 15:51, C Haywood 26:49, R Wilson 15:24)
3 Bedford & C 4:11:58 (S Winters 27:19, B Davies 15:06, J Goodwin 25:56, A Alston 15:11, H Brodie 26:42, A Yabsley 15:14, D Deed 26:36, J Minter 15:38, B Alcock 25:32, M Bray 15:06, S Knee-Robinson 28:05, C Emmerson 15:40)
4 Hercules 4:13:47 (C Eastaugh 26:48, O Carrington 15:22, F Slemeck 27:12, J Croft 15:27, J Cornish 26:40, E Mallett 15:25, D Cliffe 26:34, M Sharp 16:05, A Penney 27:15, G Mallett 15:13, T Jervis 26:47, B Goater 15:04)
5 Cambridge & C 4:14:40 (J Gray 25:48, T Keen 14:42, J Reed 27:30, A Melloy 14:57, C Darling 27:10, T Bridger 15:01, B Jones 27:45, M Gilbert 15:24, J Dunce 27:45, I Williamson 15:39, W Mycroft 27:02, T McCusker 16:03)
6 AFD 4:15:27 (S Blake 26:53, W Jerome 15:18, E Cross 25:26, M Duckworth 15:55, M Merrick 26:23, J Boswell 15:56, S Eglen 26:09, R Murphy 16:29, R Harvie 26:34, S Connor 16:14, J Bowles 28:23, C Charleston 15:51)
7 Southampton 4:17:39 (D Bradford 27:24, S Phillips 15:45, J O'Hara 26:49, S Pulley 16:06, S Costley 26:58, O Smith 16:04, A Lennan 26:46, J Roberts 15:00, P Hart 26:23, M Costley 15:23, T Cully 29:00, J Williams 16:08)
8 VP&TH 4:19:19 (A Lawrence 25:49, J Dale 15:31, A Millbery 27:17, N Rowland 15:57, J Payne 27:20, G Divall 16:01, P Martelletti 26:44, T Macintyre 16:17, A Dickson-Bell 28:11, D Baxter 15:57, J Hotham 28:24, D Howarth 15:57)
9 Winchester 4:21:40 (T Cooke 25:27, D Mills 15:54, W Boutwood 26:50, L Dickson 16:46, A Winterbottom 27:51, C Upton 15:54, B Findlay 28:50, D Cunnington 16:52, G King 27:03, G Brayn 16:12, A Fautly 27:36, B Healey 16:32)
10 WG&EL 4:23:17 (E Shepherd 26:26, T Phillips 15:51, J Stockings 27:17, A Brown 16:52, A Kirk-Smith 26:53, J Doye 16:04, T Beedell 28:17, D Steel 17:25, A Holford 28:28, S Beedell 16:25, J Entwistle 27:22, D Rowden 16:04)
11 Kent 4:24:22 (M O'Shea 28:00, R Sesemann 15:59, J Tipper 27:59, I Maxwell 15:52, C Dockerill 27:32, J Yee 15:56, D Dibaba 29:10, M Saulnier 16:41, S Fitzpatrick 27:06, B Harding 16:22, B Day 28:05, D Pettitt 15:46)
12 Guildford & G 4:24:55 (D Wallis 26:52, H Boyd 15:51, J Sanderson 26:18, N Janmohamed 17:21, A Coley-Maud 25:40, M Tennyson 17:58, G Dollner 27:24, J Harvey 16:19, S Begg 28:44, J Share 16:26, M McDaniel 28:30, T Booth 17:39);
13 Belgrave 4:25:01 (C Stewart 27:23, E Campbell 16:18, A Dumez 28:42, E Somerville 16:19, H Hart 29:39, J Neville 16:17, S Gebreselassie 26:38, D Wallis 16:29 , N Goolab 25:49, C McNally 17:50, J Fox 28:02, N Buckle 15:39);
14 Norwich 4:28:32 (L Smith 26:17, S Todd 16:02, D Adams 28:33, Z Houghton 16:39, L Alden 27:24, S Stevens 15:57, G Crush 28:45, J Price 15:30, J Mollicone 28:24, P Thomas 16:16, E Whiting 31:25, H Lake 17:25);
15 S London 4:29:03 (G Laybourne 26:15, R Evans 16:13, T Higgs 27:31, D Gaffney 15:39, L Kempson 28:37, I Makkar 16:10, P Bailey 28:13, B Casserley 16:39, P Prothero 28:40, S Major 17:20, J Lyne 28:15, M Bradley 19:36);

16 WSEH 4:31:18 (B Moore 26:30, S Hodgson 15:24, D Brookling 27:22, F Kirk 17:51, M Shantry 27:54, L Hynes 17:08, S Cirillo 28:32, W Goddard 16:02, B Rowe 30:05, A Webb 17:59, M Vardy 29:36, S Millett 17:01)

24 Harrow 4:39:56; 25 Marshall Milton Keynes 4:40:59; 26 Hercules B 4:41:43; 27 Peterborough 4:43:08; 28 Bournemouth 4:43:46; 29 Kent B 4:44:37; 30 Clapham Chasers 4:49:39

Fastest Long: E Cross (AFD) 25:26; T Cooke (Win) 25:27; B Alcock (Bed C) 25:31; A Lepretre (High) 25:31; A Howard (Ton) 25:40

Fastest Short: T Keen (C&C) 14:41; B Murphy (Ton) 14:52; A Melloy (C&C) 14:56; J Roberts (Soton) 14:59

Women (3x8.66km & 3x4.99km alternating):
1 Cambridge H 2:08:53 (M Marchant 17:08, K Curran 29:47, N Sinha 18:28, H Dixon 29:23, C Ford 17:19, S Sinha 16:51);

2 Belgrave 2:12:43 (G Richardson 17:44, J Saunders 32:18, S Hewitt 18:10, S Astin 29:05, O Papaioannou 17:32, N Lenane 17:55)

3 AFD 2:13:26 (K Hughes 17:28, E Moyes 31:01, K Bingle 18:04, L Coward 30:15, S Vallis 19:34, P Roessler 17:05)

4 Lewes 2:13:46 (E Navesey 17:49, H Bloor 29:23, E Proto 18:12, R Whyte-Wilding 31:37, D Knotkova-Hanley 18:45, L Keep 18:01);

5 Southampton 2:15:33 (L Hawkins 16:56, N Griffiths 31:40, G Barry 18:42, S Winstone 31:22, A Burch 19:14, N Frith 17:41)

6 Milton K 2:16:36 (I King 18:18, E Roche 31:19, A Roskilly 18:25, A Ritchie 30:56, E Bousfield 19:25, L Bromilow 18:16);

7 Basingstoke & MH 2:17:27 (C Chalwin 18:10, M Deadman 31:30, R Sleap 18:05, C Ragan 31:49, K Towerton 18:28, R Pearson 19:27);

8 Belgrave B 2:19:09 (M Whitman 18:19, P Walker 31:53, A Vermeulen 18:05, F Whyte 34:14, A Price 17:58, A Reed 18:42)

9 London Heathside 2:20:11 (B Wallace 17:40, A Arnold 32:14, C Kennedy 19:44, E Divetain 32:04, R Male 19:47, L Woolcock 18:44);

10 Cambridge & C 2:23:07 (R Hair 18:29, E Paradis 32:18, R Sharpe 19:06, D Hey 33:22, K Nolan 20:04, I Mastrolonardo 19:50);

11 Colchester H 2:23:19 (V Primmer 18:51, L Davies 33:27, L Callan 19:12, H Hogan-Steele 33:17, T English 18:47, E Burgess 19:47);

12 Shaftesbury 2:23:53 (I Patel 16:56, C Jacobs-Conradie 34:11, A Hill 18:21, E Dimmer 34:33, H Ridley 20:19, E Roncarati 19:36);

13 Thames H&H 2:24:01 (A Cross 18:38, B Murray 31:22, A Gould 20:15, C Altmann 34:38, R Boswell 19:32, K Hedgethorne 19:40);

14 Herne H 2:25:07 (F De Mauny 18:27, S Grover 32:25, E Cottingham 20:12, N Lodge 34:26, S Swaine 20:24, E Newton 19:15);

15 Winchester 2:25:15 (L Neate 17:44, S Gurney 34:07, H Foster 19:00, T Anderson 33:04, S Perry 20:33, C Carr 20:49);

16 Bedford & C 2:25:36 (T Wilson 16:18, J Smith 34:36, E Garraway 20:24, R Murray 30:15, S Bosher 19:29, E Coombes 24:37);

17 Wycombe P 2:25:43 (Z Doyle 18:20, M Phair 33:50, A Robbins 20:44, A Montgomery 34:51, J Roberts 19:14, L Street 18:46);

18 TVH 2:27:32 (E Todd 18:14, C Baker 32:29, F Lou 22:44, L da Silva 33:13, V Carter 19:39, N Murphy 21:15);

19 Belgrave C 2:29:08 (L Goodson 18:48, L Goldie-Scot 34:15, M Hall 19:21, E Hards 34:57, F Maddocks 19:50, C Hall 22:00);

20 Reading RR 2:31:13 (H Green 18:45, S Dooley 36:04, H Pool 20:08, K Streams 34:07, C Lloyd 21:39, H Sedgwick 20:32);

21 Harrow 2:38:05; 22 WG&EL 2:38:56; 23 Kent 2:39:34; 24 Reading 2:41:48; 25 Newquay RR 2:41:51; 26 Luton 2:43:18; 27 Mil K B 2:57:35; 28 Newquay RR B 3:09:34

Fastest Long: S Astin (Belg) 29:05; H Dixon (Camb H) 29:22; H Bloor (Lewes) 29:23; K Curran (Camb H) 29:47; R Murray (Bed C) 30:14; L Coward (AFD) 30:15

Fastest Short: T Wilson (Bed C) 16:17; S Sinha (Camb H) 16:50; L Hawkins (Soton) 16:56; I Patel (SB) 16:56; P Roessler (AFD) 17:05; M Marchant (Camb H) 17:07

The event also hosted the South of England 5km Championships for younger age groups.

The 3:53.70 1500m performer Isaac Rothwell (15:16) narrowly got the better of his Cambridge & Coleridge team-mate George Keen (15:19) in the under-17 men's race while Alex Mulvihill (16:53) was a clear winner of the under-15 boys race.

Jemima Ridley easily won the under-17 women's race in 17:55 but much quicker in the under-15 girls race was Inter-Counties sixth-placer Milly Dunger (17:33).
Individual 5km results to follow once processed by Power of 10.

U17 men TEAM: 1 Cambridge & C 9; 2 Lewes 28

U15 TEAM: 1 WG&EL 16; 2 Luton 20

U17 women TEAM: No team closed in

U15 TEAM: 1 WG&EL 14; 2 S London 20

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