Leeds and Herne Hill triumph at English National Road Relays
Leeds City AC's men and Herne Hill Harriers' women came out on top in the senior races at the latest edition of the England Road Running Association National Road Relays.
There was unbroken sunshine at the start of the meeting – with temperatures rising to approximately 17 degrees – and as the afternoon wore on, the wind picked up but there was no rain.
Overall, clubs in the North picked up five team titles to the three claimed by those in the South.
Men
Leeds City AC started the event as favourites, especially after drafting in their two Olympic marathon runners – Emile Cairess and Phil Sesemann.
It was no surprise then that the Yorkshire club retained their title and took the trophy home for the third time, as they also won it in the pre-Covid year of 2019.
Veteran Graham Rush gave them a steady start, before Cairess blasted Leeds City AC in front on stage two, running 16:38 – just five seconds off Mo Farah's lap record around the current Sutton Park course.
Cairess, who clocked 2:07:29 to finish fourth in the marathon at the Olympics, was competing for the first time since Paris and duly took Leeds City AC from 13th to a 14-second lead over Birchfield Harriers, who led the first leg courtesy of Aron Gebremariam.
Gebremariam, who is the English national junior cross-country champion, clocked 16:54, just ahead of Highgate’s Jacob Allen (16:57) and City of York's Angus McMillan (16:59). "I then led from 2km to go," said the Birchfield man, adding: "I am the new Mo Farah."
Cairess dominated the second stage, with Zak Mahamed – who represented Great Britain over 10,000m at the European Championships – running 16:43, gaining 26 spots for Southampton AC to third overall at that point.
Cat Mills, who ran for Leeds City AC on the third leg, increased their advantage to 25 seconds, with Cambridge & Coleridge and Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers in second and third respectively, courtesy of storming runs from Thomas Keen and Jeremey Dempsey.
Shaftesbury's Jamie Dee ate into the Leeds City AC lead on the fourth leg, so that when Richard Allen finished, the gap was 33 seconds before Phil Sesemann set off.
Sesemann front ran a stage best of 16:58 to increase the Leeds margin to almost a minute over Shaftesbury and Cambridge & Coleridge. He stated that "the wind picked up and it is hard when you are on your own."
Linton Taylor finished the job for the holders despite Liam Dee closing slightly for Shaftesbury, who were third in 2021 and came home second.
Thomas Bridger secured Cambridge’s fourth third place medal in the last five events.
The Leeds winning time of 1:43:36 was the fastest of their three recent wins in the event.
Men (6x5.847km): 1 Leeds 1:43:36 (G Rush (13) 17:30, E Cairess (1) 16:38, C Mills (1) 17:37, R Allen (1) 17:21, P Sesemann (1) 16:58, L Taylor (1) 17:32); 2 Shaftesbury 1:44:19 (I Hirsham-Chandler (7) 17:15, T Butler (10) 17:38, J Dempsey (3) 17:32, J Dee (2) 17:14, D Evans (2) 17:24, L Dee (2) 17:16); 3 Cambridge & Coleridge 1:44:51 (N Mapperley (5) 17:12, J Carr (6) 17:35, T Keen (2) 17:23, J Gray (3) 17:37, D Jones (3) 17:45, T Bridger (3) 17:19); 4 Bedford & County 1:45:42 (H Brodie (15) 17:35, J Goodwin (7) 17:14, B Davies (4) 17:47, S Winters (5) 17:58, E Blythman (4) 17:47, B Alcock (4) 17:21); 5 Aldershot Farnham & District 1:46:00 (L Stone (30) 17:57, T Chandler (24) 17:55, O Smith (18) 18:06, J O'Connell (11) 17:26, S Eglen (8) 17:40, W Barnicoat (5) 16:56); 6 Bristol & West 1:46:05 (K Taylor (8) 17:20, B Robinson (14) 17:54, M Campion (11) 17:50, M Davis (8) 17:58, J Morrow (9) 18:13, W Battershill (6) 16:50); 7 Highgate 1:47:15 (J Allen (2) 16:57, P Chambers (8) 17:54, T Fawden (8) 18:10, R Poolman (6) 17:44, H Allan (7) 18:15, J Young (7) 18:15); 8 Morpeth 1:47:23 (F Brodie (9) 17:21, C Avery (4) 17:20, G Lowry (9) 18:21, J Fiddaman (7) 17:47, P Winkler (5) 17:47, S Hancox (8) 18:47); 9 Hercules Wimbledon 1:47:30 (C Wyllie (24) 17:49, S McCallum (13) 17:24, T Cooke (6) 17:33, J Cornish (4) 17:46, G Brown (6) 18:17, H Silverstein (9) 18:41); 10 Leeds B 1:47:48 (J Sagar (10) 17:23, E Bovingdon (12) 17:48, M Bostock (10) 17:52, A Dunn (10) 18:06, A Baker (10) 18:16, J Woodcock-Shaw (10) 18:23); 11 Salford 1:48:04 (H Wakefield (20) 17:42, A Ediker (21) 18:07, C Davidson (14) 17:39, J Birmingham (13) 18:21, G Beardmore (11) 17:54, T Cornthwaite (11) 18:21); 12 Birchfield 1:48:35 (A Gebremariam (1) 16:54, T Dodd (2) 17:28, J Bennett (5) 18:23, A Burgess (9) 18:22, D Swain (13) 19:12, E Banks (12) 18:16); 13 Birmingham Running & Tri 1:48:59 (J Stolberg (17) 17:37, J Tuffin (11) 17:24, C Davis (12) 18:11, J McGraw (12) 18:15, A Lanz (12) 18:16, D Robinson (13) 19:16); 14 Tonbridge 1:49:03 (W Beeston (28) 17:55, M Selby (28) 18:13, C Chambers (39) 19:24, J Kingston (20) 16:53, L Mills (17) 18:38, T Higgins (14) 18:00); 15 Reading 1:49:15 (C Parker (32) 18:00, G Suthon (33) 18:26, L Jolly (29) 18:25, J Rennie (25) 18:12, S Rodda (25) 18:44, J Davies (15) 17:28); 16 Guildford & Godalming 1:49:16; 17 AFD B 1:49:19; 18 Brighton Phoenix 1:49:24; 19 Liverpool 1:49:56; 20 Kent 1:49:58
Fastest: Cairess 16:38; Mahamed 16:43; Battershill 16:50; Kingston 16:53; Gebremariam 16:54; Barnicoat 16:56
67 teams finished
Women
Herne Hill Harriers had never won the women’s event before and had to thank Georgie Grgec for their victory, with the New Zealander comfortably the quickest overall with a 13:30 lap.
They were however pushed on the final leg by Vale Royal’s Katie Ward’s 14:11, that closed the Herne Hill winning margin to 24 seconds.
Along with eventual third placer Thames Valley, they were well down after the opening stage. Norwich’s Megan Gadsby squeezed home in the opening leg, ahead of Belgrave Harriers' Sarah Astin and Birchfield Harriers' Bryony Gunn.
The eventual podium placers – Herne Hill, Vale Royal AC and Thames Valley – were not too far down on time, however, with the pack closely bunched up.
This enabled Western Tempo's Megan Marchant to move up 21 places to the lead on the second leg, clocking 14:23 in Birmingham.
There were other rapid advances behind, as Charnwood’s Gemma Steel, Aldershot’s Kate Estlea-Morris and Highgate’s Hannah Viner completed the top six at the half-way stage.
Aldershot had finished first and second here last year – plus been champions on 13 occasions since 2007 – and were hindered not only by withdrawals but also being stuck in standstill traffic on the M40 en-route to the event.
Herne Hill were nearly a minute away from the lead but Grgec's sensational run of 13:39 – the third fastest by a female athlete since the event moved to Sutton Park in 1990 – took them to victory.
Only Paula Radcliffe (13:26) – over a slightly longer 4.35km lap in 1993 – and Amelia Quirk (13:35) have gone quicker.
Grgec stated that "it was fun seeing the numbers being passed but it is all about how you pace it and I was faster than last year."
She now wants to improve her personal half-marathon best of 72:58 in Valencia in a couple of weeks, plus has eyes on the New Zealand Commonwealth Games team in 2026.
Lucy Jones then finished it off for Herne Hill with 14:33 and celebrated in style across the finish.
Women (4x4.315km): 1 Herne Hill 58:12 (D Hey (20) 14:41, G Reynolds (11) 15:19, G Grgec (1) 13:39, L Jones (1) 14:33); 2 Vale Royal 58:36 (S Dufour-Jackson (15) 14:39, H Weedall (2) 14:31, C Dooley (6) 15:15, K Ward (2) 14:11); 3 Thames Valley 58:42 (C Buckley (11) 14:36, A Mundell (8) 15:10, K Olding (3) 14:28, K Weir (3) 14:28); 4 AFD 58:44 (H Preedy (21) 14:42, K Estlea-Morris (5) 14:39, N Brown (2) 14:27, M Jordan-Lee (4) 14:56); 5 Western Tempo 59:26 (M Porter (22) 14:42, M Marchant (1) 14:23, A Milnes (5) 15:11, L Cooper (5) 15:10); 6 Cambridge & Coleridge 59:32 (J Leggate (12) 14:36, K Lowery (7) 15:00, E Leggate (7) 15:06, E Ruane (6) 14:50); 7 Leeds 59:48 (J Walsh (6) 14:28, E Curran (9) 15:19, C McKnespiey (8) 14:59, S Stockton (7) 15:02); 8 Belgrave 59:54 (S Astin (2) 14:12, E Bradley (3) 15:02, K Popadich (4) 15:01, S Hewitt (8) 15:39); 9 Salford 59:56 (K Hawkins (16) 14:39, F Murdoch (13) 15:27, S Roiditis (10) 15:18, E Platt (9) 14:32); 10 Sale 60:32 (L Armitage (10) 14:35, I Burke (14) 15:41, A Wright (11) 15:08, M Davies (10) 15:08); 11 Liverpool 61:02 (J Morgan (7) 14:31, L Quine (16) 15:56, A O'Brien (17) 15:25, F O'Hare (11) 15:10); 12 Highgate 61:07 (L Russell (19) 14:41, H Viner (6) 14:53, E Chong (16) 16:15, Y Goater (12) 15:18); 13 Tonbridge 61:09 (C Alexander (5) 14:26, K Goodge (17) 16:03, P Barker (9) 14:28, L Thompson (13) 16:12); 14 Charnwood 61:12 (H Seager (13) 14:37, G Steel (4) 14:38, A Seager (12) 16:12, K Parker (14) 15:45); 15 WSEH 61:21 (R Clutterbuck (30) 15:20, A Barbour (12) 14:44, E Bartlett (15) 15:42, J Ridley (15) 15:35); 16 AFD B 61:38; 17 Belgrave B 61:51; 18Guildford & D 61:54; 19 Herne H B 62:07; 20 Bristol & W 62;12
Fastest: Grgec 13:30; Gadsby/Ward 14:11; Astin/Gunn 14:12; S Tarver (Wirral) 14:18
61 teams finished
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U17 Men
Salford Harriers won the under-17-men’s event, courtesy of Evan Grime – who clocked the third fastest leg overall with 13:30 – Jamie Barber and Jack Marwood.
Sutton & District AC were seven seconds behind Salford in second (35:34) while Blackheath & Bromley Harriers took third (35:38).
The fastest leg overall was produced by City of Norwich’s Michael Clark, with his 11:21 the third quickest ever for the age group, behind Ben Dijkstra’s and Mo Farah’s 11:19 from 2014 and 1999 respectively.
Clark has had a good few weeks, winning the delayed English National Cross Country Championships and then excelling at the Southern Relays.
U17 men (3x3.88km): 1 Salford 35:27 (E Grime (2) 11:30, J Barber (1) 12:16, J Marwood (1) 11:41); 2 Sutton & District 35:34 (T Cloves (23) 12:14, E Newell (4) 11:51, A Lennon (2) 11:29); 3 Blackheath & Bromley 35:38 (J Starvis (13) 11:56, J Hill (3) 12:09, J Scanes (3) 11:33); 4 Mansfield 36:18 (J Ryan (8) 11:53, E Holden (8) 12:20, J Nugent (4) 12:05); 5 Tonbridge 36:26 (O Head (26) 12:16, T Bawtree (5) 11:51, W Bachelor (5) 12:19); 6 Trafford AC 'A' 36:32 (T Austin (15) 12:01, P Aron (2) 12:04, F Dobsonemmas (6) 12:27); 7 Keighley & Craven 36:43 (O Ashdown (24) 12:15, A Peaker (9) 12:10, E Wilkinson (7) 12:18); 8 Blackburn 37:00 (O Gill (16) 12:01, S Aspey (13) 12:28, J Wood (8) 12:31); 9 Norwich 37:01 (M Clark (1) 11:21, M Parsley (7) 12:48, W Percival (9) 12:52); 10 Wreake & Soar Valley 37:02 (S Collins (10) 11:54, K James (16) 12:40, L Paddison (10) 12:28); 11 Wolverhampton & Bilston 37:05 (S Thursfield (28) 12:20, J Stockton (18) 12:20, O Cresswell (11) 12:25); 12 Bedford & County 37:06 (A Henderson (21) 12:11, T Beale (12) 12:17, M Kotrys (12) 12:38); 13 York 37:10 (I Stabler (12) 11:56, S Dickinson (10) 12:31, C McAndrew (13) 12:43); 14 North Shields Polytechnic 37:11 (D Watson (6) 11:52, C Furness (15) 12:40, Z Brannon (14) 12:39); 15 Sutton & District B 37:12 (R Haigh (25) 12:15, M Hudson (17) 12:20, C Cull (15) 12:37); 16 WSEH 37:15; 17 Chiltern 37:17; 18 Havering 37:18; 19 Bromsgrove & Redditch 37:28; 20 AFD 37:38
Fastest: Clark 11:21; Lennon 11:29; Grime 11:30; Bacon 11:31; Scanes 11;33; A Lane (Leam) 11:34
60 teams finished
U15 Boys
Cambridge & Coleridge were adjudged to be the under-15 boys’ champions despite finishing second at the line and some 26 seconds behind Dacorum.
The Hertfordshire trio were disqualified by the referee, as all three of their runners were deemed to have been paced, believed to have been by a coach on a bicycle.
Dacorum's Teddy Murphy was quickest in the opening leg with 12:06 before Toby Pritchard and Oliver McDonald brought them home across the line first.
However, the title went to Cambridge with Finn Maclennan – the English Schools 1500m silver medallist – coming home second on the opener in 12:13 and was later awarded the official fastest lap medal.
U15 (3x3.88km): 1 Cambridge & Coleridge 37:39 (F MacLennan (2) 12:13, H Cantell (3) 13:05, H Pearson (2) 12:21); 2 Herne Hill 37:50 (C Holmes (9) 12:36, T Clerkin (2) 12:22, L Roch (3) 12:52); 3 Swindon 38:27 (J Mayneord (13) 12:48, J Bryant (6) 13:05, F Byrne (4) 12:34); 4 Southport Waterloo 38:49 (W Delamere (3) 12:18, E Clark (7) 13:37, C Still (5) 12:54); 5 Wycombe Phoenix 38:54 (L Bray (14) 12:48, D Leigh (11) 13:21, F Hayward (6) 12:45); 6 Telford 39:04 (L Howard (6) 12:24, S Ball (4) 12:58, A Pugh (7) 13:42); 7 Bracknell 39:08 (B Lucas (16) 12:56, J Legg (14) 13:19, E Langley-Aybar (8) 12:53); 8 Blackheath & Bromley 39:09 (K Farrell (28) 13:18, D Horgan (16) 12:59, J Shaw (9) 12:52); 9 Herne Hill B 39:28 (E Cunniffe (24) 13:09, Z Morris (15) 13:07, L Boulton (10) 13:12); 10 Tonbridge B 39:29 (C Warren (17) 12:57, E Brooks (9) 13:03, C Dutoit (11) 13:29); 11 Royal Sutton Coldfield 39:35 (O Gunther (21) 13:06, O Alsop (13) 13:09, G Harradence (12) 13:20); 12 Huntingdonshire 39:36 (M Gray (4) 12:21, E Locke (10) 13:45, F Benstead (13) 13:30); 13 Derby 39:49 (L Fairey (19) 13:05, O Blake (8) 12:54, F Harrison (14) 13:50); 14 Lincoln Wellington 39:51 (A Phillipson (15) 12:50, E Eccles (17) 13:33, F Phillipson (15) 13:28); 15 Portsmouth 39:52 (O Knipe (8) 12:34, L Degiovanni (5) 13:01, J Klepacz (16) 14:17); 16 Bristol & West 40:16; 17 Blackheath & Bromley B 40:20; 18 WSEH 40:22; 19 North Somerset 40:26; 20 Charnwood 40:39
Fastest: MacLennan 12:13; Delamere 12:18; Gray/Pearson 12:21; Clerkin 12:22; Phelan 12:23
54 teams finished
U13 boys
The youngest boys’ age group title went to Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow and their trio have to thank their anchor leg runner Ted Bainbridge for their gold medals.
It had all been very close over the first two stages, with Wolverhampton’s Rocco Hawley narrowly being the fastest over the first 3.88km stage with 13:12, before Thomas Hennigan saw Southern champions Hercules Wimbledon just edge the lead from Liverpool and Windsor at the end of leg two.
Then Bainbridge matched that time of 13:12 to anchor Windsor to victory.
U13 (3x3.88km): 1 WSEH 40:00 (A Evans (2) 13:13, B Welch (3) 13:35, T Bainbridge (1) 13:12); 2 Hercules Wimbledon 40:06 (I Derian (5) 13:16, T Hennigan (1) 13:29, M Harrison (2) 13:21); 3 Liverpool 40:13 (B McEvoy (3) 13:14, S Lambert (2) 13:31, L Guyett (3) 13:28); 4 Cheltenham 40:22 (A Spurr (6) 13:22, M Wilkins (4) 13:46, J Shingler (4) 13:14); 5 Wolverhampton & Bilston 40:32 (R Hawley (1) 13:12, T Ulfig (5) 13:58, J Yang (5) 13:22); 6 Warriors Pentathlon 41:17 (H Redhead (12) 13:40, B Hughes (9) 14:18, O Oswick (6) 13:19); 7 Blackheath & Bromley 41:21 (E Aldridge (8) 13:26, Z Evans (6) 14:05, H Beeraje (7) 13:50); 8 Reading 41:39 (I Paviour (21) 14:21, W May (10) 13:45, N Mazieres (8) 13:33); 9 North Somerset 42:13 (E Stoate (20) 14:17, S Baker (17) 14:36, O Finch (9) 13:20); 10 Solihull & Small Heath 42:40 (Z Rush (7) 13:25, J Larkin (8) 14:15, J Auster-Berry (10) 15:00); 11 Sale 42:45 (L Alves (16) 14:02, A O'Hare (13) 14:38, N Phillips (11) 14:05); 12 Bristol 42:52 (E Colclough (17) 14:03, T Redfern (16) 14:48, C Barnes (12) 14:01); 13 Royal Sutton Coldfield 43:08 (Y Sidhu (15) 13:58, S Howell (7) 13:36, W Taylor (13) 15:34); 14 Shrewsbury 43:09 (L Watkin (39) 15:29, O Adams (18) 13:27, C Stuart (14) 14:13); 15 Shaftesbury 43:19 (D Pascal (9) 13:37, J Day (19) 15:21, B Kaspar (15) 14:21); 16 Wolverhampton & Bilston B 43:21; 17 Portsmouth 43:30; 18 Lincoln Wellington 43:32; 19 Derby 43:51; 20 Charnwood 44:08
Fastest: Bainbridge/Hawley 13:12; Evans 13:13; Johnson/McEvoy/Shingler 13:14
44 teams finished
U17 women
Lincoln Wellington’s girls have had a good year and they took the under-17 women’s title by nearly a minute from Aldershot.
Isla Porter – the English Schools 1500m fourth placer – gave them a good start by placing second on the first 3.88km stage with 13:19. This was behind Windsor’s fast improving Marnie Fieldsend (13:18), with the pair fifth and sixth quickest in the age group respectively.
Mollie Grant took Lincoln ahead mid-race with a stage best of 13:49 that was nearly matched by Molly Carvel, who moved Liverpool up seven places to second, but the Merseyside team were 32 seconds adrift of the lead and then dropped away.
Finally, it was the in-form Ellarose Whitworth, who was second in the delayed English National under-15 race three weeks earlier, who gave Lincoln Wellington a comfortable win, with the third best time of 13:12.
However, there were faster times behind as Katie Pye – the English Schools Cross Country bronze medallist – ran 13:07 for second place Aldershot and Ava James clocked 13:04 for third place Lewes.
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U17 women (3x3.88km): 1 Lincoln Wellington 40:20 (I Porter (2) 13:19, M Grant (1) 13:49, E Whitworth (1) 13:12); 2 AFD 41:14 (M Jobbins (4) 13:34, L Quinn (5) 14:33, K Pye (2) 13:07); 3 Lewes 41:39 (E Stephenson (7) 13:44, E Winton (8) 14:51, A James (3) 13:04); 4 Portsmouth 41:54 (C Jones (12) 13:53, B North (7) 14:35, F East (4) 13:26); 5 Chelmsford 41:56 (L Wilkin (6) 13:43, S Shipton (6) 14:25, D Stollery (5) 13:48); 6 Salford 42:17 (H (5) 13:42, J Wright (3) 14:04, S Nation (6) 14:31); 7 WSEH 42:18 (M Fieldsend (1) 13:18, Y Grant (4) 14:33, L Smith (7) 14:27); 8 Liverpool 42:58 (H Cross (9) 13:50, M Carvell (2) 13:50, E Redmond (8) 15:18); 9 Wreake & Soar Valley 43:03 (R West (14) 13:58, L Donaghey (13) 15:18, S King (9) 13:47); 10 Stoke 43:20 (T Thursfield (16) 14:09, D Cowden (9) 14:30, G Burge (10) 14:41); 11 Herne Hill 43:46 (S Jack (20) 14:23, L Wright (11) 14:36, M Minielly (11) 14:47); 12 Halesowen 43:56 (L Hellingsworth (17) 14:12, J Dale (16) 15:25, F Collins (12) 14:19); 13 Banbury 44:29 (L Denne (28) 15:11, C Hall (26) 15:46, I McGowan (13) 13:32); 14 AFD B 44:32 (K Ealden (13) 13:54, C Mitchell (15) 15:26, R Riedlinger (14) 15:12); 15 WSEH B 44:51 (G Colley (23) 14:37, A Passos (14) 14:41, C Bavazzano (15) 15:33); 16 Blackheath & Bromley 45:04; 17 Norwich 45:12; 18 Derby; 19 Harrow 45:46; 20 Rotherham 45:51
Fastest: James 13:05; Pye 13:07; Whitworth 13:12; I McGowan (Banb) 13:10; Fieldsend 13;18; Porter 13:19
34 teams finished
U15 girls
Aldershot came out on top here but it was a close-run thing against Windsor.
Windsor’s Kara Gorman, who had won the postponed English National under-13 race three weeks earlier, ran 13:10 to lead on the opening stage, just ahead of Chelmsford’s Ezra Harrold.
Tara Ferguson kept the lead for Windsor on leg two, although Aldershot’s Poppy Guest did well to close the gap with a great run of 13:14.
That set the foundations in the last leg as Windsor's advantage ebbed away, with Aldershot’s Kitty Scott and then Chelmsford’s Jorja March going through for the top two medals.
Aldershot’s winning time of 40:07 was a course record for the age group.
U15 (3x3.88km): 1 AFD 40:07 (M Robertson (6) 13:31, P Guest (2) 13:14, K Scott (1) 13:22); 2 Chelmsford 40:14 (E Harrold (2) 13:11, E Kelly (3) 13:44, J March (2) 13:19); 3 WSEH 40:36 (K Gorman (1) 13:10, T Ferguson (1) 13:20, Z Allan (3) 14:06); 4 Chelmsford B 42:12 (A King (5) 13:30, L Sanford (4) 14:07, H Harrison (4) 14:35); 5 Wreake & Soar Valley 42:13 (M Mullett (13) 14:17, L Power (8) 14:35, P Langlands (5) 13:21); 6 Sale 42:27 (R Heywood-Young (11) 14:08, O McManus (7) 14:18, B Soper (6) 14:01); 7 Houghton 42:46 (T Miller (37) 15:27, K Pye (12) 13:52, H Robison (7) 13:27); 8 AFD B 42:52 (K McBride (7) 13:39, O Garcia-Davis (6) 14:31, N Walmsley (8) 14:42); 9 Liverpool 42:56 (R Murphy (4) 13:27, M Williams (5) 14:23, G Veevers (9) 15:06); 10 Rotherham 43:45 (M Schofield (17) 14:32, H Bacon (11) 14:45, M Holmes (10) 14:28); 11 Stoke 43:53 (Z Bratt (25) 14:53, L Dundas (15) 14:43, H Turner (11) 14:17); 12 Sale B 44:05 (C Wetters (22) 14:41, I Anderson (14) 14:47, M Boyer (12) 14:37); 13 Tonbridge 44:09 (A Foley (14) 14:23, P Hutchings (13) 14:56, I Gowing (13) 14:50); 14 Derby 44:18 (I Powell (32) 15:08, A Lincoln (26) 15:35, O Lee (14) 13:35); 15 Wreake & Soar Valley B 44:24 (S Evans (21) 14:38, E Hart (10) 14:37, A Towlson (15) 15:09); 16 Blackheath & Bromley 44:29; 17 Blackburn 44:36; 18 Kettering 44:41; 19 Charnwood 45:15; 20 Lincoln Wellington 45:16
Fastest: Gorman 13:10; Harrold 13:11; Guest 13:14; Christmas 13:17; March 13:19; Feguson 13:20
55 teams finished
U13 girls
The new Merseyside Warriors Pentathlon & Athletic Club took their first national title, courtesy of twins Isobel and Evie Beddow and Daisy McVicar, beating Lincoln Wellington by 44 seconds.
However, it had been Rugby & Northampton’s Bella Lamb who took the opening lap from St Edmunds Pacers’ Sophie Bolton, with Isobel Beddow third.
On the second leg, Then McVicar saw the Warriors go ahead of Lincoln's Holly Norris, who had moved up her club up seven places with 14:01.
In the final stage, Evie Beddow brought her club home for a solid victory. The twins explained that they both competed in pentathlons while McVicar did triathlons.
Further back Madison Kindler – UK under-13 indoor 1500m record-holder, advanced 14 places, to fifth for another newish club, Brentwood Beagles, with the age group best time of 13:14.
Kindler’s time was comfortably the best on record for the under-13s and bettered Naomi Speake’s 13:36 for Bristol & West back in 2006.
U13 (3x3.88km): 1 Warriors Pentathlon 43:05 (I Beddow (3) 14:23, D McVicar (1) 14:19, E Beddow (1) 14:23); 2 Lincoln Wellington 43:49 (F Goulsbra (9) 14:49, H Norris (2) 14:01, A Ronnie (2) 14:59); 3 Saint Edmund Pacers 43:52 (S Bolton (2) 14:11, C Johnson (3) 14:50, A Mcvittie (3) 14:51); 4 Liverpool 43:58 (B Rawcliffe (4) 14:25, D Rushton (4) 14:48, I Parry (4) 14:45); 5 Brentwood Beagles 44:43 (A Twydell (18) 15:35, A Sabado (19) 15:54, M Kindler (5) 13:14); 6 Shrewsbury 44:54 (S Vuli (22) 15:43, L Coss (14) 15:11, R Kohring (6) 14:00); 7 Portsmouth 45:22 (E Fowler (13) 15:20, F Klepacz (7) 14:47, R Baker (7) 15:15); 8 Chelmsford 45:39 (I Kehoe (5) 14:30, B Cooke (6) 15:07, O Martin (8) 16:02); 9 Bracknell 45:43 (H Lucas (10) 15:02, M Hamilton-Martin (10) 15:44, T Davies-Dixon (9) 14:57); 10 Cheltenham 46:13 (K Hodgkinson (17) 15:32, I Wightman (9) 15:13, E Nolan (10) 15:28); 11 Sale 46:18 (A Gubas (29) 15:59, L O'Brien (15) 14:56, E Dowling (11) 15:23); 12 Rugby & Northampton 46:19 (B Lamb (1) 14:05, E Rudkin-Wilson (5) 15:25, A Lee (12) 16:49); 13 Corby 46:29 (E Griffiths (8) 14:46, K Dubois (13) 16:07, F Ives (13) 15:36); 14 Warriors Pentathlon B 46:49 (C MacKie (12) 15:02, D Cross (12) 15:50, P Boden (14) 15:57); 15 Wreake & Soar Valley 46:54 (F Rudkin (36) 16:11, A Drage (28) 16:11, A Kemp (15) 14:32); 16 Tonbridge 47:03; 17 Liverpool B 47:08; 18 Salford 47:17; 19 Stoke 48:00; 20 Wreake & Soar Valley B 48:26
Fastest: Kindler 13:14; R Khoring (Shrews) 14:00; 3 Norris 14:01; Lamb 14:05; Bolton 14:11; McVicar 14:19
53 teams finished
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