Hercules Wimbledon AC: A and B teams both perform well at National 6 Stage Road Relays in Midlands

Hercules Wimbledon Athletic Club continued their climb up the rankings as the senior men secured their best finish at a National 6 Stage Road Relays on Saturday, writes George Mallett.

Having finished sixth at the unofficial Southern Road Relays two weeks ago, the A team finished ninth in the national event held at Sutton Park, just outside Birmingham. The B team were a similarly impressive 33rd.

The event sees the best teams from England and Wales descend on the park for six legs of just short of 6km with Aldershot, Farnham & District AC defending their crown from 2021. Eight of the top 10 came from the south, with Hercules the first team home from Greater London.

The A team was made up of Charlie Eastaugh, Jonathan Cornish, Andrew Penney, Tom Jervis, Daniel Cliffe and Ed Mallett and spent almost the whole race inside the top 10.

The B team of Fred Slemeck, James Stockings, Finn Johnson, Archie Walton, Henry Silverstein and Howell Harrod only dropped out of the top 30 late on.

The first leg is always competitive but Eastaugh got the A’s off to a fast start, running 17:51 to lead them home in 24th. It was just what team managers Ben Noad and Keith Scofield wanted after setting up the team magnificently.

It is rare that a club will boast a county silver medalist in the B team but Slemeck brushed off any sense of disappointment to come home in 18:05 and 36th place.

Next up for the A’s was England international Cornish as Hercules leapt 14 places to 10th. His time of 17:23 is the best ever by a Hercules runner on this route,  eclipsing Ben Toomer’s 17:30 from 2018.

Stockings’ fast 18:22  for the B team was unfortunate to be surrounded by a competitive field, meaning the team dropped down temporarily to 42nd.

Expectations were growing for the A’s as Penney (17:39) took them into ninth, running the club’s second fastest leg of the day. Johnson (18:23) took a huge 13 places for the B’s.

Jervis has proved possibly Hercules’s most adept relay runner and his 17:45 lifted the club to seventh after four legs. Walton ran 18:43 to keep the B’s in the top 30.

Cliffe (17:57) continued the A’s momentum to stay in seventh heading into the final leg with Henry Silverstein ran 19:08 for the B’s.

It set up a grandstand finish with many clubs saving their strongest runner until last. Hercules had preferred instead to have something to defend meaning Mallett started with faster runners behind him.

Despite being caught by three rivals, Mallett (18:30) rallied remarkably in the final straight to overtake Highgate Harriers’ Robel Bahelbi in the closing metres to secure a club best of ninth.

Howell Harrod ran an impressive 19:43 to guide the B’s home in 33rd.

The squad will now look to the winter cross-country season and the National 12 Stage Road relays on April 15.