On a cold, blustery spring day, twelve of Hillingdon’s finest headed to Milton Keynes for the SEAA 12 Stage Road Relays—a brutal contest of alternating long legs (8.6km) and short legs (4.9km).
Leg 1 – Kallum Pritchard
Kallum took one for the team, battling through a chest infection and nowhere near full fitness. In his own words, once he could finally speak after a spluttering fit: “I was running slower than my marathon pace.” Tough as vegan boots.
Leg 2 – Will Mifsud
With muscular issues and a recent bike crash still affecting him, Will dug deep for a solid 17:45 on the short leg.
Leg 3 – Travis Bowcambe
A last-minute switch to the long leg didn’t faze Travis, who delivered a real statement run with an outstanding 29:24.
Leg 4 – Charlie Wood
Marquee signing and manflu survivor. Charlie clocked the fastest short leg of the day for Hillingdon with a classy 16:08. The first of many…
Leg 5 – Kirk O’Rourke
Where do you start? A season of standout performances continued with a phenomenal 27:50—the team’s fastest long leg and 13th fastest overall on the stage. Some may have called the TM’s support over the top. I’ll call it passionate.
Leg 6 – Jack Chubb
Late call-up, big statement. Jack secured his nationals spot with a strong 17:21, along with a grovelling apology from the TM for previously overlooking his impeccable form.
Leg 7 – Ryan Hamdy
An “off day”… apparently. Still managed 30:46. Not bad for being part cockroach.
Leg 8 – Paul Wood
Deep in marathon training (seriously, when is he ever not?) but still delivering—17:33 on the short leg. Also seemingly making enemies with the SEAA results system, which continues to ignore his existence (now corrected).
Leg 9 – Jimbo Laing
Mr Reliable. No fuss, no drama—just a quality 28:24. Bosh.
While others grab the headlines, Jimbo was the unsung hero here.
Leg 10 – Tom “This Is My Cup Final” Squires
Long awaited return from injury—and worth the wait. After months of building the aura around this race, and securing his spot as unpaid hype man/ assistant team manager Tom delivered with a superb 16:52.
Currently ruling himself out of Nationals due to a (ahem, very special) birthday… discussions ongoing. One last dance?
Leg 11 – Harry Hopkins
The man who doesn’t believe in rest days. With inter-group rivalry boiling over, Harry stashed his watch where he couldn’t possibly check it mid race. Despite thinking he’d had a nightmare, he still ran 30:09 and took bragging rights over Ryan…
Turns out the run, and the watch weren’t so pants after all.
Leg 12 – Connell Metcalf
Cutting it fine on arrival but right on time when it mattered. In a dramatic, windy finale, Connell stormed home in 17:18 on the glory leg.
The Result:
24th in the South of England. Total time: 4:39:46
And most importantly…
Qualification for Nationals in Birmingham — for the first time since 2019. Sorted.
6 ladies represented HAC at the SEAA Road Relays, classic British weather – cold, a lingering drizzle, and a definite sense of where has spring gone?
Leg 1 – Clara Higgs
Clara got us off to a solid start on the first leg, somehow still smiling as she ran past us at the start while we were all stood there freezing and shouting, setting the tone nicely from the gun.
Leg 2 – Eva Artemis
Eva took on the long leg next, battling the wind and a full-blown cold. Questionable decision-making, but a seriously tough run to keep us right in it.
Leg 3 – Freya Hollingsworth
Freya followed with a quick and tidy short leg, moving well through the field and keeping things rolling.
Leg 4 – Hannah Laing
Hannah stepped up for the second long leg and did exactly what was needed, strong, controlled, and getting the job done in pretty uninspiring conditions.
Leg 5 – Jodie Thompson
Jodie took on the next short leg, embracing the drizzle and keeping us competitive heading into the final changeover.
Leg 6 – Michaela Mayor
Michaela brought it home on the last leg, dressed more like an undercover security guard than a runner, but absolutely delivering when it mattered — pushing all the way to the line to cap off a proper team performance.
The Result:
26th in the South of England. Total time: 2:39:26
A brilliant team effort all round, backed up by an equally strong support squad from Jenny, Liz & small human Annie bringing the energy on the sidelines.
