WINNING an unexpected team or individual medal is always a cause for even greater celebration and satisfaction in sport so little wonder that Bristol & West AC’s senior women were delighted with their success at the Midland Counties 6-Stage Road Relay Championships.
The squad had headed to the iconic Sutton Park course in Birmingham with their medal hopes all but written off after a series of withdrawals due to injury, illness and unavailability due to the Easter holiday period.
But luckily the six women who made the A squad weren’t listening as they collectively produced an outstanding effort to win the bronze medals.
Running order can be so vital on occasions like this. It’s not an exact science and more a skill based on intuition from an experienced team manager on who is on form, who loves to lead from the front, who enjoys a scrap and who is happy running in splendid isolation after the field splinters.
So all credit to team boss Owain Jones for handing Chelsea Baker the responsibility of leading the team on stage 1.
The marathon runner rose to that challenge magnificently to bring the team home in first place; the impact of that on morale should never be under-estimated. It immediately sets the standard and inspires the rest of the team.
Indeed, the remaining five women never dropped outside the top three. Hannah Pollak, running the fastest short stage time for the club, lost one place on stage two but then Elaina Gard, who is in intense training for her Ironman triathlon debut, Jessie Sanzo, Hannah Dyer and Sarah Everitt all dug deep to ensure the team finished on the podium.
They weren’t the only happy local team either.
Well done to the Bitton Road Runners squad of Rachel Stowell, Lisa Newing, Lucy Wallace, Chloe Parsons, Helen Clark and Liz Sanigar for finishing 12th, which I believe may be their best ever result in the competition.
The B&W B squad, in which Clare Jolliffe ran a swift 20:25, finished 18th and the Clevedon team were 24th.
Senior women 6-Stage: 1 Birchfield Harriers 2:15.37; 2 Western Tempo 2:21.30; 3 Bristol & West AC ‘A’ 2:26:38 (Chelsea Baker (1) 31:31, Hannah Pollak (2) 19:10, Elaina Gard (3) 35:39, Jessie Sanzo (3) 19:41, Hannah Dyer (3) 20:07, Sarah Everitt (3) 20:30).
12 Bitton Road Runners 2:38:18 (Rachel Stowell (16) 35:22, Lisa Newing (10) 19:46, Lucy Wallace (10) 35:35, Chloe Parsons (13) 23:58, Helen Clark (12) 21:32, Liz Sanigar (12) 22:05).