Ollie James in the first leg of the SEAA Road Relays

Ollie James took up the opening leg for Bournemouth AC in the SEAA Road Relays at Rushmoor Arena

Managing to qualify for the National 12 Stage Road Relays on a couple of occasions recently, the Bournemouth AC men were yet to make it to the Nationals in the Six Stage one. There was a feeling though that this time around would be their best opportunity to do it for quite some time.

Oliver James was looking more and more elite with each race he does and after his 4:08.85 Bury Mile on the track, he’d moved up to 366 in the runbritain National Ladder. He also managed a 30:48 at the Trafford 10k earlier in the year and a 14:34 5000 metres on the track.

Joe Arundel in the SEAA Road Relays

Joe Arundel was also in the line up for the BAC men

Joe Arundel won the Overton 5 a couple of weeks before the Road Relays in a sprint finish and that was the first time he’d raced since the Broadstone Quarter on New Year’s Day when he narrowly beat Ollie and set a new course record. He’d also managed a 14:51 at Poole parkrun and with Joe, it is always a guarantee that he’s going to be quick.

As ever, Rob McTaggart was also in the side and he was always of the right kind of standard to be competing with the big guns. The man’s who’s had more Bournemouth parkrun first places than most people have had hot dinners, Stu Nicholas was also in the side. He’d won the Coombe Keynes 10k and finished 2nd to Jacek Cieluszceki in the Lighthouse Loop and 2nd at The Beast. The weekend before the Road Relays took place he ran the New Forest Marathon as well, finishing runner up in 2:41:32.

Rob McTaggart in the SEAA Road Relays

Rob McTaggart was on duty for the second leg

Always a hard grafter in training and well capable turning in a good relay leg time, Ben Collins had also made it into the A-team and they’d also brought their secret weapon with them in AbdiNasir Mohamoud Elmi. He’d made the treacherous journey to the UK from Somalia and had a background of training with some of the world’s top athletes in Mo Farah and Bashir Abdi.

When he first started attending training sessions it was clear that AbdiNasir was a cut above any of the other athletes at the club and that was saying something. The speed at which he was sailing round the track though was quite astounding to see.

The club had managed to assemble a B-team as well which included some very good runners like Adam Corbin, Matt Brown and James Hulbert. For the first time in recent memory they’d also managed to get a Masters team out and that consisted of four runners, with Rich Brawn, Adrian James, Ricky Brennan and Patrick Kingston competing.

The front runners on the first leg of the SEAA Road relays

The 2024 SEAA Road Relays gets underway with a place in the Nationals at stake

With such a good quality A-string team at their disposal, the Bournemouth AC men had every chance of contending for a top 25 spot which would take them to the Nationals. There were so many big clubs they were up against though and the talent pool that some of these clubs had to pick from was out of this world.

Tonbridge AC, Highgate Harriers, Cambridge & Coleridge, Aldershot Farnham & District, Bedford & County, Hercules Wimbledon and last year’s Southern Six Stage champs Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers were all in the mix.

Just as he did in the 12 Stage Road Relays earlier in the year, Oliver James stepped up to the plate to run the first leg for the Bournemouth AC men. The location for the event was the Rushmoor Arena in Aldershot and the course consisted of two gruelling laps which started with a testing incline and also featured a section which can accumulate quite a bit of mud, making it very slippery in road shoes.

Ollie James in the SEAA Road Relays

Ollie was driving for a high placing despite the tremendous talent he was up against

Going in the first leg, Ollie was up against some of the very best runners out there, as most clubs put their top runner on the leg one. His watch didn’t start when he set off and that wouldn’t have helped him judge his pacing. Nevertheless, he ran really well to clock a time of 18:27 for the 6k course and that put him in 15th place.

Ollie James battling it out in the SEAA Road Relays

Ollie went on to complete his 6k leg in 18:27

That put his average pace at 4:57 per mile which was very quick on that course, even though he felt like he struggled badly in the latter stages of the run. Matt Brown was on first leg duty for the B-team and he was jostling for position with Adrian James who was running the opener for the Masters team.

In the end it was Matt who proved to be stronger of the two and he clocked a time of 21:21 which put his team in 87th place. Adrian went well on the first lap but faded badly on the second lap to complete the leg in 21:58 putting the Masters team in 17th place. There were 103 Senior Men’s teams and 27 Masters teams competing.

Tag heads past on the second leg

Tag ran the second leg in 19:27

Rob McTaggart was on the second leg for the A-team and he went out hard posting a 4:50 for his first mile split. Not quite able to maintain that ferocious pace though, he was down to 5:12 for his second mile and completed the first lap in 9:26.

With a 5:18 and then a 5:15 pace for his last three quarters of a mile, Tag completed the second lap in 10 minutes which gave him a finishing time of 19:27. That was 34th best time for the leg but only dropped the team down two places to 17th.

The BAC squad picked their spot and planted their flag

The BAC squad picked their spot and planted their flag

Leon Louis was in action for the B-team and he struggled to get into his stride and wasn’t really quite able to hit the pace he’d been hoping to. Rich Brawn was running leg two for the Masters team and he caught Leon up and overtook him.

Coming off the back of a shocking Surrey Half Marathon performance which saw him go six minutes slower than his PB at the Cardiff Half in October last year, Rich was not in good form. In fact, he’d been struggling ever since his London Marathon PB in April.

The BAC men gather ahead of the start of the SEAA Road Relays

The BAC men gather ahead of the start of the SEAA Road Relays

His pace fell away in the second and third miles and he just had nothing in the tank to find that extra gear he needed. Clocking a time of 22:17, Rich was the 11th fastest Masters athlete on his leg and he’d gained two places for the team. Leon registered a time of 24:12 which put him 92nd on his leg and that put the B-team down to 90th place overall.

Joe Arundel on the third leg of the SEAA Road Relays

Joe ran the third leg for the BAC men

Next to go for the A-team was Joe Arundel and he was 9th fastest of all the runners on his leg. Clocking a time of 18:45, he’d brought the team back up to 14th place. At this point they were looking good for qualification but there was still a long way to go.

Patrick Kingston took over for the Masters team and Adam Corbin picked up the reigns for the B-team. Although he was a bit disappointed with his run, since it was over a minute slower than last year, Adam was still 68th fastest on his leg and had gained nine places to move the team up to 81st. His time was 21:28.

Joe Arundel heads toward the finish of his leg

Joe completed his leg in an excellent time of 18:45

He had overtaken Patrick on the second lap of the run as well, with Patrick registering a time of 23:21 which put him 17th fastest on his leg. He’d lost two places so the Masters team has gone back to 17th place.

Patrick Kingston in the SEAA Road Relays

Patrick Kingston ran the third leg of the Masters team

Stu Nicholas was next to go for the A-team and he got out of the blocks pretty quickly with a 5:21 for his first mile. He got a stitch after that though and he then started to lose places. Keeping going as best he could, he managed a 21:07 finish which put him 57th for the leg and saw the team somehow drop down to 30th in the standings.

Luckily they had AbdiNasir on duty for the 5th leg so there was every chance he could claw some of those places back. James Hulbert was on the fourth leg for the B-team and he went out very hard, registering a 5:26 for his first mile.

Ben Collins on the anchor leg of the SEAA Road Relays

Ben Collins was on the anchor leg for the BAC men

It was a strong first lap from James but he couldn’t quite maintain it on the second lap and his pace began to drop. Recording a time of 21:54, James came 73rd out of all the fourth leg runners and had gained four places moving the team up to 77th.

Ben Collins on the last leg of the SEAA Road Relays

Ben’s leg was destined to be a very important one

Since they were only a four man team, Ricky Brennan was on the anchor leg for the Masters team. They desperately needed a strong run from him if they were to have any hope of qualification. His time was 22:49 which put him 13th out of the Masters athletes on the fourth leg. He’d managed to gain three places.

That put the Bournemouth AC Masters team‘s total combined time at 1 hour 30 minutes and 26 seconds. That meant they’d come 14th out of the 27 competing teams. No Masters teams were allowed to qualify for the National Road Relays though. It was a creditable finishing position for the BAC vets though.

Luke Terry in the SEAA Road Relays

Luke Terry ran the first leg for the Poole AC Masters team

Kent AC were the top Masters team, registering a time of 1:21:30, with Woking AC taking 2nd in 1:21:47. Brighton & Hove took 3rd in 1:22:47 with Southampton AC sealing 4th in 1:24:54.

The Poole AC team of Luke Terry, Brian Underwood, Robert Doubleday and Gareth Hale did really well to finish 5th in a total combined time of 1:25:02. They all ran between 21 minutes and 21:30.

Ben Collins heading down the hill

Ben hurtles down the hill on his first lap

It was a bit of a loan forage for AbiNasir but he could at least focus on catching anyone who he could see up the road ahead. Blasting round in 18:48, Abdi was 8th fastest of those running the fifth leg. That moved the A-team up to 25th place. They were now in a qualifying position if they could just close it out on the last leg.

Ben Collins powers past in the SEAA Road Relays

Ben had to try to keep the club in the qualifying positions

It fell to big Ben Collins to shoulder the responsibility of getting them over the line in the last leg. Tom Farwell was on duty for the B-team on the fifth leg and he started with a very quick 5:31. He faded a bit after that though, clocking a 6:14 and then a 6:15 for his second and third miles. Then it was a case of just seeing it out as best as he could over the last three quarters of a mile.

Tom was 72nd out of all the fifth leg runners and had gained three positions for the team, moving them up to 74th. Since they’d had two drop outs with Craig Palmer and Jason Christian pulling out last minute, they didn’t actually have six men for the B-team. That meant another Paddy McTaggart venture was required to complete the event.

Just as most the athletes before him had, Ben registered a very fast first mile at 5:28 but wasn’t quite able to sustain it over the second and third miles, clocking a 5:46 followed by a 5:51. He then found the strength for a fast finish in the last three quarters of a mile.

Ben Collins in the SEAA Road Relays

Ben completed his leg in 21:20 but it wasn’t enough to seal qualification to the Nationals

Finishing time a time of 21:20, Ben was 56th fastest out of all the anchor leg runners but he’d unfortunately lost six places which put the team down to 31st overall. Their final finishing time was 1:57:56. The question now was, how many of the teams that finished ahead of them were B-teams. It was of course the top 25 clubs that qualified, plus any B-teams that placed in the top 25.

Hercules Wimbledon had a team that finished 5th and a B-team that came 8th, incredibly. Aldershot Farnham & District finished 4th and had a B-team that came 9th so that was two. Bedford & County finished 3rd overall and had a B-team that came 17th so that was another.

Cambridge & Coleridge were the winners of the men’s Six Stage Road Relays, producing a collective time of 1:48:36. They’re B-team came 28th so they were also ahead of BAC. Sadly that was it though, so there were only four B-teams within that top 31 meaning Bournemouth AC had finished 27th.

Frustratingly, they’d missed out on qualification by just two places, which was a real shame. They’d done all they could though and just had to accept that on this occasion, it wasn’t to be. It was incredibly close in the end in terms of time as well with Abingdon AC finishing just four seconds ahead and Winchester Running Club just 21 seconds in front.

Ending with a 20:03 from their anchor leg runner, the Bournemouth AC B-team came 73rd in the end with a time of 2:11:29. They were never really in contention to qualify but it was good to bring a team to allow runners who weren’t fast enough to make the A-team to still get to compete.

The first five of the Cambridge & Coleridge men all completed the course in just over 18 minutes. They had Jonathan Escalante-Phillips on the last leg and he managed a super quick time of 17:48 to ensure they got the win.

Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers had to settle for 2nd this time with their cumulative time coming out as 1:49:07. They had three men finishing in under 18 minutes and they were Dylan Evans, Jamie Dee and Liam Dee.

Poole AC failed to qualify this time as well despite having some very quick men in their line up. Mark Ruby ran a faster time than any of the Bournemouth AC men, getting round in 18:21. William Rabjohns was on the anchor leg for them and managed 19:38 and Dom Willmore clocked a 20:15. They came 46tth overall with a total combined time of 2:01:06.

Aldershot Farnham & District won the Senior Women’s race, with a total combined time of 1:25:34 for their four athletes. Cambridge & Coleridge were 2nd in 1:26:32 with Thames Valley Harriers taking 3rd, Herne Hill Harriers 4th and Aldershot Farnham & District B-team taking 5th. Winchester Running Club did well to finish in 6th place overall.

The fact that the Bournemouth AC men still couldn’t qualify for the Nationals despite having Ollie James, Joe Arundel, Rob McTaggart and AbdiNasir in the side just goes to show how hard it is to achieve. It will only serve to make them more determined to give it another go in the future though, especially after coming so close this time round.

The weekend after the SEAA Road Relays, the Bournemouth AC squad were back in local turf for the Round the Lakes 10k and they had an extremely strong line up for that, with Joe, Tag and Abdi all in action in a very star studded field. Jamie Grose of Poole AC, Jaymee Domoney of City of Salisbury, Chris Peck of Egdon Heath Harriers, Tommy Corbin and Dom Willmore of Poole AC and Lewis Clarke and Rob Arkell of Poole Runners were all featuring in what looked set to be one of the big local race showdowns in recent history.