AFD AT THE DOUBLE
THE VERNONS ANCHOR THEIR TEAMS TO EASY VICTORIES IN BEDFORD
REPORT: MARTIN DUFF PICTURES: MARK SHEARMAN
The men’s race gets underway at a venue that came under fire for a variety of reasons
ANDY VERNON and his wife Natasha, the former Miss Doel, ran the anchor legs for Aldershot, Farnham & District after their respective teams had given them sizable leads before their final parade lap.
Here at the windswept outpost of the South of England Athletics Association’s jurisdiction, there were many critics of both the venue and the organisation, but much praise for the officials on the day who struggled under difficult circumstances.
Alasdair Kinloch of runners up Tonbridge leads Jamie Knapp of Southampton
No fastest lap medals were able to be presented as the results team of John and Sally Gandee were met with the double whammy of a computer malfunction and next to no internet coverage.
Several factors affected the proceedings. The venue was new as Rushmoor, which had been used since 1988, was not available. Bedford itself is also about as far from the South area’s centre as possible.
In addition to this, the usual two days of action was crammed into one. With toilets too far from the action, an inadequate sound system and a partial closure of the M1, it was a recipe for problems.
Some south-west clubs, who now have the option of competing in the Midland relays, opted for Sutton Park instead. City of Wells team manager Simon Prior said after a six-hour journey to the venue: “If it’s here again, we will be going to the Midlands.”
MEN
ALDERSHOT won the senior men’s race in fine style and led for most of the six laps of the flat car racing track circuit of nearly 6km. There seemed to be a lot of sheltering from the wind for much of the opening leg before Josh Grace sprinted clear of Tonbridge’s James West and Belgrave’s Paskar Owor to take the stage. Grace’s 17:22 ended up as the equal second best of the day, while Owor’s 17:26 was fifth quickest.