------------------------------------------------------- Hyde Park Relays (12/02/05) ------------------------------------------------------- Men - (6 x 5164m) 4th - Oxford University 1 Leg Name Time Handover 1 Dave Bruce 17.14 16 2 Ben Moreau 15.53 5 3 Martin Bishop 16.41 4 4 Ben Clarson 17.18 6 5 Ed Catmur 17.41 5 6 James Hogan 17.19 4 16th - Oxford University 3 Leg Name Time Handover 1 Paddy Wallace 20.08 49 2 Justin Bronder 19.11 34 3 Dave Bruce 19.02 29 4 Ben Moreau 16.41 20 5 Martin Bishop 16:58 18 6 Ben Clarson 18.09 16 24th - Oxford University 2 Leg Name Time Handover 1 Will Unsworth 18.09 25 2 Nick Aggelopoulos 19.55 28 3 Vikram Mittal 19.42 28 4 Jamie Darling 18.45 26 5 Andreas Stradis 20.03 24 6 Justin Bronder 18.45 24 Fastest Individuals Pos Name Team Time 1 Jermaine Mays Goldsmiths Past & Present 15.11 2 Kero Jukka Heidelberg University 2 15.41 3 Paolo Natali Cambridge University 1 15.42 4 Ben Moreau Oxford University 1 15.53 Women - (4 x 3464m) 1st - Oxford University 1 Leg Name Time Handover 1 Courtney Birch 11.22 1 2 Rachel Deegan 11.43 1 3 Lucia Gibson 12.23 1 4 Emily Crowley 12.22 1 3rd - Oxford University 2 Leg Name Time Handover 1 Emily Ferenczi 11.26 2 2 Abigail Sheals 12.39 2 3 Eve Bugler 13.07 2 4 Natalie Coleman 13.53 3 8th - Oxford University 3 Leg Name Time Handover 1 Sarah Estill 12.31 10 2 Helen Barnes 13.02 7 3 Kate Bugler 14.42 6 4 Courtney Birch 14.07 8 Fastest Individuals Position Name Team Time 1 Courtney Birch Oxford University 1 11.22 2 Emily Ferenczi Oxford University 2 11.26 3 Rachel Deegan Oxford University 1 11.43 Report
Three men's teams and three women's teams travelled to Hyde Park to do battle over a fast road course that made a refreshing change from the mud and hills that we've become accustomed to over the winter. The women were practically full strength, while the men's A team was not quite the first choice 6, and several late drop outs meant that the entire C team all had another leg to do at some stage!
The women stamped their authority on the race from the start, with Courtney coming home in 1st place and clocking the fastest leg of the day with it. Close behind her, Emily Ferenczi showed she had shaken off her illness to take the 2nd fastest time of the day and US import Sarah 'Chill with th' Estil kept the girls C team in the top 10. Meanwhile, for the boys, Dave 'Sheila' Bruce battled round with a chest infection to keep Oxford in contention in 16th place. Will Unsworth brought the B team home in 25th position, and Paddy Wallace finished his 4th run of the year and doubled his weekly mileage to bring the C team round in 49th place.
On the 2nd leg Rachel Deegan fended off her team-mate Abi Sheals to keep the Oxford 1-2 intact, and Rachel racked up the 3rd fastest time in the process. The girls C team was boosted 3 places higher by past Oxford leg-end Helen 'John' Barnes. Men's figurehead Ben Moreau pushed Oxford up to 5th place with the 4th individual fastest time of the day, while Justin Bronderlake pushed the C team closer to the B team, cutting the gap to 6 places.
Lucia 'Gibbo' Gibson grasped the 3rd leg authoritatively, handling the pressure of being in front and never looking she would be taken from behind: incredible experience in one so young. She managed to further open the gap on Eve Bugler, in 2nd place. Eve's evil twin, Kate, pushed the C team up another place, to 6th. Wish kept in control of his 3rd leg for once to push the guys just outside the medals and gaining ground on a Ben Hope look-a-like for Cambridge, while Dave Bruce's 3rd leg was limp in comparison, perhaps due to having already performed once that day. However, he worried Vikram 'Pig in the' Mittal with his final spurt, leaving Vikram looking worriedly over his shoulder as the C team closed in on the B team.
The 4th and final leg for the girls saw Em 'Creepy' Crowley cruise round without fluster to bring the girls home in 1st place, while Nat Coleman wasn't quite as sharp as mustard and so narrowly missed out on making it an Oxford 1-2, but it was still a fantastic team effort. Courtney jogged round again to help the C team into 8th place. Chris Brasher a.k.a. Ben Clarson helped the men's A team ever closer to medal positions while Ben Moreau pushed the C team past Jamie 'Morning' Darling and the Oxford B, with 2 legs still to come.
Ed Catmur carried on the A team's rise with another vital position and Martin 'Bash the' Bishop won the time differential competition with a 2nd time just 17secs slower than his first. Andreas Stradis also gained a couple places for the B team. On the final leg, James 'Hulk' Hogan thrusted the A team into bronze position, just behind the filthies, and overall victors Trinity College Dublin. Ben Clarson pulled a C team round comprised entirely of double runners into 16th, while the B team were closed by Rocky Bronder in 24th position.
The party was non-eventful, mainly because only about 4 people from OUCCC went. Justin decided to get closer to his Polish roots with some girls from Warsaw, while Ben and Wish found suitable suitors for Paddy, who made no effort to chat them up, and instead adopted the tried and tested 'lean forward and grind' approach, making him look like a rabid animal. Ben's girlfriend once again made it to the party for the 3rd year running, although it was just too early for Ben to coincide it with a Valentine's day 'treat' this year.
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