More Silver Mined In Absorbing Struggle

 In one of the most entertaining relays that the Belles have been a part of in their shortish history of tackling these, this was splendid stuff.Jojo was right up in the opening salvos, matching her 15^th from last year but in a better run if you allow 40 secs for the wind and squalls. Sally went well for the B’s before sore shins struck at half-way.Fee then had a riotous duel with 72:36 GB International Jo Wilkinson on two, whilst taking care of her by 21 ticks. Over in the B’s, Rose was going even better, and in writing to the TMs to tell us to give Fee the nod when selection was tight, she displayed the marvellous sisterhood and spirit that this squad is about. Athletics is mainly an individual sport, so if you join a club it’s because you believe in the team ethic and RO’B clearly does.It won’t be the last time we have conundrums, and all should be happy to rotate like this from time to time. Aldershot are big on it, witness Steph Twell recently taking one for the B’s when out of touch, but still A-team worthy. So well done Rose, you saw the big picture, and that’s what will ensure the survival of the squad in 50 and 100 years from now.Although Windsor and Shaftesbury were looking extremely dangerous up ahead, they were missing full quorums. Zoe had good fun with 13 athletes snaked out before her. She picked off seven cherries in feisty style, and at half-way we felt that medals were still possible, with three bombs in hand.Sophie had a bit of a mare last year on debut, running injured and having to withstand an assault from Bedford for silver. This was much more like it, as like a surgeon she picked off a runner per mile. The gaps were still roomy though and SA had a long way to go to catch 2^nd, some 300 metres up the way. She took 70% of the run to take 100 yards out of Cambridge’s Macdonald, and then blitzed another 300 in the last mile.Perfectly judged stuff, and Melanie had a crucial buffer over both C&C’s anchor, and more importantly TVH, who blitzed us over 3 legs at the Scrubs, and had a 77-min half-marathon whizz, Barlow, on last. Mel had a fairly lonely run, but was still our fastest, and she can be assured of a far more turbulent affair at SP.Cracking work ladies in a super race – it’s strange to recall us toiling to 16^th at the 4-stage back in September, but those extra two legs and the added distance seem to bring chaos to the other clubs. Over in the B’s we had a splendid battle with Serpies for top honour, narrowly giving best to our friends from the posh part of town. Welcome to Emma – we like what we see – and then those stalwarts Fi, Maureen and the co-skip calmly steered us home, the latter straight from placing second in the Kingston Half in the AM. Another incredible gesture to the club.Thanks to Chas for controlling the dozen on the day, no easy feat. Right, onto SP, where two of you are going long – very long!1 Aldershot Farnham and District 1:49:17; 2 Belgrave H 1:53:12; 3 Cambridge & Coleridge 1:54:44; 4 Thames Valley H 1:54:57; … 20 Belgrave H 'B' 2:05:53.  45 teams started, 37 finished.'A': J Rhodes (15) 18:51; F Maycock (14) 19:50; Z Doyle (7) 19:10; S Carter (4) 18:33; S Amend (2) 18:36; M Wilkins (2) 18:12.'B': S Underhill (23) 19:49; R O’Brien (17) 19:36; E Stevens (22) 21:34; F Maddocks (21) 20:52; M Noel (23) 22:58, H Barsham-Rolfe (20) 21:04.Fastest: E Gorecka (Aldershot F&D) 16:32; 2 M Haynes (Windsor SEH) 17:07; 3 L Custance (Clapham C) 17:14.[gallery_bank type="individual" format="thumbnail" title="true" desc="false" responsive="true" animation_effect="bounce" album_title="true" album_id="12"]