Three teams of Young Athletes from KTH took part in the National Road Relays at Sutton Park, Birmingham. Our Under 13 Boys and Girls and Under 15 Girls had all qualified for this prestigious event as a result of their fine performances in the Midland Relays a few weeks earlier.
As exactly the same course was used as that for the Midlands, times can be compared, and the really pleasing news is that all nine of our athletes improved, which is all that one can ask. Each of our teams achieved high positions in a national event – a matter of pride for the individuals who ran and the club as a whole.
Much was expected of the Boys, who were Midland bronze medallists, and they did not disappoint. Josh Cara was part of a leading pack of five on the first leg, finishing third in the sprint to the line in a time of 13.35, which was 30 seconds faster than last time and proved to be the 4th fastest of all the competitors. Jack Hope held on to 3rd place with another big improvement. It was always going to be hard for Ethan Mehmet against some top performers from around the UK, but he too produced a PB as he brought the team home in a fine 11th place.
In a change to their running order, coach Shane Smith put Maisie Green on the first leg for the Under 13 girls. She finished in 10th place in 15.17 (20th overall), a position that was maintained by Gemma Vaughan. On the final leg, Anya Galletta made a huge improvement of nearly a minute over her previous time, as Kettering came an excellent 21st.
The Under 15 girls exceeded their target of finishing in the top 30, as they came home 26th. Fran Ashworth ran superbly in a fiercely competitive first leg, 56 seconds faster than last time, to hand over in 34th place. Kayli Walford made up five places and Abi Coleman another two, as all the girls ran very similar times.