Sutton in Coldfield was the setting for the premier road relay event of the year. Confidence was high after the good showing at the northern six stage. Luke Maude was at Langdale on his favoured surface and the revitalised Marc Hartley was back. The competition was again of a very high standard with Olympic 5000m man Andy Butchart running the fastest leg of the day for his club Central. The Barlick boys got off to a solid start with Gary Shaw getting things under way with a good run on leg 1. Jimmy Craig lost a place on leg 2 but was still feeling the after effects of the sickness bug which hampered him at Ian Hodgson. Tom Corrigan was on leg 3 and took 7 places back and moved the lads into the top 50. Matt Lalor also pulled back 5 places and. The boys were on a charge. In form Ian Livesey took back another 5 places and we were in the top 40. Marc Hartley then took 6 places back on the final leg and anchored the team to a very respectable 34th in our first ever 6 stage national. Targets have been set for next year after a debrief on the beer in Burnley. Top performance from the lads yet again.
Stage One 56 Gary Shaw 18:57
Stage Two 57 James Craig 19:10
Stage Three 50 Tom Corrigan 18:59
Stage Four 45 Matt Lalor 19:14
Stage Five 40 Ian Livesey 18:35
Stage Six 34 Marc Hartley 19:04