Once again Tamworth AC were winners at the Washlands Relays in Burton last week, stretching the club’s reign to four consecutive years.

The green and whites, managed by Howard Bush, fielded three teams on the night for the latest instalment of the Burton and District Summer League.

For the A-Team, Max Kent was first out on the 2-mile loop course, putting in a great opening performance and time of 11:13; a significant improvement on his time from last year.  Kent handed over to Ben Evans in fourth place, but only nine seconds behind the leader.  Evans set off chasing and was in second place within a matter of yards, his sights firmly set on the lead. He passed into first place on the mile mark and with a time of 10:53, opened up a 10 second lead for James Oakley to defend in the penultimate leg. Under pressure from the runner in second place, Oakley impressed to hold the lead before finishing in 11:52 and passing over to Frenchman Sylvain Létendart for the final showdown.  Just two seconds separated Létendart and the chasing second placed runner at the start of the last leg, but the Tamworth AC athlete put in the fastest run of the day (10:35) to bring home the victory.

In the Vets team, Howard Bush got proceedings underway with a first leg time of 11:24.  Andy Wright then followed with 13:30 and Dave Williams gained a place on the third leg to handover in ninth place with a time of 12:09.  Having just about caught his breath from the A-Team run, Ben Evans ran the final leg for the Vets team in 11:46 to hold the position earned by Williams.

Derek Bolton got the Mixed team started with an opening leg run of 14:07, followed by Charlotte Bush in a time of 12:44.  Bush handed over to dad Howard who, having quickly changed vests after his Vets team leg, ran his second 2 miles of the night in 12:03.  Nigel Fisher was handed the job of finishing off the evening for Tamworth AC, running the final leg with a time of 16:42.

After the event, Team Manager Howard Bush reflected “We have made a tradition of winning the relays and were determined to continue this, but also try to compete in the mixed and Vets categories. I was very pleased with how everyone performed, and delighted to keep up the winning streak for a fourth year”

Next up for Tamworth AC in the Burton and District Summer League is the Gate Gallop on Sunday 24^th June at the Anker Valley Sports Complex in Amington. The main 10km race will be once again preceded by the 4.4km Fun Run and Children’s Race.