Sutton Park is home to the invitation-only men’s UK 12 stage road relay championships and Central were delighted to accept the summons to the 58th event on Saturday 11 April 2026. The park is a rolling and pleasant wooded space in the north of Birmingham, although, to the residents of Royal Sutton Coldfield, being called part of Birmingham is akin to suggesting that Bridge of Allan is part of Stirling.
The race starts at noon, with each athlete completing the same 5.4km loop with 75m of climb. With that short lap, the field remains well-bunched for much of the proceedings with teams advancing and retreating in the pack on each leg. The leading teams have a running time of around 3 hours, meaning they are done and dusted in time for a flutter on the Grand National.
Central’s team this year was a mix of youth and experience with three Under 20s and four athletes, including travelling reserve Max Stevens, for whom this was their first 12 stage as well as veterans of many past campaigns.
It was Logan Beagley who lined up among the 60 starting teams and the first-leg boost helped to carry him home in a time of 16:34 in 17th place. The second leg was Under 20 Daniel Sutherland’s first taste of this event and he was undaunted by the atmosphere, cruising round in 17:11 to a creditable 22nd place finish. Jonathan Marshall picked up the pace and three places with his 16:50 clocking to hand over to debutant Craig Baillie, pleased for a weekend away from changing nappies and interrupted nights, who put in a strong shift in 17:23 to move the team up to 18th place.
V35 Chris Fullerton was next to fly the Central colours and his 18:00 saw the team in 19th before Jamie Crowe took up the baton to produce a brilliant run with the third fastest lap of the day at 15:34 to gain five places and close the gap on many more. First timer and Under 20 Iain Jordan showed maturity beyond his years to run 16:57 before handing over to fellow Under 20 Alex Dunlop who plunged into the fray to record 17:37, and the team lay in 16th place.
The Central tail runners brought much experience and Cameron Milne shrugged off his recent injury tribulations with a strong 16:39 to pick up two places and hand over to Lewis McComb who launched round in 17:28. Luca Fanatolli’s 17:05 showing was enough to pick up a place before Aidan Thompson on the final leg got close to the 16 minute mark to pick up a further two places and bring the team home in 11th overall.
Congratulations to all and thanks to coaches and drivers for making the team’s challenge possible. Full results at https://www.racetecresults.com/results.aspx?CId=20223&RId=275&EId=2