Traditionally our final all-club fixture, bar the Ratchford Relay, the Henty Relay remains one of our most popular - and sprited - club event, bringing together runners of all ages and abilities. This year’s edition was no different; with 19 teams coming together, representing a mix of experienced members and our younger rising talent.

For those unaware, the format (dating back to 1966) involves teams of three runners - a ‘fast’, ‘medium’, and an ‘improving’ - collectively completing six laps of approximately 1.3 miles (2.2 km) around Sidmouth Woods. Typically, the ‘fast’ takes three laps, the ‘medium’ two, and the ‘improving’ one; with the order left to each team’s discretion.

At stake? A quirky wooden trophy, the Henty Kiwi, donated in the 1970s by race founder Chris Henty; his logic being that the trophy aptly reflected the fact that he'd emigrated to New Zealand by then.

As always, the atmosphere was lively and supportive, with the usual grumbling about handicap allocations at the start, the lamenting of those deemed fast enough to run 3 laps, and the rejoicing of all others who’d been spared the poisoned chalice of ‘fast’ and given the kindness of 2 or better yet, 1 lap.

Shout out here to interim handicapper Gareth Williams, for admirably stepping in to take on the role. How much of his calculations were based on scientific method, rather than an opportunity to turn the screw on his fellow Advanced 1 runners, we shall never really know…

The weather was fine, the mood festive and everyone was raring to go. So after the numbers had been allocated and the teams identified, the 1st lap runners were taken to the start by the Mob Match tree and set off by Race Director Narissa Vox.

The time long issue of preventing runners from creeping ahead of the handover point was resolved by the genius of Chief Timekeeper Gordon Whitson, with a boxed handover section and the stern threat of 5 sec penalties for any infringements.

After the first lap runners hurtled across to handover to their 2nd lap team mates, the event casually unfolded in a metronomic fashion: runner sighted > cheering > handover > repeat for 19 runners > 8(ish) minutes lull of genial conversation > runner sighted > and so on, as all 19 teams ran around Sidmouth Woods.

All were determined to run their best for their team, irrespective of age and experience. Shout out to those on their maiden Henty, specifically recent Ranelagh Couch-to-5k graduate Jenni Amin; and our younger members; Rayka Khatamizadeh, James Ricketts, Matthew Lane, Ben Rushby, Juliet Ricketts and Daniel Rushby.

To enthusiastic cheering, no one got lost (hey, you never know) and everyone made it home. Well done to all who participated.

Although the competition and rivalry was intense, with only 1 min 5 secs separating the top 5 teams - to quote the immortal Highlander Connor McLeod of the clan McLeod, "In the end, there can be only one."

And so it was; the winning team of the 2025 Henty Relay, featuring a collective age of 145 years, was Daniel Rushby, John Cadogan and David Kew, with a team time of 54:52.

In 2nd place was the team of Mike Thomas, Lauren Robertson and Christopher Read (collective age 146 years), with a team time of 55:09, and in 3rd place was the team of Dave Lawley, Lloyd Camp and Gavin Hillhouse (collective age 161 years) with a team time of 55:42.

Congratulations to our top 3!

After nearly five decades of going in circles around Sidmouth Woods, it’s a pleasure to see the Henty remaining a joyful fixture in our race calendar; showcasing our club spirit and camaraderie, alongside a healthy dose of friendly competition.

A huge shout out to our timekeepers, number-takers & marshals for volunteering their time. Without your support, none of this would be possible.

From Andy & I, a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who’ve participated in the fixtures we’ve been privileged to organise for our club this 2024/2025 season. It has been an honour for us to put on these races for your enjoyment.

We look forward to doing it all over again for the new season come September.

Race report by Narissa Vox (Race Director)
Photo credit: Hadi Khatamizadeh

💙 Team Results: HentyRelay2025.TeamResults.pdf
💛 Lap Times: HentyRelay2025.LapTimes.pdf
💙 Individual Speed Order: HentyRelay2025.IndividualSpeed.pdf