Henty Relay · 2026

Six laps, 21 teams and one Kiwi. Few events capture the Ranelagh spirit quite like the Henty Relay.

First conceived in 1966, the Henty brings together club members of all ages and abilities in teams of three: one ‘fast’, one ‘medium’ and one ‘improving’. Between them, they complete six laps of Sidmouth Woods, with the fast runner taking on three, the medium two and the improving runner one.

On 21 July 2026, 63 runners gathered at the top of Sidmouth Woods to form 21 ‘equally matched’ teams. At least, that is the theory. In practice, there is always an element of the unknown, tempered by plenty of good-natured debate and the realisation among the ‘fast’ runners that yes, they really are expected to run three laps.

At stake was the Henty Kiwi, the wonderfully quirky wooden trophy donated by race founder Chris Henty after he emigrated to New Zealand. Needless to say, it remains one of the more unusual prizes in the Ranelagh trophy cabinet.

Once numbers had been handed out, teammates located and running orders negotiated, the first 21 runners assembled at the Mob Match tree and were sent on their way. Then the officials created what we’d considered to be an extremely generous handover zone.

Foolproof, even. We should have known better.

Despite having plenty of room to work with, excitement still got the better of a few waiting runners, who required some cheerful chivvying lest they benefit from a suspiciously early handover. Thankfully, order was (somewhat) maintained and no competitive advantage was gained.

Much.

After the initial pandemonium, the event unfolded in the usual good-natured Henty way: runner sighted, much cheering, frantic handover, followed by eight or so minutes of conversation/recovery before starting all over again. Eventually, all 21 teams had completed their six laps.

At the front, Malcolm Davies, Rebecca Bissell and Matthew Beal, with a collective age of 130, emerged victorious in 56:15 to claim the Henty Kiwi. Simon Beal, James Ricketts and Sally Bamford, collective age 129, finished second in 57:26, followed by Charlie Berry, Rachel Revett and Rose Dwyer, the youngest podium team with a collective age of 77, taking third in 58:12.

A special shout-out goes to the evening’s only all-women team. Lizzie Broughton, Clare Day and Diane Horrigan, collective age 155, produced a superb performance to finish fourth overall in 58:37, just 25 seconds outside the podium places. Lizzie also topped the women’s individual speed order, averaging 3:50 per kilometre.

Kudos to Ed Perry, who led the overall individual speed order at 3:34 per kilometre, followed by Mark Herbert and Joshua Charkin, who both averaged 3:38.

But, as ever, the results tell only part of the story.

The real pleasure of the Henty lies in seeing our whole club come together: newer members and familiar faces, runners of all ages and abilities, all racing for one another and cheering every team home. There was plenty of determination and friendly rivalry, but even more encouragement, laughter and camaraderie.

Our younger members were brilliant, giving everything for their teams and reminding the rest of us what effortless speed looks like when ageing joints are not yet a factor.

A huge thank you to our timekeepers, number-takers and marshals for giving their time and keeping everything, including the handover zone, under some semblance of control. The race simply could not happen without you.

From Andy and me, thank you to all the runners and everyone who helped make the evening happen. It is a genuine pleasure and privilege to organise these historic races, but it is you who keep them alive by turning up, running hard, volunteering and supporting each other.

Congratulations to our winners, well done to all 21 teams and thank you for bringing our season of all-club racing to such a happy close.

See you in September for the start of the 2026/27 season.

Race report by Narissa Vox, Race Director
Photo credit: Sue Camp, Leo Penry & Andy Bickerstaff

💙 Team Results: HentyRelay2026.TeamResults.pdf
💛 Lap Times: HentyRelay2026.LapTimes.pdf
💙 Individual Speed Order: HentyRelay2026.SpeedOrder.pdf
💛 Volunteers: Andy Bickerstaff, Clive Naish, Dave Lawley, Helen Davies, Joe Killip, Maia Rushby, Pete Vox & Gordon Whitson