A Nelson-based crew, labelled “Runaway Collective”, made it back-to-back wins in the Queen Charlotte Relay on Saturday.
Twenty-eight teams of runners and five walking teams completed the race, thought to be the country’s oldest road relay and arguably the most picturesque, with participants setting off from the Bluebridge terminal in Picton, wending their way along the Queen Charlotte Drive and finishing at the Havelock Hotel.
Members of the victorious four-man Athletics Nelson team recorded the fastest times on four of the five legs. Angus Wemyss cut out the first leg in 19 minutes 42 seconds, then ran the second leg for his team. Patrick Dravitzki, from the second-placed Tasman Pine Forests team, was the quickest on leg two and put his side ahead at the start of the third leg, coming into Momorangi Bay nearly two minutes in front at the baton change.
However, from then on it was Runaway Collective’s race, Barney Hoskins covered the third leg in the quickest time of 28.18, Curtis Moore sped over leg four in 24.25, then Noah Lausen brought it home on the final stretch, his time 23.18. Their overall time was two hours seven minutes three seconds, the second-placed team reaching the finish line in 2.12.34.
The runners-up, and first social team, comprised Lewis Shaw, Dravitzki Dougal Shepherd, Satoshi Ueda and Yonni Kepes.
Third, and second social team, was the Five People, One Bad Idea local crew of Henry Evans, Nathan Edwards, Mitchell Mol, Cat Manson and Hayden Gaudin in 2.23.05.
Runaway Collective won the Open Men’s division, LBV (Late Bottled Vintage) comprising David Dawkins, Tim Wearing, Billy Hebberd, Peter Sharman and Jason Neal, won the veteran men’s title in a time of 2.23.13, placing fourth overall.
The MGC Five Alive team of Ali Senior, Ruby Senior, Lena Bailey, Natalie Nicholas and Brookly Smidt-Robinson took out the junior women’s title in 2.53.08.
The Boutique-Fit veteran women’s team of Katie Smith, Janna Wilkinson, Fabia Ficagna, Amanda McRae and Emma Marsden won their section in a time of 3.04.45.
The walkers section title was taken out by the Amped Up team of Mark Unwin, Ray Brown, Liam O’Rourke, Afreen Naaz and Anna Reed in 5.03.00.
The first Queen Charlotte Relay was staged on September 17, 1982, and has been competed for annually since then, apart from the 2020 and 2021 editions which were cancelled because of the Covid 19 pandemic, and 2022, when it was cancelled due to road safety concerns.
