ROUND-UP: Riverside Runners won the ladies’ competition at the 17-leg Round Norfolk Relay at the weekend.

RIVERSIDE Runners won the ladies’ competition at the 17-leg Round Norfolk Relay at the weekend.

The 197-mile-long circular route began and ended in King’s Lynn, with stages varying between 5.5 and 20 miles and runners pounding the roads through the night. The Riverside team came home in 27hrs 51mins 37secs to finish as top ladies, while the men clocked 23hrs 23mins 01sec to finish an excellent 10th.

Ramsey Road Runners also competed well in the RNR to finish a creditable 42nd.

There was disappointment for Riverside triathlete Chris Ritchie and his five team-mates in the Big Cow sprint event at Milton Keynes at the weekend.

Ritchie recorded impressive swim and cycle times and was on the way to a top-10 finish in the 300-strong field before a hamstring injury curtailed his two-lap run. Two other first-timers, Marcus Wale and Ben Hall, made impressive debuts, completing the race in respectable times.

At Dorney Lake, three veteran Riverside triathletes finished the season as they started, by taking sixth place from a field of 96 teams. After a strong swim leg, their race was galvanised by strong bike legs by the team’s oldest members, Keith Ritchie and Mick Lawrence. It culminated in a season’s best for Darren Cantell in the 5k run.

Huntingdonshire AC’s U17 men took four victories on their way to fifth place at the East Anglian League Final at Bury St Edmunds on Sunday.

Ryan Palmer, Thomas Johnson, Hakeem Duckworth-Porter and Jordan Gillbanks made up the small but competitive squad, taking four wins and four second places in eight track events.

Seven of the club’s runners were part of the 40,000 to complete Sunday’s North East Great North Run. The first two club athletes home were Alex Smith and Emma Browne, the latter recording a personal best.

Andy Richardson was part of the 164-strong field that took on the High Peak 40-mile ultra race in the heart of the Peak District. Richardson completed the multi-terrain race in a creditable 18th place in 6hrs 51mins 14secs.

Darren Preston led home the BRJ runners at the Swineshead 10 mile, finishing in 60mins 57secs to take sixth place.