8th April 2006 NATIONAL 12 STAGE ROAD RELAY - SUTTON PARK After a five year absence it was great to see a City of Stoke AC men's team compete again at this level outside of track and field. Okay, not everyone had a fantastic run, but at least they were there. The blustery conditions almost certainly had some impact on times but no-one could be faulted for effort.  The best run of the day for Stoke came from road racing specialist Ray Plant, yet again leading the team out on the first stage and running an excellent race within one second of his Midlands effort run in much kinder conditions two weeks ago. Danny Barker improved considerably on his Midlands effort on a short stage and definitely looks set for a good summer on the track.  The two 17 year olds Alex Hall and Liam Jones also performed extremely well in the circumstances and will have picked up valuable experience. After Ray, the next best of our long leg performers was Pete Benyon who ran solidly for a low 29 minute clocking on one of the extremely difficult later stages. Gavin Walters bravely stepped into the unknown on a long stage after a couple of late withdrawals and probably found it a bit of a struggle, but there is no doubt that his fitness will have improved considerably after this tough test. Carl Shubotham and Ian Milner also did well to run within a few seconds of their Midland times. Mike Proudlove, who might have expected to run a lot quicker, did extremely well to get round with a hamstring injury, and veteran Mark Kinch had to transfer very late in the day to a long leg without the fitness to back it up. Paul Hodgkinson and Adrian Thiemicke also kept the team in the race despite not being in top shape. Special thanks also to 13th man John Sinclair.  It is this kind of committed support from experienced athletes backed up by Steve Shubotham's team management and coaching that gives the everyone, particularly the youngsters, a chance to compete at National level. This approach definitely separates City of Stoke from the other North Staffordshire teams at the moment. We can look forward to further improvement next year. John Danahay Full results at Race Results Team 38th place overall Ray Plant Carl Shubotham  Alex Hall Danny Barker  Mike Proudlove  Liam Jones-Mansueto  Gavin Walters  Paul Hodgkinson   Pete Benyon  Ian Milner   Mark Kinch  Adrian Thiemicke  (23) 27.35 (LS) (31) 16.46 (33) 29.49 (LS) (33) 16.19 (35) 29:40 (LS) (34) 16:28 (35) 30:48 (LS) (36) 18:19 (34) 29:11 (LS) (36) 17:32 (37) 32:19 (LS) (38) 18:54