Ten Years of the Autumn Relays

1987-2000: Fourteen Years of the Autumn Relays

The event takes it's name, unsurprisingly, from the Top House pub near the Sports Centre; the trophy we all run to try and win was donated by them in time for the second event. For the first three years, the event followed a route around Newsham Road, Plessey Road, down Broadway and back along Princess Louise Road. After one or two close calls with traffic daring to get in the way of runners hell bent on winning, or at least catching the person in front, this route was abandoned in favour of the current course after the 1990 race. This was due to concerns over safety, since runners had to cross several roads during the race. From 1991 on, the course has been the one most people are familiar with, around the top end of the Kitty Brewster Industrial Estate. At 2.5 miles this course is slightly longer than the original one, which is why 1989's winning time is not the course record.
For the first six years there were separate men's and ladies teams, with prizes for each; from 1993 onwards the teams were mixed, with only one team prize. The full list of winners looks like this:

Year	Course	Category	First Leg	Second Leg	Third Leg	Time	Teams
1987	Old	Men	Michael Morris	Brian Southern	Michael Cole	46:00	13
1987	Old	Ladies	K. Timlin	Christine Thompson	Carol Barratt	1:01:12	5
1988	Old	Men	Allan Kenny	Joe Frazer	Mick Robinson	40:52	13
1988	Old	Ladies	Linda Kenny	Shiela Reay	Carol Barratt	55:07	5
1989	Old	Men	Martin Rowell	Paul Wearmouth	Steve Gillespie	40:04	16*
1989	Old	Ladies	Judith Hankin	Trish Goodwin	Caroline Robson	53:08	5
1990	Old	Men	Michael Black Snr.	Dave Kitching	Rob Hall	40:35	13
1990	Old	Ladies	Christine Thompson	Trish Goodwin	Cath Coultate	56:12	4

1991	New	Men	Alex Hutchinson	Michael Pease	Dave Kitching	42:24	8
1991	New	Ladies	Jocelyn Smith	Gill Margerrison	Teresa Gaughan	55:14	5
1992	New	Men	Peter Merryweather	Keith Willshire	Steve Gillespie	41:55	10
1992	New	Ladies	Angela Soutar	Christine Willshire	Gill Margerrison	54:01	3

1993	New	Mixed	Brian Southern	John Gaughan	Dave McKenzie	40:20	12
1994	New	Mixed	Cath Coultate	Rob Marshall	Andy Brown	41:37	13
1995	New	Mixed	Steve Bangs	John Mallon	Steve Gillespie	41:47	12
1996	New	Mixed	Robbie Barklay	Frank Aniolkowski	John Mallon	42:15	12**
1997	New	Mixed	Jonathan Dickinson	Mark Walbank	George Young	42:09	10
1998	New	Mixed	Tom McCullock	Allan Kenny	Martin Gaughan	43:21	11
1999	New	Mixed	Cath Young	Steve Walker	Joe Frazer	44:11	12
2000	New	Mixed	Denis Moss	Ralph Dickinson	Dale Stafford	43:57	14

In 1989, one team was disqualified after one runner (Michael Cole) took a wrong turn at the top of the course.
** In 1996, two teams were each one runner short, so didn't count in the results.

Records: Team - Brian Southern, John Gaughan, Dave McKenzie; 40mins 20secs (1993)
Individual Course Record - Andy Brown; 11mins 42secs (1993 & 1994)
Veterans Course Record - Rob Hall; 12mins 11secs (1990)
Female Course Record - Gill Margerrison (now Priest); 14mins 53secs (1995)
Female Veterans Course Record - Kath Glynn; 15mins 34secs (1992)

Only one person has done all fourteen races, namely Steve Gillespie. Both Steve and Cath Young (Coultate) have recorded three wins each (Steve - 89/92/95, Cath - 90/94/99), eight people have two wins each: Carol Barratt (87/88), Trish Goodwin (89/90), Allan Kenny (88/98), Dave Kitching (90/91), John Mallon (95/96), Gill Margerrison (91/92), Brian Southern (87/93), Christine Thompson (87/90).

During the fourteen years of the event, at least 183 different people have taken part, running in 194 teams. The individual figure might be even higher, but results for the first few ladies events are not quite complete.
In 1988, husband and wife pairing Allan and Linda Kenny were winners in both men's and ladies categories, both running first leg; this was emulated in 1992 by Keith and Christine Willshire, both running the second; since the event is now for mixed teams, this can't now be repeated.