SLOW success at the Southeast Relay Championships

South London Orienteers took home three of four possible trophies with a great set of results at the Southeast Relay Championships, hosted by SAXONS at Knole Park, a beautiful deer park near Sevenoaks in Kent.

SLOW SE Relays 2016

SLOW’s team at the 2016 Southeast Relay Championships


The club fielded nine teams – two of which were non-competitive – and five of the seven remaining took home medals. The junior team was very close to being another medal team, but just missed out.

SLOW achieved a convincing 1-2 in the Open Relay, 2:31 ahead of our second team, who in turn were almost six minutes clear of Southdowns Orienteers in third.

  1. SLOW 1: Matthew Schepisi, Paul Couldridge and Michael Crone (85:24)
  2. SLOW 2: James Lyne, Tom Davies, Michael Balling (87:55)

(Almost) the winning mens teams: Paul Couldridge, Michael Crone, Matt Schepisi, Ludovic Maillard (for Tom Davies), Michael Balling and James Lyne

(Almost) the winning mens teams: Paul Couldridge, Michael Crone, Matt Schepisi, Ludovic Maillard (for Tom Davies), Michael Balling and James Lyne


And there was a similarly convincing 1-2 in the women’s relay with the first team finishing almost 18 minutes ahead of the second team who were almost 10 minutes ahead of third-placed SAXONS. This was a great result after a number of last-minute changes to the line-up only a day before the race.

  1. SLOW 3: Dorte Torpe Hansen, Dianne Leakey, Gytautė Akstinaitė (121:41)
  2. SLOW 4: Fiona Tam, Christine Robinson, Vicky Whaley (139:18)

The winning women teams: Dorte Torpe Hansen, Gytautė Akstinaitė, Dianne Leakey, Christine Robinson, Vicky Whaley and Fiona Tam

The winning womens teams: Dorte Torpe Hansen, Gytauté Akstinate, Dianne Leakey, Christine Robinson, Vicky Whaley and Fiona Tam


SLOW also won the Handicap relay by over five minutes from the host club, SAXONS.

  1. SLOW H1: Andy Robinson, Ludovic Maillard, Alan Leakey (83:34)

The winning handicap team: Alan Leakey, Ludovic Maillard and Andy Robinson

The winning handicap team: Alan Leakey, Ludovic Maillard (again) and Andy Robinson


SLOW’s junior team narrowly missed out on the medals. They were the third team to finish with good runs all round. Unfortunately there was a mispunch, but the organisers generously applied some common sense and reinstated the team with a three minute time penalty that pushed them into fourth place. The junior team has great potential for future years.

  • SLOW Juniors: Thomas Arnison, Kit Foulkes, Benedict Davidson (56:25 mp)

Many thanks to all the other SLOW runners who competed on the day: Gordon Parker, Peter Foulkes, Mike Garvin, Anja Davidson, Nigel Saker, Hing Hung and Heather Walton.

Andy Robinson and Vicky Whaley run on the long run in to the finish

Andy Robinson and Vicky Whaley run on the long run in to the finish


Report by Andy Robinson; photos from a set by Gyte Akstinaitė