They said, "Come to Penshurst Place. The grounds are lovely, and the cafe is open late, with lasagne and beer served al fresco until 9:30pm."

Well, my clubmates had me at al fresco beer (zero alcohol, of course) on another sultry evening in Kent, so it was with that in mind I pulled into the car park at Penshurst Place and Gardens near Tonbridge on Wednesday evening (25 June 2025).

The catch? I had to run the last stage in one of Tonbridge AC's 14 teams in the second annual TAC Midsummer Relay organised in memory of charismatic former Club President and former Secretary of Kent County Athletics Association, Alan Bennett, who sadly passed away on 9 February 2024.

Entries were capped at 100 teams of three for the inaugural event, as reported in runABC South, and increased to 150 teams this year. Tunbridge Wells Harriers had the largest entry, with 24 of the 134 teams in the 3x4K relay, chip-timed by NE Timing.

The revised course starts and finishes in front of the impressive 14th-century Manor House, once the property of King Henry VIII and continuously occupied by the Sidney family since it was granted to Sir William Sidney in 1552.

The first 500m is gently uphill to Lancup Well, then steeply uphill on rutted trails to Penshurst Park Plantation, past Sidney Oak. The turn for home leads to a fast descent past Cook's Pits and Well Place Farm, before a short tree-lined section on tarmac to the handover point.

I was pleased to be the strongest member of my team (holding everyone else up!) – #131C above – as we finished 79th overall and 31st mixed team in 56:46. The winning mixed team was Sevenoaks AC in 42:01, from Medway & Maidstone AC (43:34) and Tonbridge AC (43:49). 

At the sharp end of the relay, Tonbridge AC men won in 38:02 from Cambridge Harriers (39:40) and Tonbridge's B team (40:01). The women's relay was won by Tunbridge Wells Harriers (44:36) from Canterbury Endurance (46:17) and Tonbridge AC (49:07).

The fastest legs belonged to Sean Molloy (Tonbridge AC) in the aesthetically pleasing time of 12:34! The speediest female was Ashley Fennell (Tunbridge Wells Harriers, 14:19) – #078C below – and both times were set on the last stage for their respective winning teams. The oldest competitor prizewinner this year was M75 David Grunfeld (Mote Runners, 25:37).

Full results and previous reports are at the runABC South race listing here.

Photos courtesy of Charlotte Knee Photography