Athletics: Hallamshire in the hunt for medals

The men’s team is building a formidable squad with plenty of depth and, even although Andy Heyes, Steve Bayton and Bertie Houghton are unavailable, they still have a chance of medals. There are four long stages, taken by Andy Challenger, Rob Little, Dave Archer and Tom Baines with the shorter stages going to Matt Hobbs, Ben Beattie, Connor Milnes, Gavin Keight, Zac Mellard, Pete Hodges, Sam Peters and Nic Barber. The women’s relay is run over six stages with Zanthe Wray and Nicola Squires doing the long ones. On the short stages Hallam include Charlotte Ward, a recent recruit from Hull, Hannah Whitelam, Charlotte Slack and Hatti Archer.

Rotherham will also be looking to make an impact in the women’s race. Always consistent, they were third last year. Sam Johnson and Jenny Blizard take the long stages, backed up by Emma Parkinson, Alina Stepanchuk, Steph Burns and Natasha Hatswell.