Every winner since 1998, the four stage records, and how the course has changed along the way.
March AC has hosted the Hereward Relay since 1998 — 39.7 miles along the Hereward Way from Peterborough to Ely, in four stages. This is the only complete record of the race that exists. Entries and race details for this year.
The four stages
| Stage | Miles | Record | Time | Pace | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6.9 | Christopher Smith | 0:33:17 | 4:49 | 2022 |
| 2 | 10.6 | Chris Darling | 0:57:23 | 5:25 | 2017 |
| 3 | 11.5 | Simon Wurr | 1:00:46 | 5:17 | 2008 |
| 4 | 10.7 | David Reed | 0:55:26 | 5:11 | 2007 |
Two of those four have stood since before the course moved to the athletics stadium. Stage 3 has been the hardest to take: Simon Wurr’s 2008 run is still the one to beat, nearly twenty years on.
Next five on each stage
| # | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Peter Barker · 0:34:01 (2005) | Matt Blunden · 0:57:41 (2011) | Rhodri Davies · 1:01:01 (2005) | Mike Eccles · 0:57:31 (2016) |
| 3 | Jack Bowden · 0:34:52 (2015) | Julian Moynihan · 0:59:28 (2025) | Geoff Gibson · 1:01:47 (2003) | Tom Vickery · 0:58:56 (2015) |
| 4 | Steve Gould · 0:35:23 (2001) | Callum Stanforth · 0:59:43 (2015) | Sullivan Smith · 1:02:11 (2011) | Mazeyar Firouzi · 0:59:17 (2011) |
| 5 | Peter Barker · 0:35:28 (2004) | Andrew Cracknell · 1:00:11 (2012) | James Mogridge · 1:02:35 (2016) | Derek Lines · 0:59:32 (2003) |
| 6 | James O’Neill · 0:35:28 (2011) | Simon Fell · 1:01:04 (2018) | Ian Keeble · 1:03:42 (2007) | Kevin Murphy · 0:59:33 (2009) |
No women’s stage records have been recorded separately. Women’s times are in the stage results but have never been pulled out into their own table — if you have them, races@marchac.co.uk.
Roll of honour
Every year since the first race in 1998. The solo ultra was added in 2010.
| Year | Winning team | Time | Ladies’ team | Time | Ultra | Time | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Fenland Running Club | 4:23:11 | March Braza Ladies (March AC) | 6:46:24 | — | — | 14 |
| 1999 | Great Yarmouth | 4:23:21 | Stamford Harriers Ladies | 5:17:14 | — | — | 66 |
| 2000 | BRJ Huntingdon | 4:24:00 | Stamford AC | 5:35:00 | — | — | 86 |
| 2001 | Birstall | 3:56:32 | Stamford AC | 4:41:00 | — | — | 86 |
| 2002 | Flying Ferrets (BRJ) | 4:11:10 | Stamford AC | 4:47:00 | — | — | 88 |
| 2003 | BRJ One | 3:55:06 | Riverside Runners | 4:37:00 | — | — | 113 |
| 2004 | Pacers A (St Edmund Pacers) | 3:57:20 | Bishop’s Stortford AC | 4:58:00 | — | — | 118 |
| 2005 | Pacers A (St Edmund Pacers) | 3:47:55 | Riverside Runners | 4:46:00 | — | — | 142 |
| 2006 | FVS Tri | 4:05:50 | Cambridge & Coleridge | 4:48:00 | — | — | 136 |
| 2007 | Muddy Munkeys A | 3:45:53 | Cambridge & Coleridge | 4:43:00 | — | — | 127 |
| 2008 | CTC Male | 3:57:02 | West Norfolk AC | 4:49:00 | — | — | 126 |
| 2009 | St Edmund Pacers | 3:47:23 | West Norfolk AC | 4:54:00 | — | — | 109 |
| 2010 | St Edmund Pacer Falcons (St Edmund Pacers) | 3:45:42 | Cambridge Tri Club | 4:19:00 | Colm McCoy | 5:06:02 | 110 |
| 2011 | Sleaford Town Dream Team | 3:40:30 | Cambridge Tri Club | 4:14:00 | Craig Holgate | 4:22:54 | 116 |
| 2012 | Ryston Sub-4 | 3:53:27 | Fenland Ladies | 4:41:37 | no ultra | — | 86 |
| 2013 | Cambridge & Coleridge Busway Bandits | not recorded | Cambridge & Coleridge Woman Ain’t Tri-ing | not recorded | Craig Holgate | not recorded | not recorded |
| 2014 | Muddy Mucky Munkeys — Munkey A | 3:54:10 | Cambridge Tri Speedy Ladies | 4:33:43 | not recorded | — | 112 |
| 2015 | Cambridge & Coleridge 1 | 3:42:57 | Stamford Striders Ladies A | not recorded | Darren Ping | not recorded | 110 |
| 2016 | Speedy Hares (Ryston) | 3:50:06 | Cambridge Tri Blonde Bombshells | 4:34:53 | Andrew Plume | not recorded | 110 |
| 2017 | CTC — Bottisham Village College Staff Joggers | 3:52:29 | March AC Ladies | 4:41:31 | Simon Margot | 4:56:45 | 110 |
| 2018 | PAC Vets | 4:00:31 | Nene Valley Harriers | 4:38:41 | Dave Burgess | 5:30:05 | 117 |
| 2019 | No race — flooding | ||||||
| 2020 | No race — Covid | ||||||
| 2021 | Abominable Cambridge Endurance (ACEs) | 4:01:49 | C&C Speed Queens | 4:33:00 | Tom Vickery | 4:37:35 | 90 |
| 2022 | C-Squad A Team | 3:55:04 | C-Squad Ladies | 4:41:57 | Damian Elsdon | 5:35:39 | 94 |
| 2023 | Ryston Leverets | 3:52:20 | Kestrels (St Edmund Pacers) | 4:39:17 | Alastair Angus | 5:18:34 | 82 |
| 2024 | Age after Beauty (March AC) | 4:09:21 | Hawks (St Edmund Pacers) | 5:04:02 | Damian Elsdon | 5:40:50 | not recorded |
| 2025 | Dan Collis Osteopathy | 4:04:22 | We Thought They Said Rum! (March AC) | 4:49:13 | Andrew Carrick | 5:26:29 | 82 |
The fastest relay ever run here is 3:40:30, by Sleaford Town Dream Team in 2011 — fifteen years and still standing. The biggest field was 142 teams in 2005.
March AC has won its own race once, in 2024, with Age after Beauty. The ladies’ race has gone to March AC twice: March AC Ladies in 2017 and We Thought They Said Rum! in 2025. Dave Burgess won the ultra in 2018.
March AC club records
The fastest March AC runner on each stage of the current route, which has been settled since 2021.
| Stage | Miles | Men | Time | Pace | Women | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6.9 | Andrew Jakeman (2024) | 0:37:40 | 5:28 | Kanina O’Neil (2021) | 0:44:47 | 6:29 |
| 2 | 10.6 | Dan Watts (2023) | 1:02:16 | 5:52 | Toni Alcaraz (2016) | 1:15:46 | 7:09 |
| 3 | 11.5 | Glen Watts (2023) | 1:07:16 | 5:51 | Emma Tuck (2017) | 1:20:12 | 6:58 |
| 4 | 10.7 | Niall Jackson (2023) | 1:09:28 | 6:30 | Kanina O’Neil (2025) | 1:14:57 | 7:00 |
Fastest March AC teams
| Category | Team | Runners | Time | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open team | The Fit, the Fast and the Hungover | William Bradley, Dan Watts, Glen Watts, Niall Jackson | 4:00:35 | 2023 |
| Ladies’ team | March Ladies | Debra Waite, Toni Alcaraz, Karen Patterson, Geraldine Larham | 4:38:50 | 2016 |
| Open pair | Mead and Mediocre | Simon Mead, Michelle Prior | 4:52:59 | 2025 |
| Ladies’ pair | Ooh I Lost My Ambulance | Sonia Witham, Michelle Prior | 7:21:34 | 2025 |
The club’s full stage-by-stage results since 2016 are held by the committee — ask races@marchac.co.uk for your own times.
How the course has changed
Worth reading before comparing a time with an older one. A stage record set before a re-route was set on a different stage.
| Year | Change |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Start moved to Peterborough Athletics Stadium. |
| 2016 | Stage 3 handover moved from the Lamb and Flag village hall to the new village hall. |
| 2017 | Stage 3 re-routed on the approach to the new village hall, coming off the road and round the track. |
| 2019 | Stage 2 routed off the riverbank after a private landowner issue. |
| 2021 | Stage 1 slightly re-routed at the start because of footpath works. |
| 2022 | Finish moved to Ely Rugby Club. |
| 2022 | Stage 1 slightly re-routed at the start because of flooding — 0.6 miles shorter. |
Gaps in the record
2013 is missing almost entirely — winners are known but no times. A handful of ultra times from 2014 to 2016 were never recorded, and the 2024 entry count is missing. Stage winners for 2004 and 2008 are absent from the results we hold.
If you ran one of those years and have a result, a printout or a photograph of a results sheet, we would like it: races@marchac.co.uk. This is the only full record of the race and the club is the only one keeping it.