NSW Road Relays: Run Crew women win a thriller, while Sydney Uni
Published Sun 03 Aug 2025
3 August 2025
NSW Road Relays: Run Crew women win a thriller, while Sydney Uni men claim gold
The 73rd edition of the NSW Road Relays, had it all this year. Battling regular heavy down pours, there was a thriller in the women’s race with just a few second deciding the race. A team of teenagers from the country mixing it with the best senior men’s teams in the State and winning silver. Clocking the fastest split of the day, the Australian 10km road running champion put an unlikely team on the podium. With the high-quality racing, no senior team was able to defend their title.
WOMEN OPEN 4X4KM
Defending champions UTS Norths came well equipped to defend with Olympian Georgia Winkcup and NSW Short Course champion Kate Spencer leading their team. In a close race, last year they had defeated Run Crew and a strong Bankstown team. Strategically UTS Norths opted to put their big guns on legs two and three. For Run Crew, last years second place was a rare title not won. Run Crew, who dominated the XC relays in May, also brought a high-quality lineup to the event. The Run Crew team included: Irish international Rose Finnegan, a 9:41 3km track athlete, another Irish athlete Jennifer Clancy with recent PBs of 34:28 (10k) and 76:57 (half m), also in the team were 71:55 half marathoner Abi Nordberg, who last year ran a 2:34.57 marathon and finally reigning NSW Distance runner of the year and former NCAA 10,000m champion Danette Sheehan. They would be competitive.
LEG 1
Rose Finnegan got Run Crew off to a much-needed good start, holding off UTS Norths’ Ava Garnys 13:41 to 13:52. Also recording a great leg was Deltra Running Project’s Rosy Cooper, a 2:45 marathoner, who split 13:48 on her leg.
RCR A 13:41
DRP 13:48
UTN 13:52
LEG 2
Tokyo Olympian Georgia Winkcup (UTS Norths) set off after Run Crew’s Abi Nordberg, narrowing the gap to three seconds. Georgia clocked the equal fastest split of the day 13:26, while Abi recorded a terrific 13:35. There was a close battle emerging for the bronze medal. Two competitive legs of 14:08 and 14:03 by Bankstown duo Ruby McPhillips and Ashleigh Gardner, had moved them into 3rd, five seconds ahead of Delta, with next Run Crew B in 5th and Sydney Uni B in 6th.
RCR 27:16
UTN 27:19
BAN 28:12
DRP 28:17
RCR B 28:40
SYU B 28:45
LEG 3
Just like in golf, where day three is ‘moving day’ the third leg saw lots of change. UTS Norths took the lead over Run Crew. Danette Sheehan’s (RCR) strong 13:41 leg was not able to hold off 4-time NSW XC champion Kate Spencer’s 13:26. UTS Norths now has a 13 second lead. Would it be enough?
Delta moved into 3rd, just ahead of Run Crew’s B team, Sydney Uni’s A team was on the move into a threatening 5th place, ahead of the club’s B team
UTN 40:45
RCR A 40:58
DRP 43:08
RCR B 43:11
SYU A 43:51
SYU B 44:01
BAN 45:29
LEG 4
Run Crew’s Jenny Clancy got to work on the 13 seconds gap she was down on UTS Norths’ middle-distance specialist Emily Hopper. Around the 2.8km mark of their 4km leg, Claney was still a few seconds down on Hopper, but by 3.5km, they were drawn level. Running up the final hill, near the velodrome, Clancy took the lead and with the track and finish line in sight, broke contact with Hopper, sprinting home for a thrilling four second win. Jenny Clancy had split 13:50, ahead of Emily Hoppers’ gallant 14:07 effort.
Run Crew’s B team anchor Sophie Chudley ran a strong last leg to bring the team home in bronze with a 14:13 split, as the team held off Delta by 21 seconds.. Their story was of consistency with just 18 second separating their fastest and slowest. She was joined on the podium by Gemma Jenkins, Sienna Colosi and Katie St Lawrence.
RCR A 54:49
UTN 54:53
RCR B 57:25
DRP 57:46
SYU A 58:01
SYU B 58:55
BAN 60:41
GOLD - Run Crew A 54:49 (Rose Finnegan, Abi Nordberg, Danette Sheehan, Jennifer Clancy)
SILVER - UTS Norths 54:53 (Ava Garnys, Georgia Winkcup, Kate Spencer, Emily Hopper)
BRONZE – Run Crew B 57:25 (Gemma Jenkins, Sienna Colosi, Katie St Lawrence, Sophie Chudley)
MEN OPEN 4X4KM
The men’s event was certain to be a close battle with four well credentialed teams. Defending champions, Run Crew, suffered a blow on the morning of the race with the withdraw of world junior cross-country representative and 2025 NSW Road champion Ciaran Rushton withdrawing ill. Deltra Running Project was boosted by the inclusion of Australian 10km Road Record holder, Sam Clifford, a Tasmanian, now resident in Sydney. Sydney University would be very competitive following another very strong year, winning the team competitions at the NSW Road Championships, and two XC events. Finally, Gosford were in with a real chance despite a team of teenagers. The regional team had been developing incredibly well under NSW distance running legend and 19-time NSW winter champion, coach-Paul Arthur.
LEG 1
Gosford’s 20-year-old Oliver Ham got the team off to a terrific start alongside Sydney University Veteran Joe Burgess with both dominating the opening leg with a split of 11:57. Deltra Running Project had a great start under the reliable Yusuke Shibuya, a Sydney-based Japanese marathoner who has run 2:18 this year. Such was their depth, there B team was in fourth with a 12.16 split from Jack Maxwell. Gosford also had amazing depth with their B team in 5th through Luke Shaw’s 12:22 leg.
GOS A 11:57
SYU A 11:57
DRP A 12:10
DRP B 12:16
RBH 12:22
GOS B 12:22
RCR 12:23
NEW 12:24
LEG 2
Incredibly nothing separated the leaders on leg two as they were equal on 23:56 with legs of 11:58. 2024 NSW Short Course XC champion Lachlan Townsend was on duty for Sydney Uni while Gosford teenager Wade Barr, a 15:10 5k athletes, ran the race of his life. Sub 2:12 marathoner, Tom Do Canto was brilliant for Run Crew, putting in a 11.41 split – the second fastest of the day. Run Crew were now within eight seconds of the leaders.
GOS A 23:56
SYU A 23:56
RCR 24:04
DRP A 24:47
RBH 25:00
LEG 3
Sydney University edged ahead on leg three through Sebastian Havens, a 31:31 10k athlete. 18-year-old Rohan Nairn kept Gosford within 10 seconds. Run Crew’s dual Olympian, Ben St Lawrence, narrowed the gap on 2nd to six seconds.
SYU A 36:08
GOS A 36:18
RCR 36:24
NEW 37:19
DRP A 37:23
RBH 37:31
LEG 4
Despite having rising 17-year-old star, Harrison McClusky on the anchor, it would be near impossible for him to narrow the gap on current NSW Short Course XC champion Ben Bishop (Sydney Uni). On the first lap the course was hit by torrential rain. Running conservatively in the dangerous conditions Ben Bishop extended Sydney Uni’s lead to 20 seconds at the finish, while it was an historic silver for Gosford with a team of average aged 18. The big move on the anchor leg was by Australian road record holder Sam Clifford (Delta), who had reported run 35km two days prior to the race, as he builds up to make his marathon debut in Sydney. Sam clocked the fastest split of the day 11.30.
For Sydney University who have won many NSW winter individual and team titles in recent decades, it was a rare win. In the 73-year history of the race, it was just their fourth win, having won previously in 2019, 2005 and 1977.
SYU A 48.17
GOS A 48.37
DRP A 48.53
RBH 49.34
NEW 50:01
RCR 50:12
GOLD - Sydney University 48:17 (Joe Burgess, Lachlan Townsend, Sebastian Havens, Ben Bishop)
SILVER – Gosford 48:37 (Oliver Ham, Wade Barr, Rohan Nairn, Harrison McClusky)
BRONZE – Deltra Running Project 48:53 (Yusuke Shibuya, Kieren Tall, Alexander Shaw, Sam Clifford)
David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW
Image: Emily Hopper leads Jenny Clancy on the last leg in the women’s race (image courtesy of David Tarbotton)
Two clubs shone in the fastest split analysis. The young Gosford men’s teams placed six athletes in the top-20 splits. While Run Crew women placed eight in the top-20, including one on the U18s.
MEN Fastest Splits in 2025
11.30 Sam Clifford DRP A
11.41 Tom Do Canto RCR A
11.52 Isaac Shaw BAN
11.57 Joe Burgess SYU A
11.57 Oliver Ham GOS A
11.58 Lachlan Townsend SYU A
11.59 Wade Barr GOS A
12.02 Stefan Music RBH
12.08 Ben Bishop SYU A
12.10 Yusuke Shibuya DRP A
12.10 Joseph Ryan NEWR
12.12 Sebastian Havens SYU A
12.15 Nathaniel Brisbane KEJ
12.16 Jack Maxwell DRP B
12.17 Jonothan McLennan SUT, 30-39 Masters
12.18 Harrison McClusky GOS A
12.19 Ben St Lawrence RCR A
12.21 Rohan Nairn GOS A
12.22 Luke Shaw GOS B
12.22 Alex Talbot RBH
12.23 Luke Babic NRI
12.23 Zane Krayem RCR A
12.24 Anthony Morgan NRI
12.25 Miles Carson RBH, U20
WOMEN Fastest Splits in 2025
13.26 Georgia Winkcup UTN
13.26 Kate Spencer UTN
13.35 Abi Nordberg RCR A
13.41 Danette Sheehan RCR A
13.41 Rose Finnegan RCR A
13.48 Rosy Cooper DRP
13.50 Jennifer Clancy RCR A
13.52 Ava Garnys UTN
14.03 Ashleigh Gardner BAN
14.07 Emily Hopper UTN
14.08 Ruby McPhillips BAN
14.10 Aspen Lambert SYU A
14.13 Sophie Chudley RCR B
14.14 Gemma Jenkins RCR B
14.17 Lucy Alder SYU B
14.20 Brook Carson SYU C
14.23 Mia Bridgland STG, U18
14.25 Mabel Dukes RCR, U18
14.25 Sienna Colosi RCR B
14.27 Allegra McGivern SYU A
14.27 Kristen Cook SYU B
14.29 Indianna Griffith DRP
