CAAC fielded eight teams at the National Road Relay Championships on Saturday 21st March 2026, as the event once again returned to St Margaret’s Academy, Livingston. The teams met for registration in the main school building, which feels like a cross between a greenhouse and the prison in the 1969 classic The Italian Job.
Outside, though, it felt very different: bright, crisp, and unmistakably like the first proper day of spring. The kind of day that makes you think of fast times, and, in Calum’s case, one he apparently sets his clock by each year.
“You’re only supposed to blow the bloody doors off…”
CAAC duly obliged: not with explosives, but with a clean haul of bronze medals. The men’s teams secured three podium finishes across the Senior, V40 and V50 categories, while the women’s teams also impressed, with the senior team finishing 8th and the V50s 7th.
The Men’s Race
Every good job needs a plan, and our CAAC A team ran theirs to near perfection. As the field blasted off like Minis through the streets of Turin, Aaron set the team up just outside the front group. By leg two, Angus jumped the boys into 2nd, and from that point on, the team never left the virtual podium. Blayne, Jack and Fraser held the team steady in 2nd as the race unfolded, whilst Central AC stretched their lead. By the final leg, the medals were there to be taken. James ran hard, but relinquished the silver to a fast finishing Edinburgh Uni, who had never been far behind. The team finished 3rd overall, securing a deserved podium.
In relays like this, things can always go wrong when you least expect it. Cambuslang looked well set in 5th before their operation unravelled entirely: from contender to DNF in a single leg. One minute they were in control, planning their celebration, the next they were staring into the metaphorical Alpine drop wondering where the gold had all slipped away.
Behind them, our B team executed a solid job of their own. If the A team were the main heist crew, this was the quiet, efficient backup unit. Starting just outside the top 10, they worked their way forward through the middle legs, picking off places with each exchange. James, Calum, Colin, Julian, Simon and Fearghas. By the end, they’d secured 8th place overall, a strong top-10 finish. In a self-preservation society, discipline beats drama every time.
In the Masters race, the V40 team proved that experience counts when the pressure is on. Up against a combined field of senior and veteran teams, they kept their composure, moving steadily through the race. By the end of the sixth leg, Moray, Mickey, Tom, Chris, Alastair and Iain had secured 3rd place in the V40 category. 17th team home overall and adding another bronze to the club’s haul.
The CAAC C team rounded out the men’s squads, finishing 25th overall. They made a strong start and stayed in contention early on, but as the race wore on and the pace took its toll, they slipped back slightly in a deep field. Still, they saw the job through, and in relays like this, getting all teams home is half the battle. Jack led the team out, back running after a vicious shark attack (he claims he was spiked at the Inter-district XC, but the wounds sustained suggest otherwise), with Ali, Chris, Scott, Tristan and Chris seeing us through. No glory, perhaps, but nowhere near the horrors of an Italian prison cell either.
In the V50 Race, it was 4 to a team. Jeremy, Max, Iain and Stuart were leading at points, but ultimately duly delivered another bronze. Jan, Martin, Steve and Brent were the 2nd CAAC team home.
The Women’s Race
Jess set things up well on the opening leg, bringing the team through in 4th place and firmly in podium contention. Coming under a lot of pressure and strong competition, Kirstin, Esme and Jess brought the team home in 8th.
It was a similar story for our V50 women. Caroline made a strong start, bringing the team through in 3rd place after the opening leg. The long second leg proved decisive, with Mhairi battling gamely as the field stretched, handing over in 6th. On the final leg, Janet held things together to secure 7th at the finish, despite running an extra 500m (although not to shake off the Italian Polizia). Not quite the great gold escape, but, as ever, the job got done.
Three bronze medals. Eight teams home. No doors left standing. Sometimes it’s not about perfection, it’s about getting away with it. Now, hang on a minute CAAC, I’ve got a great idea…
Report by Scott Jenkins, CAAC Publicity Officer
Excellent report Scott. Brilliant results keeping CAAC as a regular medal winning team in this event that’s been held at the same venue ever since Moza was a junior!