The annual Tiomila relay was held in Sweden on the weekend. 1228 teams competed in the technical terrain near Eskilstuna.

In the women’s relay there was a surprise victory by Stockholm club SOIK Hellas after a superb final leg by Tanya Ryabkina saw them overhaul Simone Niggli (Ulricehamns OK). Niggli went out in the lead but made mistakes early and struggled home in ninth place. Cassie Trewin ran a good fourth leg for the Baekkelaget second team picking up 28 places.

The men’s relay saw Halden recover from being nearly 10 minutes down after the first leg. By the fifth leg they had regained the lead after an excellent run by Tore Sandvik put them nearly 5 minutes ahead. From then on they were never seriously threatened and Emil Wingstedt could run a relatively relaxed final leg to give Halden yet another Tiomila win.

David Shepherd, running for Goteborg Majorna OK, and Troy De Haas, running for Rasti Kurikka, anchored their respective teams to solid results finishing 22nd and 24th. Malungs OK with Rob Walter running first and Julian Dent running seventh split Dave and Troy’s teams’ coming 23rd. Julian put in a solid performance in his first Tiomila recording the 20th fastest time. Reuben Smith ran first leg for his club, Nybro OK.