Surrey veterans road relay champions Herne Hill added the South of England title to their collection when they took the gold medals at Aldershot on Sunday.

However, they were pushed all the way by Surrey rivals Thames Hare & Hounds, who were only 14 seconds behind.

Roger Alsop (19 minutes, 49 seconds) brought Herne Hill in four seconds clear at the end of the first stage, with Dave Symons (20:25) fourth for Thames.

Andy Weir (19:33) lifted Thames into second place, 18 seconds behind leaders Southampton Running Club, with Vic Maughn (20:33) dropping to third for Herne Hill, a further 24 seconds down.

Keith Newton (19:33), clocking the fastest time of the quartet, took Herne Hill back to the front, with Andy Robinson (20:31) keeping Thames in second spot, 34 seconds down.

Thames’ anchor stage runner Ben Reynolds (19:18), clocked the fourth best time of the day, shaving 20 seconds off Herne Hill’s lead.

Teams: 1 Herne Hill 1:19:33; 2 Thames Hare & Hounds 1:19:47; 3 South London Harriers 1:20:39.

Other local clubs and top runners: 18 Hercules Wimbledon 1:29.42 (Dave Clarke 20:40), 24 Epsom & Ewell Harriers 1:35.07 (Gareth George 22:48).

Hugh Saxby (23:25) was the top runner for the Hercules Wimbledon over-50 team, which finished 15th in 1:42:16.

The Stragglers team finished 17th in the over-50 relay in 1:46:17.

Thames Hare & Hounds were eighth in the over-60 relay in 1:48:12.