Despite the gloomy look to the morning the weather men got it right for once and 20 runners once again set off in warm and sunny conditions. Ground conditions were dry and hard underfoot, making trail shoes or even road shoes the better option. Will Horsley led from the start with Garry Owens and Colin Hutt (Carnethy) chasing. Running between Bloodybush and Cushat was good due to the dry conditions which made for soft and springy ground. Will had a good margin over Garry with just the last hill to go about 2 miles from the finish, but unfortunately made another navigational error (see Beacon Hill report) and turned off too soon towards Kidlandlee. He made it back onto the right track with just enough to spare to catch Garry, who at the line was less than 10 seconds behind (1h50m). Sally Welsh was first lady. A few other wrong turns were taken by other runners but the field was well spaced enough so that generally only times and pride were affected, and not overall positions. Every runner received a handcrafted specially commissioned earthernware mug.
Will Horsley
... and from the race organiser, Keith Cooper:
With good conditions underfoot all runners enjoyed a fine
day out in the hills.
Will Horsley pipped Garry Owens at the post by the narrowest
of margins to win. Garry had once again used his local
knowledge to close the gap on Will as he veered up the wrong
track to Kidlandlee. Colin Hutt visiting from Carnethy, and
new to the area, was third man. He was impressed by the area
and the race and vowed to return with the family next year.
Sally Welsh, returning to the fells after a long lay off, was
first lady to finish.
The first thing to notice about the results this year is the lack of runners. This was probably due to a clash of events with the Beacon Hill Fell race on Thursday and this years Blaydon Race taking place on the same day. This together with a new fell race based on Hadrian’s Wall, probably led to the fall in entries. Next year will be different; the Blaydon Race will not directly conflict. But there is another possibility, and that is the course. For next year’s race I would like to extend the race around Wether Cairn to include more fell and less forest track. It will mean a longer course, an earlier start, 11: 00 a.m. and a slightly later finish. Any comments are welcome.
Keith Cooper
