Phil and Will

Rain and low cloud made for tricky conditions at the Ian Hodgson Relay on Sunday.  Navigation and sure footing were at a premium as more than one team took a wander in the mist.  Charlie Stead & Aengus McCullough had a solid first leg for NFR over Red Screes.  Scott Gibson & Lee Bennett took over for the second leg and also had a good run despite ruing the odd line in the clag.  David Armstrong and I were pleased with our run on the third leg, mainly due to Dexter selecting a couple of sneaky short-cuts that served us well.  This left Will Horsley and Phil Sanderson to bring us home on the last leg in a provisional place of 25th, equalling our finish from last year.

There was one of the closest finishes to the relay for years.  Keswick led after the first leg but were then overtaken by Pudsey & Bramley.  Borrowdale were well-down at this point.  By the start of the last leg P&B still had a 2 minute lead, but Morgan Donnelly & Ben Bardsley were in hot pursuit for Borrowdale.  As the spectators eagerly awaited the first team home, Borrowdale emerged from the trees about 100 yards ahead – Morgan looked like he was jogging in after a Sunday afternoon stroll – to take first place for the nth year running.

Lee and Scott

Many thanks to the organisers who put on a superb event and our team captain Will Horsley who drove us around the relay to the various change-overs.

John Duff