Old Cheviot laboured up the last climb.  It was even steeper than he remembered, and reduced him at times to scrambling up on all fours.  The field – which had been spread out until then – suddenly bunched up with everyone feeling the strain.  Eventually he crested the ridge and began to jog to the summit for the final run-in.

The Tour of Pendle had started 3 hours earlier in mild conditions under blue skies.  Most chose to discard their hellies, with T-shirts and vests the order of the day.  The race heads up a road beside a reservoir, before the first climb up Pendle Hill.  After that the route is roughly a figure of eight around Pendle, before the final run-out past the reservoir to the finish back in Barley, Lancashire.

On the first half of the race, OC found himself running in company with Paul Appleby, John Tollitt and race organiser Kieran Carr – a sprightly V65 English Champion who tore down Geronimo Hill leaving us in his wake.  As the race progressed, the climbs kept coming – with 3 brutal climbs up the escarpment.  Paul Hainsworth cheerfully commented afterwards that “the climbs were steep but pretty short”.  OC, however, wasn’t convinced.  Perhaps he should have upped his pre-race training a la John Telfer who reported that the ale in the Pendle Inn on Friday night was on top form.

First home for NFR was Lewis Grundy – making a flying visit from Germany.  Not far behind were OC, Paul Hainsworth, and John Tollitt.  Other NFRs there were Peter Reed, Bernard Kivlehan and Andrew Russell.  After the race, tea and soup went down well in the village hall.

John and Paul after the race - photo: OC

The race only cost a fiver to enter – and that included a T-shirt.  It was a superb day out and, once the memory of the last climb had faded, enjoyed immensely by the NFR contingent.  Many thanks are due to the race organiser Kieran Carr and his team.

photos on Sport Sunday website

Old Cheviot