Brian's Report
Great
Hill Handicap 2005
A
clear cold day with all the muddy bits (ie most of the course) frozen over
meant fast times were likely and I was not disappointed. Bob Shepherd who,
despite being in his dotage, won the winter leg in stile and achieved a PB in
the process. Congratulations Bob you’re an inspiration to all of us. Second
home was a newcomer to the event - Chris Benson – who finished over 7
minutes in front of husband Pete. Karen Nash broke her own ladies record by
3.52 but still finished behind her son Chris. It was good to see three ladies
out on the course – the most we have ever had in one outing. Fastest on the
day was Ash Nixon but still some way off the record time.
The
combined times of the summer and winter events produces the overall winner of
the 2005 series and this year the recipient of the coveted winners certificate
is Mick McLoughlin. Mick will be presented with his certificate at a
forthcoming social gathering of the fell runners.
blogger
says
Thanks
for your thoughtful comments Brian, I looked up "dotage" it means,
"to be silly, deranged, infatuated, or feeble minded especially from
age". Flattery will get you everywhere!
In
addition!
I have added & subtracted
from my previous few words!
It was a beautiful morning for
the run, sun shining & crispy underfoot. The course is an interesting one
with much variety throughout. Before & after the run there were the usual
lists of problems. Ash said he was running five minutes slower than he would
like to do. John Griffiths is just too in love. So is Steve Forster, he didn't
even turn up. Pete Carter has a damaged muscle near his knee (however he seems
to have plenty more muscles to compensate for one little injured one). George
Andrews was close to a heart attack. Karen Nash had
twisted her thigh in the xc the day before. Brian Dearnaly, fresh back from New
Zealand, grasped an opportunity to opt out, due to lack of support from our
usual sources (Maurice was babysitting, Pete Benson was taking part), Dave
Simpson & Barry Nuttall are aging rapidly, fast from their landing Joe &
me in a mass start at Calderdale, leg 3, here they were again, just not up to
it, not at least up to what we've come to expect of them. Even Joe Howard showed
me his sore knee again. And although he didn't say much about it, Matthew Nash
was feeling ill, having been unable to take part in the xc the day before. The
only person to say nothing was Chris Nash, as we say in running circles, he let
his legs do the talking.
On his first outing in the Great
Hill Handicap, not even knowing the route, he managed to not only smash the
record for juniors, but becomes the World Record Holder for a 10 year old
on this route. Well done Chris!
Another Chris should also be
congratulated, Chris Benson. She had set off with Pete, not knowing the route.
She was soon chomping at the bit, but restricted by Pete's more sedentary pace
& not knowing the route, had to hold back. Then to further compound the
issue, I came along. Pete suggested That Chris tagged along with me. That made
me perturbed, I'm so used to running behind ladies, that to have one behind me,
threw my concentration & I ended up on the wrong track!
So poor Chris didn't get the true
result she deserved. Next time she'll know the way & I suggest to the
handicapper that he ought to consider these factors. Penalty minutes will be
added, or is it subtracted?
Simmy said that I must have taken
a short cut to end up with a better time than his; truth is all the way down
Great Hill I was out of control, having slipped on some ice near the top, I
never really gained control until the ascent through the woods.
The beauty of web logging is
that things can be changed to protect the innocent!
You may like
to see previous Great Hill Events
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