A bitterly cold start, frosted ground and a bit foggy. During the race, the fog lifted (I gather there were great views from the top) and the sun came out, but there were still a lot of chilled people about. The men were quite depleted: 9 runners only, with nearly as many ladies (7). Probably the first time ever that Croft ladies fielded 2 teams! Suzanne was again ( narrowly) beaten by young Clara Evans, but ran faster than last year, as did Nicky ( 7th – behind Alison this time!). Cei made up the A team, doing really well on a tough first outing to finish 13th; the team was 3rd, 2nd overall. Rachel (24th) and Kim were back (36th), with Karen Preston, like Cei, running the course for the first time, finishing in a very creditable 28th. The men were mostly slower than last year (even Matt, by about 3 minutes): Stacey (8th, just behind Simon N), Richard 13th, Dave M 17th and Simon P 23rd. The A team did well to finish 3rd and remain 3rd overall.Next was Tom ( 2nd over 60) in 42nd, only just behind Steve Herington; Neil did well, coming in next, Gary was 52nd, Brian D ( 26th consecutive Croft race?) 66th ( 1st over 65 ) and Bryan 73rd, returning to this particular race for the first time for many years.