Report by Mike Blenkinsop
The second race in the 2024 Handicap Series and time for the handicap times to kick in. I certainly would not choose The Bible as my specialist subject on Mastermind, but I seem to recall the quote of ” the first shall be last and the last shall be first” from my angelic (!) Sunday School days. Time for some runners, unaccustomed to being out front and being hunted down like escaping criminals, to try to avoid being overtaken by their not-so-matey team mates. Perhaps also time for me to head back to church to pray for forgiveness. I have predicted for years that my head would explode when lots of runners ran to their optimal level and fulfilled the accuracy of the handicapping system by charging for the finish line en masse. Well …. tonight it became a reality and the time-recording system that had been in operation since 1989 finally malfunctioned. We did our best to try to rectify the situation as accurately as possible, but apologies if there are a few slight discrepancies.
None of that nonsense had any affect on the runners’ performances, however, and there were 12 PBs recorded and a colossal age-group record.
At the sharp end of the field a battle-royale was developing. Claire Verran quickly overtook the 2 runners who had started in front of her and was then listening intently for the sound of heavy breathing and athletic footsteps approaching from behind. Do you dare to look behind ? Is it a sign of weakness ? No invading sounds were detected until the final few hundred metres when defending handicap series champion Alison Davies suddenly appeared into view and was hot on Claire’s heels. Both runners now had to dig deep as they sprinted for the welcoming finish line. Claire just prevailed by the slender margin of 2 seconds after a tenacious race. Well done both. Alison Benwell finished a clear 3rd to complete an all female top 3. In fact, it was a female triumph on the night as the women runners outnumbered the men by 27 to 23.
Frank Luscott will have been pleased with his 4th place and an improvement of over 2 minutes on his time recorded last month. Mike Hayward recorded the biggest PB of the night with an upgrade of 1.38, closely followed by Anna Bromley’s 1.36 improvement. Others to slice big chunks off their previous best times were Rob Martin with 1.16 and Joe Lynch with 1.13. Joe would have been motivated by the lack of a tuck shop on the course and the thought of nourishment awaiting him at the finish. I have not, unsurprisingly, kept stats on this possible record, but Joe overtook 32 runners as he sped around, no doubt giving cheery words of encouragement as he flew past. Double celebration time for the Haywards as Jayne knocked 55 seconds off her best time to rival Mike’s choccie award.
Guy Whitmarsh, with typical humility and self-effacement, had kept shtum about turning 80 a few days ago. He quietly and modestly celebrated becoming an octogenarian by setting a new MV80 course record by the massive margin of 10 mins 29 secs ! He was tested for surplus Sanatogen after the race and passed with flying colours. Guy’s achievements tend to fly under the radar a bit, but here he was running on the roads, which he mostly avoids as he prefers the challenge of fell racing, and still recording a time (46.39) that will be the envy of many younger runners. Well done Guy – a notable achievement.
Yet another excellent turnout for this event and rewarding to see 3 more runners making their debuts.
The 3rd race in the series, and the final one on this historic course before heading to Bircher Common, will be held on the evening on 4th June. I am heading off to find a bargain chip-timing system to replace this old dinosaur.
Full list of results can be found on the results section of the website
