I’ll file a fuller report once I stop looking at my winners medal but until then…
Leg 1; Borrowdale are clearly serious about winning but I manage to keep Mike Fanning at a reaonable distance for most of the leg catching on the flat and downs. Conditions good and clear. At the end of the leg I’m exactly 1 minute down.
Leg 2: Mike and Dave set off hard and with good course knowledge. Mark Roberts and Jim Davies rip through the field to record the fastest time of the day. Mike and Dave pass 13 teams distancing Bowland nad CFR vets to leave it a two horse race. the deficit however is now 6 minutes.
Leg 3: Simon and John can navigate but they needed something to happen. In the end they got it right with almost perfect lines and strong running over the rough stuff. Borrowdales hopes ended in a swirl of rain and clag as their pair (nameless) struggled to find – well anything really. Boyle and Patton emerged from the woods in an unlikely 7th overall turning a 6 minute deficit into a 10 minute advantage.
leg 4: John had checked out the last part of the leg earlier in the day but it was the first part of the course that caused problems for many of the field. Pudsey, Bingley and Mercia met at the top of the hill and made the fatal mistake of thinking control one had been moved or positioned incorrectly- perhaps the mist played with their minds – from the comfort of the HQ their decision seems incomprehensable. all three were DQed. John made no such assumption and just got his compass out, took a safe route through the woods and emerged at the finish with an 8 minute cushion over Simon Booth. The look on his face made me think he still wasn’t sure if he had been “Boothed” in the clag but the race announcer put him straight.
Borrowdale looked dejected and with hindsight can look at team selection as the cause their demise. For Dark Peak vets, a day where everyone did their job, kept chasing and gave the outgoing runner/runners a chance to win. Well done guys. Lets make it Five in Fife 2010!