Loxley Lunge

Loxley Lunge on Sat 11th Jul 2015

We had an exceptionally good attendance for the pre-race meeting of the Pruning Committee, with no fewer than four pairs of secateurs clipping away at the brambles and undergrowth. This meant the course was unusually visible, as well as being extremely dry – what a bookie would describe as "fast going".
Course virgin John Bottomley took advantage of the conditions to motor home in a winning time of 23:54, which is impressive given that he had little idea of where he was going. He wore a beaming smile afterwards, and declared his first Dark Peak race "brilliant", which augurs well for his future as yet another club eccentric. The seasoned regulars took great delight in reports of minor diversions from the other first-time runners, Tim Rutter, Paul Walwyn, Karl Marshall and Austin Frost. They took less delight in the fast times posted by the novices, who all breezed home in well under 30 minutes.
The usual beer and barbecue afterwards. Chatting over burgers, we realised the course record is not really a record, in the sense that the Race Organiser has neglected to record it. The "record" holder Tim Tett reckons his fastest time was somewhere between 21 and 22 minutes, so we'll split the difference and call it 21:30. There'll be a prestigious prize on offer for anyone who can beat this next year, plus a promise to write down and remember the new record time.

Dave Holmes