Club Championships (Hayfield)

Club Championships (Hayfield) on Sat 8th Nov 1997

Now firmly established in its chasing start format, this year\'s club championships centred on Dark Peak\'s \"other\", some might say \"original\", home of Hayfield. Pete Dyke had devised another excellent course. The route choices were, perhaps, more subtle than in previous years. However, when combined with a biting Westerly, rain, swollen rivers and a cloud base of around 1500\' it was more than enough of a challenge. Eleven of the sixty five starters would certainly agree. They comprised one of the highest retiral rates in the championship\'s history. If you thought running was hard, spare a thought for the marshals. At the third checkpoint, Kinderlow cairn, Howard Swindells and Hugh Mathieson (I think I could hardly see them!) were wrapped up in full waterproofs and bivvy bags as they peered into the gloom.

My big surprise of the day was what appeared to be an extremely generous handicap. Even Pete Dyke was having second thoughts about it but he needn\'t have worried. He had reckoned I wouldn\'t last the distance and he was right! I passed the 38 in front by the second checkpoint making the most of a tail wind and some fast ground but a thorough soaking as I waded the river plus general lack of stamina slowed me to a crawl on the climb back up Kinder. Meanwhile Gavin Williams was running an excellent race. Despite starting 17 minutes behind me he slipped past in the mist and was in front by the Downfall. His superb run for fourdth overall was the day\'s star run and well deserving of the handicap trophy.

In the race for overall victory Neil Conway held off Mark Hayman for the title with last year\'s winner, Richard Wren, back in sixth. Phil Crowson got his navigation right to take third only just in front of the storming Gavin. Only one veteran, Mike Wynne, made it into the top ten; a sign of the times? In the race for the women\'s title Jo Smith was many people\'s favourite but a full immersion in Ashop River left her struggling to get warm and she retired. In the end only four women finished and Jan Cave took the honours as first woman and first female veteran.

And finally, the last finisher, well over double the winner\'s age in less than double his time was club president Erie Mitchell. How he manages to explain away the club champs as \"non competitive\" (since he retired from competitive running last year) we will have to see. It was great to see Eric on the fells or, more precisely, at the start and the finish few people saw anyone else in the clag on the fells themselves.

So trophies were won and lost but what got lost the most was John Myers. Many felt that at the evening\'s dinner he should have broken with tradition by awarding the Pertex Trophy to himself. He would have deserved it. Sadly for John his club championships bid fell at the first hurdle but not for the want of trying. He approached Mermaids Pool, the first checkpoint, from every conceivable angle (yes, even from the top of Kinder) but only arrived there after the marshals had packed their bags and shivered their way home. Indeed many had completed the course by the time John returned from his out and-back.

M. P.