JOHN EDWARDS – A short remembrance
It was with great sadness that I heard of John’s death in March. He was a distinguished “character” in the Dark Peak Fell Runners as evident by the soubriquets he was given, Gentleman John, Squire Read more
This cultured race featured on a tranquil January morning after listening to the Nutcracker suite by Tchaikovsky. Perfect weather for running combined with good conditions under foot led to fast times with the first three home all breaking the course record. The overall winner was Tom Brunt with Jack Foxhall a close 10 sec behind, followed by Tim Rutter. Not sure what Jack was on this year but he beat his previous time by 13 mins! Next to finish were Steve Bell and Dave Taylor in a dead heat, apparently having formed a pact and held hands around the route. More fierce battles obviously occurred over the waste lands of Rud Hill as evidenced by close finishes with Chris Bennett just 1 sec in front of George Yates, and Andy Barnett only 2 sec in front of Ashley Kay.
There were many commendable runs including Penny Collier representing the female fraternity, Keith Holmes enduring a painful pre-operation run and Mike Arundale finishing in a respectable time beating 2hrs. Rob Moore arrived back rather later than expected and from the opposite direction to everyone else, considering it ‘not his finest day’. The RO managed to get to the peanuts but not as far as the chestnuts.
Trophy winners – as decided by the Race Organiser’s good wife:-
| Position | Name | Club | Class | Time | Comment | Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Brunt | Dark Peak | M45 | 01:14:16 | ||
| 2 | Jack Foxall | Dark Peak | M40 | 01:14:26 | ||
| 3 | Tim Rutter | Dark Peak | MSEN | 01:15:11 | ||
| 4 | Steve Bell | Dark Peak | M50 | 01:20:09 | ||
| 4 | David Taylor | Dark Peak | M50 | 01:20:09 | ||
| 6 | Chris Bennett | Dark Peak | MSEN | 01:26:02 | ||
| 7 | George Yates | Dark Peak | M45 | 01:26:03 | ||
| 8 | Jim Paxman | Dark Peak | M60 | 01:27:40 | ||
| 9 | Andy Barnett | Dark Peak | M55 | 01:28:47 | ||
| 10 | Ashley Kay | Dark Peak | M55 | 01:28:49 | ||
| 11 | Richard Needham | Dark Peak | M55 | 01:28:59 | ||
| 12 | Michael Bourne | Dark Peak | M50 | 01:30:08 | ||
| 13 | Eoin Connaughton | Dark Peak | M55 | 01:35:30 | ||
| 14 | Mick Cochrane | Dark Peak | M70 | 01:39:00 | ||
| 15 | Penny Collier | Dark Peak | W50 | 01:42:34 | ||
| 16 | Dave Arundale | Dark Peak | M60 | 01:43:54 | ||
| 17 | Keith Holmes | Dark Peak | M60 | 01:50:04 | ||
| 18 | Michael Arundale | Dark Peak | M65 | 01:59:30 | ||
| 19 | Robert Moore | Dark Peak | M50 | Over 2 hours | ||
| 20 | Ken Jones | Dark Peak | M70 | To the peanuts |