Tom Hollins takes the lead for the final straight
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Tom Hollins takes the lead for the final straight
Somewhat surprised that the other 2 stopped at Bellingham until Tom caught them up.
What is the situation with Tom being down as a "supported" runner...? Does he still claim the first prize (assuming all goes well in the final few miles)... The way the Facebook feed is talking, it doesn't appear to be of any consequence...
This is just out of interest. It doesn't in my view make any difference to the magnitude of his achievement...
Think that is the case Pete. Here's the only (brief) mention of being supported during the event (from the race documentation/rules).......
13. You are allowed a support team if you choose. Support teams should not access the course
but use the many road crossings on the route. They are able to move your drop bag for you.
Your support team can offer resupply, medical support and assist other athletes at their
discretion. You can use your support vehicle to sleep in, if you wish.
14. Athletes with a support team will be classed as ‘Supported’.
An amazing performance/victory for Tom. Mind blowing how he tracked down the lead two from being so far behind and then pulled away from them. Lovely video on Spine FB of him coming into the finish hall, sitting down and then falling asleep within the space of 5 seconds.
Big shout out for Carol Morgan's amazing dominance of the event. Also, well done everyone else. Mightily impressive.
Undoubtedly a fantastic achievement for Tom (and all the other finishers/near completers too), but I do wonder about the logic of having rules which allow for outside "support". Fair better to have a 'level playing field', like for Mountain Marathons? I wouldn't want these events to become like some cycle racing events with substantial back-up teams, sophisticated real-time coaching etc. Keeping it as simple and as unadorned as possible seems fairer somehow.
Maybe the level playing field is that everyone is allowed support, but some chose not to take it, making it harder? ;)
I can imagine that whilst having a van at every road crossing has many perks, the temptation to just crawl inside and curl up for a few hours is strong - maybe in that respect just having the CPs could be considered an advantage?
Yeah, fair point. In fact, thinking about it, not carrying what are usually considered sufficient provisions, foods and energy stuff, etc. is a distinct advantage too, as it leads to runners being so ravenously hungry that they'll be more motivated to reach the end of the race even quicker for that longed for bite of snap - tsk! ;)