Wray Caton

[Graham Breeze]

A bit off thread but...a tad of an over exaggeration by Mr Breeze, and the course has changed over the years. I suspect the modern course record was set by a guy on top form in ideal ground and weather conditions. If the grounds hard and dry, I doubt the modern course would run much different from the day of Andys record. 2 of those were correct on Saturday, and if Tom went the right way off Wernside, the 3rd may have been correct. It would certainly have been very close.

More or less.

The arduosity of the course has changed over the years and the current sanitised version is now longer.

Fell races are about winning. Most fell racers want to win. Records are insignificant statistical quirks.

Andy Peace in Fellrunner June 1996 explains how he came to break the record. He had won in 1994 and 1995 and decided to go for the record and risk a "blow up". On 2.46 he beat Mark Roberts by 8 minutes. Mark won himself in 1998 - but in 3.03. Back then Andy was in a class of his own. He didn't even enter for the next 7 years and then came back in 2004 to win again and beat a lot of other PPP winners - Holmes, Booth, Roberts - in doing so. (See Fellrunner June 2004)

It has been suggested, and I could not demur, that the greatness of Andy Peace has never been fully recognised.

So in 1996: a truly great runner, good conditions, a runner with two wins behind him and supremely confident, a shorter fell terrain course, and the outright desire to break the record or bust. And he knew the right route.

It hasn't happened since.

[Fell up fell down]

They just keep getting better Darren!