Hi
I was at the Scafell Hotel bar on Saturday evening contemplating the Borrowdale fell race winners plaque and having tea ready for a wet night in the tent and a run up to Scafell at 5 in the morning when a family came in to look at the plaque.
It turned out to be Dave Halstead, the first winner of Borrowdale in 1974. It is the first time he has ever returned to Borrowdale since that first race and his family had brought him to see his name on the plaque.
I had a bit of a chat with him about the race which I have done a couple of times and how hard I had found it and how nice it was to meet a bit of the races living history. Dave ran for Blackburn AC at the time and did intend to return to do the race again but had a bad injury on his ankle just after which eventually knocked him out of fellrunning. And of course for years later Billy Bland then stamped his mark on the race.
Anyway it was lovely to meet him and he obviously had very fond memories of the race. It would be great if the mag managed to get an interview with him at some point.
