I am not afraid of the word woman, I know you are all woman and you are certainly woman enough for me.:)
I don't watch much TV but spend my time reading improving books!
Although they don't seem very effective.:D
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You get a like! I fully agree with your point, having spent 34 years being reeducated by my partner. Still it's better than girls!
Write to Charmain.
Just got round to reading the interview with Hannah Horsburgh in the latest fellrunner. I was amused by the question of whether her middle name is Hyacinth - quality journalism. :)
Also refreshing to see her unapologetic stance on drinking. For those who've not read it - she doesn't.
But what about those men who who would have made the top 10 were it not for the females being included in the open category. For once I agree with Graham just have Male and Female.
As someone who occasionally makes the top 10 in local races, I can say this doesn't bother me at all. It's harder for women to beat men, so they deserve all the credit they get. If I don't make the top ten in a race and a woman does, so be it - well done her.
For me it's a bit like the situation with vet categories. I'd never look at the results and want to discount people older than me.
I think it boils down to analysis and statistics, you'd never have known Hannah Horsburgh did so well in the British Champs HB21 if you hadn't seen the open results, you'd need that to see she beat all the Keswick lot barring one. You could compare times, but the tabular setup of open is easier. I'd like to see more categories, that way i might look better on paper than i actually am.
I propose an category suffix for ex-smokers, so MV40S, WSenS. You have to pass a test to get into the category with questions such as...
How many ciggies in a pack of 'Royals'?
True or false, 'Embassy' fags may have a red stripe on the pack?
The main colour on a pack of 10 Lambert and Butler might be silver or...?
So that's your theory test out of the way; next your practical, where you have to roll a tab using Old Holborn tobacco complete with filter, and take two drags without bumsucking the filter.
All tests easily failed by a fell runner with a lifetime of clean living behind him such as Rob Jebb.
I was disappointed to learn in a recent fellrunner that Martin Hyman had died. I met Martin several times when supporting the trial races in the lakes, here's a particular favourite.
Mark Johnston introduces us at the registration tent in patterdale, and says that I will be holding a gate below the zig zags on Whiteside. The runners will be crossing the beck on a wooden bridge and don't want to held up by the countryside code. Martin has a big smile on his face, which never went away, and seems so very friendly. He offers me a lift up in his car and assures me he will place me in the correct position. Five of us pile into Martin's Peugeot 405 and head on up the mine track; he seems far more interested in getting talking to us than driving. What happened next at the mine buildings was absolutely brilliant. Martin announces that the last climb up the gravel track is a bit steep and slippy and that the less weight in the car the better. I disagreed, but said nothing. He negotiates the climb at about 6500rpm, riding the clutch all the way, and I can smell it. Gravel is flying everywhere as he wheelspins it over the summit and parks up. I have huge amounts of mechanical sympathy, and I really felt for his friction plate. He gets out of the car and announces that he has to hold the clip board so that he seems to be the most important, I laughed my arse off. Martin gets us all positioned and all the tapes run out, and it goes very smoothly. I'll always remember Martin as a classic fell running character, and his warm smile said it all.
Perusing the latest Rouleur - this is the £10/copy cycling magazine that The Fellrunner aspires to emulate for fell running - I noticed an article on Belgian Trappist beers such as Trappistes Rochefort 10 at 11.3% - so beer you don't get in Wetherspoons for 0.99p a pint. Well I like a couple of Leffe myself although even at only 6.6% two or three of those and I am anybody's.
But, you may ask, what is the link between a cycling porn magazine and beer? Well the Belgian spring cobbled classics of course! Keep up!
Anyway it did make me wonder ifThe Fellrunner is a bit too focused on...well, fellrunning?
The same issue of Rouleur also has an article with the title Do You Remember The First Time? So you can sense what I am saying about broadening the focus?
Now of course there are some fell races with cobbles but it's not quite Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) now is it?
So all I wish to do is to encourage any aspiring writer contemplating yet another article on fell racing on Pendle to just broaden their thinking a little. Perhaps Petrus and Pendle? Surely someone can make a connection?
The Spring 2023 Fellrunner will be going to print this coming weekend so if you have moved house in the last few months, please ensure your address is correct in SiEntries.
It's arrived. Nice to see "The FRA Forum fights back" (pp. 102-106.
There's also an article about Matthew Atkinson, titled "The Racing Mathematician". I would quibble with one word of that title: "The", which implies that there is only one. Fell racing mathematicians go back at least to Professor John Marstrand of Bristol University, who I believe was the first ever British M50 Fell Running Champion.
Indeed Anthony and obviously this was noticed by the person who critiqued the piece but after lengthy consideration he concluded that there was a clearly implied sub-heading of "as far as the future of the LCT is concerned" which would have been too prolix to include - so he let the solecism pass. :)
RIP Nellie, met her many times, a lovely dog.
Nice initiative about the forum. Lets hope in this 'post social media' age, folks return to a tried and trusted resource. Lets also hope that we don't get into Always Injured/Brexit type spirals that spread negativity across the whole resource. Thumbs up and press on.
Oh, and I thought the interview with young Charlie was charming and inspiring. I shall watch his progress with interest.
Nice to see Rabelais making an appearance, he hasn't been in for ages.
Buckden: Blow-by-Blow. Great article by Finlay and Dan. Its the closest I will ever get to experiencing the competition at the business end of a race. :cool:
Yeah really enjoyed that one, would be keen to see more of that style of article
Yes its a good magazine this edition.
There's been a fair bit of discussion re "what is fellracing all about" on facebook etc recently, particuarly in relation to the much discussed "gender issues" which get a brief mention in the mag.... and i for one am enjoying the general trend towards racing rather than "completing" that is seeming to prevail through the magazine... (most likely due to the mass re-introduction of racing since covid)
Just about caught my stomach when I opened the envelope to see the Borrowdale Basking Shark gurning out at me ;)
They both talk about the mind making a case for laying off and dropping in behind the other guy. This is why i like speed endurance training so much, you just get used to it and after a while it's like some noise in the background.
My write up is in there, thanks to Tory for adding the map image last thing. I look very old in the picture, but i'm obviously carrying full kit.
Some flagrant wall climbing going on. Hope VAR have a good look at that one...