I've just seen an announcement (on Facebook) that Pete Bland died of Covid last Saturday. https://www.facebook.com/peteblandsports/
I didn't know him well, but I bought shoes and other fell running kit from him when he was running the shop. I maybe chatted to him at one or two races, but my clearest memory of him was on the one occasion that I ran the Jura race. I caught him on the final road section; he was obviously suffering, and I offered him some of my spare food, which he refused; I think he probably had cramp, rather than running out of fuel.
Also in the same year (1983), before the start of the Kentmere race (held around Easter in those days), with the rain hammering down in the valley, he was repeatedly making announcements that conditions were far worse on the tops. Not everyone took notice. Out of 375 starters, 187 finished in the blizzard.
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