I wasn't in to fell running when Billy Bland was racing. The records suggest that if Billy were still racing at his pomp and entered a lakes classic race that was also a champs race now, he would win it by 10-15 minutes from the current 'winner'. Is this realistic, or were these records set in very good conditions. I know he was good, but was he really that much better than eg, Rob Jebb?

When he set these records, was he winning these races by 15 minutes?

I also think local knowledge helps a lot in Lakes races. So this analysis probably places Colin Donnelly and the other non-Lakes runners lower than they should be if it were a pure indication of ability.