Quote Originally Posted by MICKEYFINN View Post
Did i hear my ears right or was announced that there were around 100 Non Starters at this years race!!. If this is correct then the culprits should be named and shamed. I totaly understand that injuries occur, familey commitments change ect, but come on please think before you enter a race!
ONCE again, this just adds more weight behind my argument that Championships should a one off race (as they are on the road, xc, and in all the big sports).......there should be no entry limit, and given that its a one off race organisers should be able to acrue the correct number of marshalls etc to make the event run smoothly......like they do every year with the fell relays............if it was pre-entry it would give them a good idea of the numbers they have to cater for.....if they were brave or bold they could go for entry on the day as well.............

To combat the other side of the coin.....have a LONG DISTANCE championship held in April time, and have a SHORT / MEDIUM championship held in August time ..............this will give runners the opportunity to prepare suitably for both if they wish. The short / medium race could be alternated yearly eg- 5 miles short race one year, a 9 mile medium race the next.....and so on.

Furthermore, in terms of the British FELL CHAMPIONSHIPS.......hold one of the 2 championship races in England every year, and the other alternating yearly between SCOTLAND, NORTHERN IRELAND and WALES..........
As its a one-off championship races, numbers from the celtic countries SHOULD be up (most people would be prepared to travel for a 1 off race), and likewise ENGLISH runners should be prepared to travel to the celtic countries for a 1 off championship race......

You could potentially do something similar with the relays though its perhaps less practical......to further boost numbers however, you could have a TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP decided on points accrued from both the LONG DISTANCE championship in April and the SHORT / MEDIUM championship in August.......

Those who favour the current format ie- 6 races with 4 to count, could retain that in the form of a FELLRUNNER OF THE YEAR award......working on a grand prix system..............


DAMN, I TALK SENSE.....SOMEONE STICK ME ON A COMMITTEE AND GIVE ME SOME POWER