Quote Originally Posted by ChrisU View Post
There is no significant time difference between the new and old starts at Borrowdale. There is far greater difference caused by weather on the day, and individual route choices later on.

And btw, the Ennerdale record holder is Kenny Stuart, not Billy Bland:
http://www.lakelandclassicstrophy.org.uk/?page_id=11
A bold statement re course times, Chris! Has it been empirically tested? I guess from your statement you have checked and compared the routes - what are the stats? I can't be sure, but did Billy not have the Ennerdale record prior to Kenny, and was Kenny's record only a matter of seconds quicker?

Tim, I agree with you - there should be a way of recognising the different courses per Duddon.

As to Billy's training, he won't be told, but I cannot see how a man could be performing at his best going into a long Lakeland Classic on the back of the heavy racing and training schedules he undertook.

It's always a problem, trying to compare a runner from one era with another more contemporary, and I appreciate that there can be a tendency to credit people with a reputation that can be confined to that era, but Billy's records are still standing at Borrowdale, Wasdale, and Bob Graham 27 years on, and plenty of good runners have had a go at them. I think there are some who were or are capable of taking his crown, but none has yet. Who knows what will happen this year? Not a lot I guess, given the clashing British race in Wales!!