Old County Tops

[Toreador]

1. It is a safety measure; if you cannot make the cut offs it is likely that you would be out for too long (for your own good) and also could be finishing late in the day, which is not something the organisers would want, especially if they have to go looking for someone who is missing.

I understand the cut-offs. It just seemed that the first two were relatively difficult to hit, but the final one (ie finish within 12 hours) was easy once you'd met the others. eg we made Angle Tarm by 20 mins, Cockley Beck by 15 mins, and the finish by 45 mins (would have been well over an hour if I hadn't ground to a complete halt due to cramp/dehydration). You could put the first two back by half an hour, and the majority of those getting to Cockley Beck in time would also finish in time.

But I was forgetting the organisers - obviously they want 100% back before 8, rather than having to go off and search for the missing 1%

[paul4stones]

Those marshals on COM must be there for about 8 hrs I would guess.

[Chips]

Thanks for the comment about cut off times - they are primarily in place to ensure all runners are at Angle Tarn by 15:45 and at the finish by eight. I'm still using the cut off times that were in place when I took over the organisation a couple of years ago, but I will review them based on this year's results. It is a difficult one - a team that is going strong but slow might make it back if allowed to continue after cut off time, but a team that is knackered probably won't.

[Dynamo Dan]

Thanks for the comment about cut off times - they are primarily in place to ensure all runners are at Angle Tarn by 15:45 and at the finish by eight. I'm still using the cut off times that were in place when I took over the organisation a couple of years ago, but I will review them based on this year's results. It is a difficult one - a team that is going strong but slow might make it back if allowed to continue after cut off time, but a team that is knackered probably won't.

It's an interesting one, but totally understandable from the point of view of the RO. I was timed out with my partner at Cockley Beck. We would have been just outside if we would have got a shuffle on, but we realised after getting down from Scafel Pike that the game was up so we just walked/jogged back. The marshals very kindly gave us a lift back.

The frustrating thing was we were pretty fresh (relatively speaking) at Cockley Beck and probably could have made it back within 12 hours. We misjudged our pace at the start, thinking it would be good to start slow and finish strong, but by the time we realised we had gone too slow it was too late to pick it up over the rough terrain of Scafell.

Knowing the cut off times and the terrain we're both confident we'll complete the event next year in good time. While it was frustrating to miss out this year because of our miss judgement rather than our fitness I think the cut off times should remain, it makes the event more challenging!

[DazTheSlug]

you mean Cockley Beck by 15:45
Angle Tarn by 1:30 is a bit odd though, as if you got there at 1:29 you'd have virtually no chance of making CB - but I assume this is for a bit of marshal discretion in cases where pairs running strongly who had been delayed for navigational or other reasons could still be allowed to continue, whereas people plodding along looking a bit shattered already at 1:20 could be "advised" to retire

[Toreador]

A few photos from Saturday
http://climbing.me.uk/OldCountyTops/index.html

[richpips]

I reckon the cut off times are about right. Challenging, sure, but this isn't supposed to be an easy race.

We took it steady to Angle Tarn and had 21 minutes in hand, steady again towards to the bottom of Scafell Pike, before realising if we didn't start really pushing we'd be out at Cockley Beck, arriving with only 12 minutes inside the cut. Not overly tired we finished with just less than an hour to the good, running a fair bit of the last few miles, though passing some teams who were by then just walking

Extend the cutoffs and there is a possibility of fading tired runners finishing in the dark.

[Toreador]

When I raised the subject I wasn't really suggesting a change - how could I on the basis of just one year - I was just curious.
richpips had similar times to us though - relatively close to the wire at Angle Tarn and Cockley Beck, but bags of spare time at the finish. Most of those who arrived at CB at the same time as us will have been similar (all apart from 2 teams overtook us )

[Sasquatch]

Like a few others, we misjudged the time a bit and had to press on for Cockley Beck after coming off Scafell. I think the cut off's times were just right though. Had a fantastic time - thanks to all involved.

[Hobbsy]

Cracking event again, always do this one evey year and it never fails to impress. My partner bailed at Angle tarn, so i carried on and finished it myself. Shame you don't get the t shirt for finishing solo. Made up for that by eating my own body weight in cake at the finish. Many thanks.

Sounds like everyone enjoyed the day, but didn't someone get banned for something similar last year?!