Quote Originally Posted by noel View Post
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.

I'm not sure what a big advantage local knowledge really is. There's been a couple of examples recently of people winning classics at what was I'm sure their first attempt (Carl Bell has done that a couple of times, unless I've got that wrong, and Oli Johnson won Langdale with a map in his hand). I read an old interview with Gavin Bland where he said he didn't train on the routes particularly, but had a look round them before races with his uncle (it was in the FRA mag supplement of articles all done by the chap who passed away recently). Anyone can recce like that, or recce a lot more. And if these times were set in good conditions then it reduces the local knowledge element anyway.

Regarding Billy Bland, suppose it's hard to say, but it doesn't strike me as being unrealistic based on his achievements in the BGR, running and walking. Also, looking at his PBs in that article, they weren't in a different league to those around him.