Originally Posted by Marco
I have very few photos of Cannock Chase, but here is one I took in April at the very North end, (just under 9km by road from J13 of the M6)
Hopefully, it will illustrate the more attractive spacing of trees, compared to previous decades, and also on the right the very many steep inclines that only descend around 10 metres.
Thank you. Although even 10 metres of climb can count if there are enough of them.
Some years ago my then club aspired to list a race on clear paths through a local wood in the FRA Calendar as a short "C" ("fully marked"). I think the RO must have counted every divot to get the minimum height for inclusion in the Calendar.
The race was held but a young boy whose mother assumed that he was following her reached the finish funnel alone and started hysterically berating the funnel marshal (me) and the RO because her son was lost and therefore fire, police, ambulance, mountain rescue and Air Force 1 * should be instantly summoned to save her child (* I remember well that she was a North American lady).
Fortunately for the emergency services the RO and I resisted instantly calling out the helicopters and her husband arrived shortly at the other end of the finish tunnel accompanied by, of course, the "missing" son.
After extensive therapy the RO decided that the experience was too searing to risk any repeat and the race (with my approval) was never held again.
But after that stimulating experience marshalling/collecting all vest numbers for other events like the first CP on Sedbergh Hills was - well, just a walk in the woods.
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