It's a good route the short race, pretty tough, has darren fishwicks name all over it, but he was nowhere to be seen. I ended up in a bunch with a Tod guy who obviously knew the trods, the field split early and my main rival went the other way. Visibility was poor and people kept on popping up all over the place. The start of the long descent into Luddenden Dale was awful, a tiresome yomp down a very rough bilberry banking, it got faster and i wasn't struggling to keep up. I slowed on the climb out to remove my cag and basically lost touch with the group. The section up to rocking stone had runners scattered everywhere and i was on my own, periodically i caught a glimse of the group in the distance and i was unsure of when to check my course left to the CP. I came across a flat area and identified it by name on the map, i used it to good effect and had caught up by the time we all dibbed. Very rough drop into the estate. I picked the pace up dramatically on the half mile to the dam and dusted who i thought was the first vet; flat speed paying off again. Got overtaken by a lad on the way out, but hung onto him until the finish.

A good pint of knowle spring in the boozer afterwards, turns out i was first vet and won the V40 prize. The goats in the field nearly ate bill's results sheet so we very nearly got nothing.