Ha ha. Results don't always tell the whole story.
I once beat Yiannis Tridimas to First V65 at Thievely Pike and when I expressed my astonishment Yiannis - a lovely man - said I had beaten him well and fairly etc. But eventually he admitted that he had only arrived back in England the day before after his long summer stay at his house in Greece.
"...as dry as the Atacama desert".
The list of people finishing behind me at the 1981 Kentmere race includes K Shand, J Norman, M Short, P Walkington, R Pilbeam, C Donnelly and H Jarrett. I was one of the spoilsports who ignored the opportunity that the clag gave to go on a tour of Harter Fell and the Mardale Waters. Steve Chilton refers to this race in his book about John Wild and Kenny Stuart; John Wild was another one who, due to his inexperience on the fells at that time, didn't realise that you were supposed to go exploring when the cloud was down, and he finished 4 minutes clear of the next runner.
In his lifetime he suffered from unreality, as do so many Englishmen.
Jorge Luis Borges
I once beat Bashir Hussain to the first corner of the Good Friday Southport 4 mile race.
Richard Taylor
"William Tell could take an apple off your head. Taylor could take out a processed pea."
Sid Waddell
It is a good race. All the "pathless, steep and technical looking descents" are just that. Plenty of thistles too. There is a couple of hundred yards of tarmac after the first descent, to get to the stepping stones. After the final descent a path beside the river which looks on the map as it is nice and friendly is far from it. Although flat, very eroded and strewn with slippery limestone rocks. In fact I found it easier to run in the river in a couple of places as the water is/was crystal clear.
See you next year!
Visibility good except in Hill Fog
Does anyone, maybe LB, know if you can enter the Litton Xmas Cracker without entering the limestone series?
Luke Appleyard (Wharfedale)- quick on the dissent