They must have been pretty lost before that to be arriving behind you at a stile! ;-)
I agree to an extent, there may be FVETS going for a category win and fast pass may be appropriate, if you are a senior male stuck back in this queue then you should have trained harder!
Dan Wilkinson - Ilkley Harriers
Poacher turned game-keeper
Mmmh Graham you find this sort of behaviour acceptable ? Or does it just depend who said runner is, personally I think the rules/etiquette should apply to everyone equally.
Is it fell running in general that is turning in to a right moaning and miserable sport, or is it just this forum and the FB page??
If you're missing the Hill Inn cut-off by 5mins or less, the only person you need to take a look at is yourself. Those who queued for 5mins won't necessarily have lost 5mins. How much quicker did you climb Whernside as a result of having a nice rest at the bottom? Do you think it was just queuing that 'lost' you time or was it your ability across boggy ground, up steep climbs, and down wet,snowy descents? People are too quick to lay the blame instead of improving themselves first and foremost. The organisers do an excellent job but can't be expected to account for all last minute alterations by perhaps well-intentioned farmers. And as for adding 5mins to the Hill Inn cut-off, what about those who weren't necessarily held up, but faded across Whernside and then missed the cut off, they'd get an unfair advantage in being allowed through and would only fade badly across Inglebugger
Anyone operating within the spirit of the sport would just put it down to lessons learned and move on.
Blimey now that is taking fell running too seriously! I agree with the cut offs by the way, it's a popular event and it's good to try and ensure that the field is more or less up to the task but, in circumstances like this, it can't hurt to show a bit of flexibility. Yes runners may have benefited from a brief rest at the wall crossing but, especially on a climb like Whernside, if you're struggling it'll be more down to your legs than your lungs and the brief rest is unlikely to speed up your climb and compensate.
What's really ironic is that when runners make the final cut off at hill inn they can actually take it easy, or even walk in. A runner can easily take a breather at that point, theoretically half an hour or so if they want, and amble to the finish. Some other runner 2 minutes outside the cut off can see all these other runners still milling about at the checkpoint. Again the line has to be drawn somewhere but a five minute add on would have been mightily appreciated in the curcumstances
Last edited by Stolly; 04-05-2016 at 11:55 AM.
I was an about 45 mins in front of this issue and wasn't personally affected by it but it still feels selfish and yeah, I'll moan about it because it's bloody arrogant to run past people and push in. The cut off issue is different.