Irish Row - Black Sails - Great Carrs - Goats Hause - Irish Row

Members: Bob Anderson, Joanne Castick, Virginia Castick, Rob Clark, Sabina Cosulich, Andrew Croughton, Dave Dillon, Joe Flynn, Mark Garrod, Jim Gregson, Sandy Gregson, Graham Harkness, Sue Harkness, Michelle Harvie, Sheena Hendrie, Roger Mapleson, Craig Marsden, Neville McMillan, Al Metelko, Lester Payne, Derek Seddon, Jim Symon, Judith Symon, Chris Thickett, Peter Walker, Frank Williams, Margaret Williams (27)

Guests: Mark Ashley, Kate Sparks (2)

During the week prior to this event, the ground had been saturated with heavy rain showers. But during Friday it improved, giving false hope, with sunshine at the end of the day.

Saturday was back to reality with cloud down to 800 ft. The meet leader hung back from the main group, and set off on his own to suss out the details of an alternative lower-level route for the morrow, in case of bad weather. The group, showing great prescience, decided to stop for half an hour on the Walna Scar track, playing silly games in the mist, until the meet leader turned up, urging them to move on. Al, Dave, and Rob went off to Dow to climb, though with varying degrees of commitment. The rest disappeared into the mist, all trying to second-guess what the meet leader was doing. In the afternoon, the cloud lifted and broke briefly, giving some glorious views. Then it all came back as thick as ever, making return to the hut a navigational task.

Sunday produced cloud at least as low and thick, but with added rain! However, by the time of decision the rain had stopped, there was no wind and it was relatively mild. After consultation with the check-point marshalls, it was agreed that the high-level route was navigationally straightforward, after the first check-point (at least that was the theory), and we were unlikely to lose anyone through hypothermia, so the original route was on.

Everyone who said they would turn up on the Sunday did so, as did Chris and Bob, unexpectedly. Sue, who said she would not participate, obviously liked the look of the weather and decided to join in. And so it came to pass that 16 members and 2 guests set off in four groups, soon to disappear into the mist. Finding the first check-point did not seem to pose any problem for Mark, or Al. But others struggled, particularly Sheena, and independently Virginia, who phoned them up to ask them where they were! (Is this within the rules of the game?)

The second leg should have been quite straightforward, though Roger (and Sabina) seemed to encounter some local difficulty. But it was the leg from Great Carrs to Goats Hause that really separated the men from the boys. And Peter and Derek were definitely among the "men", putting up the seventh fastest time over this stretch, and 8 minutes faster than Graham Harkness. Roger (and Sabina) were 18 minutes slower than Derek on this leg - what were they doing? But the booby prize for this section has to go to our racing postie, Mark Ashley, whose bicycle must have got stuck up a back alley. Mark took ¾ of an hour longer than anyone else, and nearly 1¼ hours longer than the 77 year old Derek. Is it any wonder the post is always late?

And so to the finish, where we were busy watching Michelle bounding down the hillside across the river, and did not notice Mark Garrod hareing back from Levers Water, to get to the finish first. After losing time on earlier stages, Roger, Sabina, and Sheena put in the most competitive finish. Sheena lost, then gave a good impression of being about to die. The most joyous finish was by Derek, finishing on the run, with a big grin on his face, and looking as though he could do it all over again.

The winners were:

• Fastest overall: Mark Garrod 1 hr 46 mins
• Fastest female: Michelle Harvie 2 hr 17 mins
• Fastest on handicap time (Shelagh Manning Trophy): Derek Seddon 1 hr 12 mins
• Fastest first-time competitor (Concordia Trophy): Sabina Cosulich 3 hr 13 mins

The results are in the table below. The times to each checkpoint, and the times on each leg of the course are also given. Thanks to the wonders of computers, these are each listed in order of increasing time, so that everyone can see how they were doing compared against their competitors.

My thanks to the seven check-point marshalls, and to Andrew Croughton, who walked round as sweeper-up (not literally necessary, but a close thing!). Thanks also to Mark and Michelle for organising the food, and producing a vast quantity of soup. Thanks to those who manned the kitchen, particularly to Rob, who very efficiently brought all finishers back to life with hot soup and tea.

My thanks also to Ken Beetham, who made suggestions and comments about the course, and gave me practical advice on how to organise it all, which was a great help. Also to Alan (L) Jones who handed on his handicapping system, without which I would have been lost.

Finally my thanks to all who supported the event in less than ideal conditions, and made it a memorable occasion for me. Encouraged by this support I have agreed to run another such event next year, in Langdale, September 12th/13th. I hope everyone will be there.

Intermediary times:

The club committee strongly believe that the annual Fell Race should be integral part of the club's outdoor meets list, as it helps both to promote that significant aspect of Mountaineering, and brings together a cross-section of club members who would not normally go on a weekend meet together.

Therefore, this year, after last years disappointing attendance due to date changes, etc, etc, the committee are actively promoting the event. Neville has agreed to set a course and help run the event on the day, but the rest of the committee will be encouraging everyone to join in, even if as walkers, or marshals, or whatever, to prove that this aspect of the club is still alive and well.

The Irish Row hut is perfectly situated for the event - indeed we held the 50th anniversary fell race from there, and I'm sure the Old Man (no, not you Ken, although we know you'll be there) is likely to feature in some guise on the course. Saturday is yours to do as you please - train, check the terrain, climb on Dow, drink beer, all are acceptable, especially the last. As for the event, it is designed for everyone, with staggered start times so those who wish to go at a steadier pace can go off early. The (in)famous handicapping system will again be used to determine who wins the prestigious Trophy, the only sure fire outcome being anyone who can run won't win it! Incidentally, rumours that last years handicap winner has been taking steroids are true, but they are the wrong sort - the ones that knacker you muscles (catabolic, for those in the know).

Hut bookings initially to Mark Garrod or Neville McMillan.

Dig out those fell shoes or lightweight boots and get warming up.