We had a great day on Saturday 15th September and this short report will tell you all how it went. Finance first. As you will know, all in all, we managed to raise £8,129 for the RBL for this event. The total amount raised by the competition was in the region of £35,000 which was a magnificent effort by everybody concerned. We raised the most, thus that huge wooden trophy in The Coaching Inn stays with us for another year. So, well done everybody who helped out.
Now the competition. The weather this time was perfect and the first team to go left at 04:30 hours, the others setting off at 5 minute intervals behind them. Our lads started eleventh (05:20 hours) and really got stuck in. So much so that at Checkpoint 2 they had overtaken everybody and were out in front with a clear field in front of them. Home and dry, one might have thought but…no way!
Suddenly another team appeared on their shoulder and a seriously tough and punishing race began. The two teams were neck and neck all the way to where they waded across the River Barle at Sherdon Hutch and beyond – in fact until they were approaching the last checkpoint but one. This was a devil of a climb (over 700 ft from the river to the top) and I knew that one or other of them would crack here.
That remorseless climb, after twenty-five miles completed, was unforgiving and it was our rivals who broke, leaving our lads to race home, beating them in by almost half an hour. They crossed the finishing line triumphant but absolutely whacked in a record time of 7 hours 42 minutes (1 hour 13 minutes faster than last year’s winning time).
It was a truly magnificent effort, something of which we can all be proud.