Untitled - Dark Peak Fell Runners

a new record time o-f 1 1. u 1 . 40. Mar t i n Greaves (posing as an ex membero-f Horsham Blue Star, but in reality a genuine paid up Dark Peaker.)and I were the duo who collected some handsome hardware presented byBurroughs. (No I wasn't pot hunting, honestly.)FrankThomas.RESULTS1= M.Greaves. 11.01.40 4= B.Hamilton. Chelt. 12.35.361= F.Thomas. " T.Judd. "3 D.Walker. Ox.AC 11.41.42 D.Rudman.« » «»•*#»*#* «* • ««»*»*»»**•..»«*****« *«««*#•#**«««*«««*»***»**« »**»*•***DASHING DOWN DOVE DALE WITH DAVID"The river", they said, "is very high and dangerous. Pleasecross by the -footbridge downstream".My IAmu-diate reaction on viewing the Dove in spate was to agreewholeheartedly. A broad stretch of grey swirling water o-f unknowndepth rushed by at thi end of Lin Dale. I sought out David, (agedtwelve, and running -for that other club )."David," I said, "the river is very high and dangerous. You mustcross by the footbridge downstream"."Yes, Mum ", said Dnvid (Those o-f you who are parents willrealise that I nive here an abbreviated version o-f the conversation.)"That's worth a few minutes on him ", I thought, for here wasone of those rare occasions when maternal solicitude also results in adistinct advantage to the mother.We lined up together at the official start at the bottom of thehill. Large numbers of other runners, preferring a downhill startremained further forward, at the top of the hill. Suddenly, the 'hilltoppers' were off, leaving us with a very fierce climb to get intoanything lile contention. The chaos at the start was made worse by thepresence of beleaguered spectators and the odd parked car!After a lung-bursting age I could at last see the narrow LinDale, packed with runners funnelling down to the river. I realisedthat if I got trapped in that procession I would have to make anenormous effort to work my way forward, once the river was crossed. Adesperate situation called for desperate measures. The jam was too bigfor my usual tactics - a dignified, but commanding call of "Ladiesfirst!" (which has been known to gain at least twenty places at acertain notorious bottleneck in the Nottingham marathon)To my left a barbed wire fence separated the masses from thelower slopes of Thorpe Cloud. Only a handful of runners were makingrapid progress to the river by this route. Now, I have crossed severalbarbed wire fences recently, especially during the Karrimor. But thesehave been traversed with much assistance, and colourful verbalinstructions, from Peter. This one, I vaulted, solo, and found myselfhurtling down through the water cress (Rorippa nasturtium - aquaticum)to the river, passing hundreds of opponents sliding about in the mudon the other side of the fence.At the river, the children and faint—hearted turned left towardsthe footbridge, but with '..(ores of others I plunged in. The water cameup to my Lottom, but I waded across with out any difficultly. (Itseems that all those childhood years spent surfing on the North Devoncoast are now enabling me to cope with some of the hazards of crosscountry running) Once on the other side there was a firm road surface24