———————————–

The Run was held in good conditions and attended by eight devotees. As usual, it was based at the Macc Forest Visitor Centre and included climbs up Shutlingsloe, Charity Lane and Tegg’s Nose. There were two changes this year. Instead of starting at individual handicap times, everyone started 21m30 after I set off, and tried to catch me. The overall results have been calculated from the handicap times and the start times. Also, to avoid the fast traffic on the A537 road to Buxton, we followed a slightly longer and more interesting route to Walker Barn. I have estimated that this extra distance cost me 3m15, but this difference would be less for faster runners. However, the group start meant that most people treated the run as more of a social event, and all times were much slower than previously. In fact, no one caught me, despite my slow time, and I had to wait about 10 minutes for the next runner to appear at the finish. This was Bernard, who was also the fastest on the day. After a cuppa at the end, he announced that he was going to do the run again, in preparation for a long run in the Alps! Most people continued the Run as one group after reaching Shutlingsloe, until near the end, except Craig who moved well ahead. However, he turned the wrong way after climbing down the vertical stile that avoided the A537, and instead finished last, after having to back-track. In the relaxed atmosphere, four people finished together, holding hands.

We would all like to thank Ian Ashcroft for doing the handicapping, using his standard methodology,  Don for providing support at the start, finish and on the summit of the misty Shutlingsloe, and Tony for rewarding us all with a pair of socks. I am now retiring from organising these events, and am pleased to advise that Tony has volunteered to take over next year. We look forward in anticipation to any changes that will involve!

Trevor

WRC SUMMER HANDICAP RUN STATS

1 = First lady

Note: The 2016 Run avoided the A537 by using a longer and interesting route. This should add a maximum of 3m15 to the run time