Report Today's race as Glen McWilliams with impeccable timing waited for the sun to take cover , the temperature to get down to 1 degree and rain to drum off the windows before dropping the start flag on this race. (Glen promptly ran for cover ....inside the Wooler Centre - making it clear that the finish line was indoors . And probably the only fell race with an indoor finish).
Departing into a battery of rain for the next 4 miles driven in on the North wind ,with water sluicing down the farm tracks and a sticky skitey jog up and over the hill . The joys of a January race. With all these advantages, Alex Brown of Morpeth managed to break the course record by 2 mins (and like everyone else) he probably did not break sweat .Ellie Fellows winning the ladies race. . It was a cagoule day for almost all runners . One exception being previous Chey winner , Bruce Crombie , who opted for a Glasgow Rangers football shirt to provide enough weather resistance . Bruce (now of Cheviot Trail Runners )was 5th overall . Last year he had V on his tail as Vaughan probably short sightedly mistook Bruce's AFC shirt for one of our own and 'had to chase him down. This time he was spared the distraction.
The other 40 of us (including V and I) eventually splashed our way back to enjoy the soup from Sharon McWilliams ( vegan option) , bread (non sourdough) and chocolate mints . Apart from that not much happened today except to say I took up a needle and thread to make after race repairs to my race shorts' elastic that failed with potentially serious consequences on the descent . No one admitted to finishing with dry underwear today. I wait to see whether the same repairs can be done on V's misfiring knee.
Other notables today were ex Poly runners Michelle Thompson running in Team Kenya colours for J & H AC and Dave Gilmore ( NEVAC) as well as a smattering of NFR runners .
With huge thanks to Glen and the team for putting this event on - on a day when many events got cancelled for 'inclement weather ' . Also to the marshals who had to stand out while we all chugged past.
Graham Hare of Northern Fell runners (one of the marshals ) also somehow got a video at his post.
Check out their websites as they now have a big video library of all kinds of Cheviot based races. :
