Another early start and a small maroon bus picked us up at the Barnes at 9am. There were 20 people on board for the trip to historic Richmond including Stu and his family.Then came the first surprise, the hall occupied by the race HQ was also the venue for a real ale beer festival which opened at noon. Things were looking up!
A few late entries were accepted on the day but the race was a sell out by 10:30.
The race began without a hitch.. and 30 seconds later, so did the drizzle! The rain persisted throughout and kept the runners well cooled for the very hilly, 6 and a bit mile run.
I'm not sure why they didn't keep it at 10k exactly but, because it wasn't, there were no PBs to be had. With our first finisher, Dave Dixon, taking over 41 minutes, the course appears to have been too hilly for PBs anyway. Dave is pictured on the final hill with a couple of hundred yards to go.
During the presentation we all had a pint or 2 of real ale and then moved on to more comfortable surroundings of a few local pubs.
3:30 arrived and we left. Everyone boarded the bus and waited.. and waited.. and waited.. but the bus wouldn't start! After 20 minutes of messing around, and with car expert Angelo regretting that he'd left his tool box in the garage, we decided to postpone the trip home and we all returned to the beer festival for another pint. Good things come to those who wait (where have I heard that before?..must've been a beer ad.)
The bus is shown here in the picture behind Phil as he admires the sidecar motorbikes. He wishes he'd asked for one for his birthday.
The bus was eventually fixed after an adjustable spanner was borrowed from some friendly, nearby carpenters and everyone boarded again for a 5pm departure.
We again made good time and were back at The Barnes before 6pm. Those of us who were stressed out by the ordeals of the day made use of the facilities and stayed for a pint or two before returning home.
Pictures of the day in Richmond can be found in the Strollers Gallery
The times of the Strollers are listed below. The full race results can be found on the Swaledale Road Runners site.
Richmond
1 Dave Dixon 41:26
2 Paul Dunlop 41:40
3 Dave Warnaby 41:49
4 Duncan Emmerson 42:31
5 Derek Dixon 43:09
6 Angelo Jaconelli 43:18
7 Michael Rumi 44:16
8 Phil Watson 44:20
9 Mario Jaconelli 44:45
10 Malcolm Cox 44:48
11 Steve Ramsden 45:02
12 Gavin Spencer 45:32
13 Brian Cassidy 46:39
14 Phil Outram 47:24
15 Lesley Watson 48:03
16 Stuart Eggleston 48:25
17 Victoria Booth 48:28
18 Bob Blair 49:10
19 Julie Pinkerton 51:36
20 Graeme Clazey 51:44
Run backhome