Competitor | Time | Adj. Time | Time Diff. | Score | Bill North |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Peter Lisle | 21:04:14 | 21:04:14 | 00:00:00 | -5 | 10 |
Geoffrey Foster | 21:06:47 | 21:06:47 | 00:02:33 | 4 | 6 |
Graham Phillips | NF | 21:30:00 | 00:25:46 | 28 | 4 |
Alan Simmons | NF | 21:30:00 | 00:25:46 | 28 | 4 |
Bill Pechey | op | - | - | - | 4 |
The weather forecast for this event was very bad with heavy rain expected for the duration. I wondered whether to suggest a postponement but decided against it for fear of being branded a wimp.
I put the aerial up in light rain but, once I had got everything done, the rain really started. I had dug out my 45 year-old over-trousers which I had not used for about 20 years. They had degenerated to the point where they were almost as strong as brown paper and several rips appeared in them during the event; one was very convenient when I needed to go for a pee. The trousers are now in the landfill bin.
Nothing happened except for a couple of walkers going by until Peter appeared on the 8:50 transmission; he ran straight past and I didn't see him again until he got in about a quarter of an hour later. He was followed closely by Geoffrey and Phil. The other two competitors didn't find me but, unknown to me, Graham and David were within a few humdred yards.
The station was located on the banks of the River Pang, between Pangbourne and Tidmarsh. I noticed that the river rose about six inches during the event; it would have had to rise another foot before my feet would have been even wetter. I noticed that there was a large clump of water dropwort quite close to the station. Look it up on Google! Luckily, I don't think any competitors would have come that way.
Bill Pechey