Today the team provided its usual standby rescue cover provision for the gruelling Winter Hill Fell Race, organised excellently as ever by Horwich RMI Harriers and Athletic Club.
Now in its 29th year (the team has attended every event), the course takes in an 11 mile route with 2700 feet of ascent, centred on Winter Hill, starting and finishing at Rivington Hall Barn.
This year, 40x Call Out List members, and Pete Whitney, husband of team member Dr. Clare Whitney, provided cover at each of the nine checkpoints, with ’spot pick up crews’, radio links, start/finish liaison and control and communications (MRT radio network only).
The control board inside the Bolton MRT control trailer – it all makes sense to us!
In addition four members of our Support Group, Iain Clarkson, Julie Thompson, Dr. Clare Whitney, and brand new member of the Support Group (on his first team activity Steve James) provided an endless supply of bacon, sausage butties (with a choice of sauces!), soup and hot drinks to the team from our purpose built Catering Trailer.
211x runners entered today, with the temperatures at the Lower House car park hovering around 6-7 degreeC with the early morning threat of rain turning to torrential downpours thankfull only at the end of the event. Eleven runners retired at various points around the course as conditions started to worsen, and we are pleased to announce that other than a few scrapes, bruises and sore ankles none of the competitors required our services.
The team is happy to provide standby rescue cover for this event (as with other fell running events on our moors) and to support our local fell running community.
Throughout 2010, the team provided standby rescue cover at 18 moorland events, mostly fell races, but also including some large-scale sponsored walks and a large Scout event, with our earliest event in February and our latest in November, assisting such groups as Horwich RMI Harriers & Athletics Club, Darwen Dashers Running Club, Bolton South District Scouts (Pike View Hike), Bolton MBC’s Muddy March Hare event, Horwich Carnival Race Series, 2:09 Events (Rivington Half Marathon) and others.
