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Devils Burden Relay, 23 January
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Jan 24, 2010
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The day dawned overcast and cool, but the tops were clear and only a few spots of rain dampened the day. Conditions under foot were still tricky in places as the last of the compacted ice on some well used tracks lingered and a massive snow bank on the lower approach to Bishop Hill provided interest! Nothing however compared with a fortnight earlier, when 3 foot deep drifts seemed almost certain to cause cancellation.
This year the event proved more popular than ever with around 120 teams competing. A novelty was an early start for teams setting a more leisurely pace, sometimes making it confusing working out who was actually leading as the later starting teams overtook them!
An early lead was established by favourites Shettleston, with the pairing of Henry Blake and Oleg Chepelin finishing strongly on Leg 1, ahead of Edinburgh University (who were running unofficially as they only had one runner on legs 1 and 3), Ochil and Bellahouston.
Positions were reversed in the tricky conditions on Leg 2, with Edinburgh Uni’s Hector Haines overhauling Ian Butler just before the checkpoint. Shettleston remained officially in the lead, though now a mere 15 seconds ahead of Bellahouston. A little further back, Robbie Simpson posted the fastest tim of the day (24.35) on this leg.
Leg 3, as often happens, proved to be decisive, with Shettleston’s Tom Owens and Jethro Lennox having a great leg to pull their team clear and allow teammate Casey Morgan an untroubled run on the final stage. Meanwhile Bellahouston were now officially second, ahead of Ochil and Cosmics. And so it was that Shettleston maintained their early pace, opening up a six minute lead to finish in 2.26.04 (17 seconds faster than their 2009 time, though for a slightly shorter course). Bellahouston hung on to second, but saw their advantage cut from over 3 minutes to just 13 seconds at the finish, with Ochil's Ross Houston recording easily the fastest final leg in 23.51. The first Vet 40 team of Carnethy were 4th overall (just beating Cosmics in a sprint finish), whilst Ochils were first over 50 team. In the ladies, Ochils set a steady pace to take a well deserved victory (and 36th place overall), ahead of Bellahouston. Host club Fife AC were the first mixed team to finish (21st overall) as well as first female Over 40 team (66th overall).
The buzz in the village hall after the event testified to the great time had by all, with gallons of delicious soup and tea flowing freely. The raffle again proved popular with an amazing array of cakes baked by Fife club members tempting the punters. Very many thanks to Fife AC, Adrian Davis and all others who helped to make the day so enjoyable.
Results (note - teams are actually 1 position higher than stated as Edinburgh Uni were disqualified) |
Photos
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