Karrimor International Mountain Marathon
Seddon Wins His 10th Title
Rob Howard / 31.10.2004
As Mark Seddon ran down towards the finish line he raised his arms aloft to celebrate winning his 10th Elite title, before shaking hands with partner John Hunt. To win the KIMM Elite title is an incredible achievement, and for both runners it was a special win. It was Hunt’s first success and after 3 years of trying Seddon had claimed his tenth win, but only after an epic race against defending champions Steve Birkinshaw and Morgan Donnelly. They were going for their 3rd successive win, and the two pairs had been evenly matched all weekend, until crucial navigation errors towards the end of the course decided the race.Seddon and Hunt had set off through the farmyard mud in the half-light of a misty dawn just 17 seconds behind the leaders, but Donnelly and Birkinshaw were in no mood to be caught. They pushed hard from the start and it wasn’t until the 6th checkpoint, and after 2 hours 30 minutes of running that they were caught. “We’d been a minute or two apart all the way�, Seddon said, “but they made a small mistake approaching that checkpoint and we caught them. The pace definitely dropped once we were together.�
The attempt by the leaders to break away had failed and the race now entered a new phase with both pairs running close together and naturally watching each other’s navigation. There was little let up in the pace though. “They didn’t give it up easily,� Hunt said, “every time anyone slackened at all the pace was picked up and I though, here we go again! We had the lead 3 times in the race, but it was the third time that counted.�
The teams had been running in bright sunshine for some of the time, but the heavy banks of cloud never lifted on the hills close to the finish, and this was where the Planner, Andy Creber, had set his most technical checkpoints. They were set in an area of small lakes and crags and achieved exactly what he’d intended, to give all the teams on the ‘straight line’ courses a decisive final test.
Tired and under pressure the two leading elite teams contoured towards the 12th checkpoint. “I thought we were losing some height and too low,� commented Seddon, “but we followed them for a while before I decided to take another line.� He was right and subsequently found the control, but Birkinshaw admitted he was lost when they compared notes at the finish. “I had no idea where we were and then we saw you near there, and followed you downhill for a couple of minutes before realizing you’d already been to the checkpoint, so we had to go back. I’d totally lost my confidence then.�
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