Karrimor International Mountain Marathon
Late Entry in a Strong Elite Class
Rob Howard / 28.10.2005
John Hunt pulled the impressive shield given to the Elite winners, out of the boot of his car before walking across to registration with his partner Mark Seddon, whose name is on it a record 10 times. They were returning it to the organisers ... but hoping to win it back again by Sunday afternoon.Hunt has recently returned from working in China, where his pre-race diet included duck tongue and “small birds with their heads on� – so whatever he eats at the mid-camp won’t seem too bad. “We’ve put in some good training this year,� he said, “and hope to do well, but there are lots of strong pairs.�
Pressed to name the pairs he’d watch out for he said, “Ifor and Alun Powell will be strong, and so will Andy Trigg and Simon Bourne. James McQueen and Tim Higginbottom could do well and Morgan Donnelly and Steve Birkinshaw won’t give up easily – we can be sure of that!�
“I’m not sure how much we’ll see of them on day one though, as we start last, and most of the others set off much earlier. So it could be a lonely day, and then hopefully a close race on Sunday. Some parts of the course are used a lot for orienteering so maybe the orienteers will have an advantage – I hope Mark will know the area!�
Asked about their kit he said they’d shaved a few grams off here and there to get it lighter than last time, and Seddon added the tiny child’s rucksack he has used for over 10 years was lighter too, as “some bits have fallen off it!�
As they entered the registration building they bumped into another strong pair neither was expecting to see – Andrew Davies and Andy Schofield. The two very strong fell runners had arrived to get the latest of late entries, and will be a threat to any of the leading Elite teams.
Once inside they also chatted to Oli Johnson and Andrew Middleditch, a pairing who lack experience at the Elite level, but could do well. Johnson is an orienteer who has won every other KIMM class, and Middleditch a fell runner who won The Hebridean Challenge adventure race with Team CompassPoint earlier in the year.
They too will hope to be among the leading contenders tomorrow and in with a chance to put their own names on that famous shield. See All Event Posts
