www.puddingrace.org.uk

Despite a good spell of dry weather in the weeks before the run, and on the day itself, many runners on the Senior (10.5 km) run would have been surprised to find the conditions underfoot very wet and heavy going following heavy rain the previous day.  As a result we weren’t expecting ant records to be set – and they weren’t.  The winning times were, however very respectable and there was another excellent turn-out.  Although slightly down on last year’s record numbers, we had 189 in the Senior run (red course) and 77 in the Junior/Fun run (blue course). 

On the red course the winner was Phil Winskill of Dark Peak Fell Runners in a time of 40.39, nearly one minute ahead of Carl Egdell of Hallam and Dan Yates of Matlock AC.  Winskill’s club mate and last year’s winner, Kev Lilley came in fourth and was the first over 40 veteran man.  Phil Winskill also won the “Top of the Hill” prize and the fastest team prize with his DPFR colleagues.

The first local man was James Bacon, in a time of 45.52.  He also shared the first local team prize with Graham Jones and Rodney Billinge.

In the ladies race Cecelia Greasley of Cheshire Hillracers was the first home in a time of 48.02.  Cecelia was also the first vet lady. Kathy Towers came in second and Mary Mills third. Unfortunately and surprisingly we did not have a local lady in the Senior Run this year (defined as from the parishes of Bakewell, Ashford, Over Haddon and Hassop).  I know lots of local women are active runners and many have done the Pudding Race in the past so I hope this is only a temporary absence

On the blue course we had a very varied entry with several adults running alongside intermediate and junior children, including Imogen Bailey at only 5 years of age.  She ran with her father (and beat him!) in an excellent time of 42.24.  The overall winner was Josh Green, a junior, who beat off a very determined challenge on the finishing straight from Sam Green, with times of 19.54 and 19.56 respectively.  The first girl, Rachel Robinson (also a junior), came in third, in a time of 20.37, followed by Jack Salt and Fiona Gilbert.  The first senior home was Sarah Nicholson, formerly of Bakewell but now with Buxton AC.

Overall the day seemed to be a success, with excellent weather again and a good turn out helping us to raise a lot of money for local causes.  If it felt a bit hectic at times it was because we missed the steady hand of David Gray who has organised the run for the last 7 years.  David’s meticulous organization made it look so easy in the past so we had a few nervous moments on the day (he was just finishing a 60 mile walk across the Peak District – rather you than me David!).  My fellow organizer, Joe Oldfield, and I would like to thank all those people who helped on the day, especially Jenny Gray, Alison Sizer and Annie Birds, who coped with the rush of registration and finishing superbly. Thanks also to members of the Carnival Committee, especially David Surplice and Dave Rawson.

A big thanks to Pinelog of Bakewell for sponsoring the event, allowing us to give prize money to various winners, and to the Bakewell Pudding Parlour for once again generously donating 300 Bakewell Tarts (Not the usual puddings on this occasion, but they were still delicious!) .

I hope that you agree that it is a wonderful and varied run, on both the red and blue courses.  The mix of terrain and the wonderful views make it a very special run. We are, however, considering a slight change to the route to avoid the final run in being along the agricultural centre road and through the busy crowds (we inevitably have car boot sale on the showground to contend with!).  The variation would take runners from the Showground, through a shallow part of the River Wye, into the corner of the Recreation Ground.  WE would provide a rope for safety and make sure it is properly marshaled.  Any thoughts you have on this would be very welcome. If there is any other aspect of either race or the event as a whole that you think we need to look at then please let us know by using the "contact us" link on our website.

John Scott

On behalf of the Race Organisers