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...and went on to finish Sunday's Blackpool Marathon.

But this was no ordinary fall, this was an M&S fall. (M&S = mutilation and scarring)

 Yes, with less than 10k to go, YJ took one of his signature falls and was soon surrounded by sympathetic bystanders. The paramedic estate car was summoned and he was assessed to decide his fitness to continue. Despite a gash to his forehead, which he was told "will need a stitch" and on the proviso that after finishing he went straight to A&E, he was indeed allowed to continue.

He subsequently did finish, after losing 15 minutes for this roadside assistance. He was a little further down the field than he had hoped, placing 419th out of 493 finishers, in a time of 5:10. He was the oldest finisher.

The race was 'won' in a time of 2:44 by wheelchair athlete Steve Hughes with the first conventionally powered runner, Ugis Datavs of Wesham second in a time of 2:48. First lady was Sally Wallace in a time of 3:18.

Ugis Datavs - yes, that's his real name.

YJ subsequently reported back to his nearest and dearest and then to A&E at Preston Royal, where his head wound was mended, not with vinegar and brown paper, but with the modern equivalent - superglue, and his pinkie was splinted using his index finger.

The following day, Monday 29th April, he reports that he is feeling a little bit sore, but nothing that a few days rest (you must be joking) can't put right.

Well done, John, your exploits compare well with those of Hayley Carruthers.

Pike performance

Yes, well done Matt on your Over 80 achievement at Rivington on
Saturday. You put many younger runners in their place.

Congratulations are also due to EtU who was rewarded for his 40 appearances at the Pike race with a special presentation.

World Beater

You'll be pleased to hear that our very own Ray (Mat Sticklegs) Stafford set a new Horwich and all comers Vet 80 record of 36:28 at Saturday's Pike race, obliterating the previous record by 3 minutes.

As an 'all comers' record on a unique course, this is therefore a world record. Well done that man!

The Seventh Pass - Saturday 11th May '19

Actually, it's the sixth and seventh passes, but I thought this was a punchier title.

During our two attempts at the seven we never descended into Ennerdale, so we have just Black Sail and the Loft Beck Crossing outstanding.  You can refer to earlier posts dated 27th June '16 and 26th June '18 to see just what we did do. YJ has devised the following to complete the job:-

The planned route starts at the southern end of Borrowdale; we'll need to settle on a suitable place to park and meet.

Then we climb to Sty Head and descend into Wasdale on the path adjacent to Lingmell Beck, thereby avoiding the more rocky tourist route below Great Gable and Kirk Fell.

From Wasdale Head we go up Mosedale and then using Black Sail we pass over into Ennerdale, descending close to the Black Sail hut.

Then it's up to the Loft Beck crossing, down to Honister and then down the drovers' route to the north of the motor road, and thereby back into Borrowdale. It's about twelve miles, so not a lot of distance, but a fair bit of climbing and, given reasonable visibility, we should see a decent amount of country.

As it stands, we have three takers, one more would make a car load, but the more the merrier!