Lesley Pymm reports: It was a return to Tittesworth Reservoir to the lovely Cracker – a race I had not run for some time as I had been away for the last few years. I was a little anxious as I had not run the distance since Wasley – and was hobbling at the end of that as I had a problem with arthritis in my toe. That is still there, but had gone down so I was giving this a go. It was a lovely day, but the day after the freezing rain.
When I collected my number, I was told that Mountain Rescue would not agree to us running on the Roaches as it was still covered in ice. Apparently they had a dreadful afternoon on the previous day as many walkers had to be helped off the ice that had taken them by surprise; they had checked it out and it was still icy. Rather than 8 miles over the Roaches – we were running 4.5 miles around the reservoir. At least I could stop worrying as I knew I could run that – it was not totally flat, but certainly nothing compared to what I had expected.
I enjoyed the run and this was added to by the fact that I was, as usual there, very ‘under-dressed’. Most of the runners come in fancy dress and they go to so much trouble. Before the start, one of the runners – complete with kilt – was playing the bagpipes. I don’t think he ran with them.
It was a good run and I got the category prize. There are also 
prizes for the best costumes and a team prize for dressing up. Maybe BvH could get involved one year……
I hope to be there next year and to be able to run the whole thing.