The Grand Prix is officially underway, with 25 Toddies on the board already! Glorious sunshine and plenty of mud – some of it frozen – were the order of the day at the popular Hit the Trail over in Stockport. A chance for everyone to run off that Christmas excess and test out their new shoes/shorts/leggings/buff while coaxing their old legs into some kind of action.
It was a mostly flat course, which may not have played to everyone’s strengths, with a seemingly neverending stretch along a disused railway line – twice – punctuated by some proper cross-country stuff through woods and round meadows alongside the meandering River Tame. Runners from other clubs of a more tarmac persuasion may have blanched at the 50-metre long puddle but those with the red and blue stripe ploughed forth boldly straight down the middle. (In my head, one year the course organisers are going to throw in a massive curveball and dig out the middle of this puddle turning it a replica of the one in the Danny MacAskill’s Wee Day Out*) At the death, there was a strong showing from Toddies on the final climb to the finish, with plenty of overtaking leaving other runners flailing in the Toddie wake. As an added bonus, the traditional coasters had been replaced with beer at the finish – result! You can’t drink a coaster…
Ash Wright came home a strong 5th overall, with Janine McGregor Stead 4th lady. The men’s team of Ash, Dom Leckie and Duncan Cannon collected the men’s team prize.
*Google it
Full Toddie results
5 Ash Wright 28:37 10 Dom Leckie 30:38 11 Duncan Cannon 30:43 40 Chris Goddard 34:20 41 Janine McGregor Stead 34:22 45 Joe McWilliams 34:56 48 Sam Lund 35:24 50 Matt Gray 35:45 55 Duncan Ritchie 35:55 63 Sheldon Middleton 36:18 81 Nick Birchill 37:07 83 Dave Weedon 37: 24 94 Paul Brannigan 37:51 100 Hannah Prince 37:54 116 Lara Middleton 39:17 134 Lisa Kempster 40:29 139 Andrew Bibby 41:09 168 Heather Rostron 43:22 177 Lisa Peatfield 43:47 181 Bev Wright 44:18 202 Hannah-Louise Mobbs 45:53 208 Lauren Brennan 46:24 238 Sandra Ritchie 49:21 283 Louise Abdy 52:26 310 Dave O’Neill 59:55