Despite a battle with the elements, this Year’s Exmoor was another great success. Over 60 past pupils and parents registered to run or walk the course. 

Thanks to Mike Tucker for assisting with the timings and to Mike Coe (52-59B), David Norfolk (60-67G) and Terry Curtayne (51-56F) for presenting the cups.

The results were:

Senior Boys	Senior Girls
Robert Cooper Stephen Baker Tim Davis (89-96C)	Helena Freeman Caroline Wilson Ruth Sweetland (89-91C) and Leila Farmer

 
*****
For the past few years, the Exmoor has been a dry race, so I guess we were due a wet one. The moor duly delivered and we were greeted by wet and windy conditions at the top. It was definitely going to be a very wet and muddy one.

My school memories from over 20 years ago of the Exmoor were limited to surviving my way round or finding a way to avoid it, however this year I took a day off and actually paid to go back and run it. And then to be leading… if only until they released the senior boys was a new Exmoor experience, something I never achieved while in school.

The race itself became one uphill after another, with no rest on the downhills either. The hills seemed steeper than I remembered, the mud seemed less, and no river crossing to contend with any more. Not sure if it is missed!

The support on the course is great, and the marshalls no longer try to make the course muddier, however it’s still as difficult and challenging as ever.

The Exmoor event is a great event to come back and do, certainly as testing as many other running events I have done. Having tried to describe the Exmoor to non-Old Boys, I have decided to just say its ‘character building'.
 
Tim Davies 88-96C