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Although
weather conditions were far from ideal on June 16th.once again, 70 Wild
Miles seemed to run reasonably smooth. Many thanks for the part you played
in making the day a success. If you were a competitor, we hope to supply
you with a complete set of results and hopefully, some photographic
evidence of your achievement courtesy of Colourcare Ltd. and Davidson Read
Associates.
We are now obviously very keen to receive all
sponsorship monies as soon as possible. This will let us see just how big
a success the day really was. Given the estimates competitors have made of
their sponsorship expectations when entering the event, we are hopeful
that 70 Wild Miles 2001 will be our best year ever.
As has always been the case, this event attracts a wide
variety of competitors and helpers from all walks of life. This year was
no exception and I could write pages and pages about all the characters
that make up 70 Wild Miles. You will probably be relieved to hear that I'm
not going to do that! However, there are a few people I have spoken to
this year that I feel do deserve a special mention.
The first that come to mind are the Scottish Venture
Scouts, not only do they have one of the worst jobs in 70 Wild Miles,
marshalling the route whatever the weather conditions happen to be,
pulling canoes from the water to the trailers, picking up litter etc. This
year their work didn't end on the Saturday, they just happened to be first
on the scene of a nasty road accident in Glencoe on the Sunday afternoon.
Their prompt action at the scene has been highly praised by the Police,
Ambulance and Fire Service. A fuller account of the incident can be found
in the report on the Timekeepers
trophies.
This year in particular all competitors had a
determination to finish we have never seen before. Congratulations to
Simon Patton who achieved his second win in the men's solo race, second
and third positions went to Karl and Nick Strange respectively. In the
ladies solo race Kirsty Patton recorded her first win, with four times
previous winner Maggie Creber close behind. The first placed relay team
was Nonie Horseman, Alistair Currie and Bill Horseman.
Determination to finish was not confined to the fastest
competitors, Tiffany Stevens is a keen runner living in London who saw an
advertisement for 70 Wild Miles and thought "I fancy that!".
Tiffany promptly organised kayak lessons for herself, upped her training,
borrowed a sea kayak, strapped it to her improvised roof rack on her small
hatchback car and set off for Glencoe on her own.
Having spoken to Tiffany a few times prior to the event,
I realised she was one of those people who plan meticulously for such
things. The first time I saw Tiffany during the race, she had just
finished her canoe section and to be honest, she was in pretty bad shape
The cycling and canoeing in hard conditions had taken their toll and it
looked unlikely that this "keen runner" was going to manage what
should have been her favourite part of the race. As organisers of this
event we are keen to ensure no one damages themselves beyond repair during
the race - however, Tiffany was having none of this! She was determined
she couldn't possibly ask her sponsors for their pledges unless she
completed what she set out to do. "How much money are we talking
about here Tiffany?" I asked. "Oh, about £2,000" was the
reply. Needless to say, I helped her find her running kit and told her she
looked in great shape for her wee jog up to the finish line! Well done
Tiffany!, a fantastic effort .
Another competitor this year should really receive an
award for the furthest travelled to take part. Bill Purdum, a sailor in
the U.S. Navy came all the way from Florida to take part. Bill came well
prepared for the event with his sponsorship money already collected and
given to myself in 'folding money' - $600 ! Well done Bill, Haste ye
back!
As I have said, I could go on and on about all the good
people involved with 70 Wild Miles, we are very very lucky to enjoy such
great support from so many people. Please come again next year and bring
your particular talent with you.
The Cancer Research Campaign provides hope for the
victims of cancer. The Campaign can't function without us and people like
us.
Yours
Sincerely John I. Allan (for event organisers)
Sponsorship
cheques made payable to: '70 Wild Miles'
p.s.
On the set of results that I mailed out to all the competitors, Kenny
Short was down for a run time of 2hrs 40mins instead of his real time of
1hr 40mins.
I just received Kenny's sponsorship money today.....£1400! Worth a wee
mention I think, puts him 11th rather than 32nd! This is a model
competitor, runs his guts out, raises lots of dosh and is a really nice
bloke.
Ian.
Allan
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