70 Wild Miles

12th. June 1999

     Over £35,000 was raised for the Cancer Research Campaign by this years event! With Jimmy Smith managing to once again outdo everyone else once again by reaching a total of £5,061 in sponsorship.

          1st.          Kevin Littlehayes.
          2nd.          Hamish Irvine.
          3rd.          Maggie Creber.  (also 1st. Female)

     I must also make a mention of three rather special competitors -
          Karen Darke from Aberdeen University, who became the first wheelchair entrant to complete the event.
       Matthew Brown, who did the cycle stage in one of the relay teams - at 13 the youngest competitor yet.
          Georgie Read, a sprightly 70 years young, who did the run (walk, with a stop for coffee) for her relay team - the oldest competitor so far.
     (Incidently the organisers of the event certainly seem to believe in keeping things in the family, Matthew is Ray Brown's son and Georgie is Brian Read's Mother!)

     As you might expect there were other incidents of note, such as the three cyclists who were spotted by the side of the road stopping for a quick cigarette break, or the competitor who did the run in his kilt (as the rain came on after he had started, he must have been about the only one to finish the run weighing more than when he started). There were also three entrants who unfortunately had to pull out of the canoe stage in mid-loch and be returned to the start point, one of them decided that this wouldn't put him off, got transport to the other end of the section and despite the fact that the timekeepers had disappeared (O.K., guilty as charged - but we had made sure that all the canoeists had finished) did the run section in a very creditable time.