{"id":2700,"date":"2015-12-22T18:57:30","date_gmt":"2015-12-22T18:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sdrr.co.uk\/?p=2700"},"modified":"2015-12-22T18:57:30","modified_gmt":"2015-12-22T18:57:30","slug":"christmas-cracker-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sdrr.co.uk\/?p=2700","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Cracker 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t'O dear\u2019 is the only way of politely describing Ade Middleton\u2019s verbal reaction when he discovered he had forgotten his XC trainers.\u00a0 A tough choice had to be made 4 season heavy mountain walking boots or race slick worn out road trainers, \u2018slicks it is, let\u2019s do it\u2019 he says as the chuckling bunch of Andy Windle, Mark Nixon, Steve Fowler, Jack and Steve Leafe look on.\u00a0 The Christmas Cracker is a charity race to raise money for the Mountain Rescue based around The Roaches near Leak.\u00a0 It\u2019s a multi terrain race across fields, tracks, road and of course the exposed ridge of The Roaches.\u00a0 Many clubs enter and there is a great atmosphere with many wearing fancy dress for the event.
\n\u2018Where\u2019s the start?\u2019 says Andy. \u2018You\u2019re stood on it!\u2019 says the race starter looking at Andys\u2019 very fetching pink gloves. We line up alongside a Christmas Pudding, a cat, Death, various elves, multiple incarnations of Santa and runners from many different clubs at the start just outside Tittesworth Reservoir visitor centre.\u00a0 No long speech\u2019s just a thank you to the marshals and Mountain Rescue followed by an applause and we are off.
\nJack gets a great start and is off powering over the grass as the rest of us do our best to reach the compact track at the end of it without being pegged too far behind. We soon hit the first of 2 fields separated by a single railway sleeper crossing.\u00a0 Ade looks like Bambi on ice struggling for grip across the boggy fields, but manages to stay on his feet.\u00a0 Meanwhile Steve and Mark are exchanging places with Elvis and a cavewoman as they approach the farm with the very strong smelling cow barn.\u00a0 It certainly wakes you up as we hit the tarmac heading towards the Roaches.\u00a0 Steve L spies Ade in front, surges past banana man and passes Ade as they reach the Tea Rooms.\u00a0 Unfortunately no time to stop for a cuppa as we push upward and can see the lead runners heading across the foot slopes off the Roaches with Jack in the midst of them.
\nJack pushes himself up the \u2018climb to make you cry\u2019 and leaves his followers behind, his recent form proving no race is too tough for the young Leafe.\u00a0 Legs aching and lung capacity at its maximum he reaches the top and he\u2019s on the ridge and off without a glance back.\u00a0 The rest of us take the gentlemanly approach hands on knees, breathing deeply we make our way up. \u00a0\u2018Nice day isn\u2019t? How\u2019s your race going? Very enjoyable day\u2019 is the general conversation to the other runners as we try not to look like we are about to collapse or cry, but one by one we get there.
\nAndy was having a great race not far behind the leading pack, drove himself onwards, he made light work of the wet terrain on top, but was slightly put out when a fully clad Santa passed him and disappeared into the distance.\u00a0 Steve F was making steady progress, breathing back in time, pace increasing, \u2018Running form looking good Steve\u2019 he says to himself as a runner in an inflatable sumo costume passes him.\u00a0 Mark was a couple of mins in front as he picked his way across the granite rock strewn ridge with ease.\u00a0 Steve L was about 50m ahead of Ade as they approached the trig point at the end of the ridge.\u00a0 He must have been having lessons from Andy Orme the way he was delicately tippy toeing his way over the rocks as he hit the descent.\u00a0 Ade took his chance, cast caution to the wind and hurled himself down the descent, passed Steve L and a few other on the way down.\u00a0 For this Steve L graciously accepted Andy O\u2019s Sugar Plumb Fairy tiara award for the 2015 Christmas Cracker.
\nThe 2.5mile road section was next followed by the final sprint to the finish.\u00a0 Jack Leafe hit the finishing straight hard and crossed the line 4th<\/sup> in an unbelievable 0:56:59, first in for the club.\u00a0 Then came the Christmas pudding hatted wearing Andy Windle to finish 25th<\/sup> in 1:03:38, Steve Leafe caught Ade in the last mile to finish 45th<\/sup> in 1:08:41, well done Steve.\u00a0 Ade was just behind in 50th<\/sup> place in a time of 1:08:59 faster than last year by 90secs that now leaves him with a shoe dilemma for the rest of his life. \u00a0Mark Nixon finished 120th<\/sup> in a respectable 1:22:45 with Steve Fowler not far behind in a well deserved 123rd<\/sup> in 1:23:13. \u00a0Thanks to all that came, raced and supported and especially to Staffordshire Moorlands AC and the Mountain Rescue for putting the event on.\u00a0 Hope to see you again in 2016!\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

'O dear\u2019 is the only way of politely describing Ade Middleton\u2019s verbal reaction when he discovered he had forgotten his XC trainers.\u00a0 A tough choice had to be made 4 season heavy mountain walking boots or race slick worn out road trainers, \u2018slicks it is, let\u2019s do it\u2019 he says as the chuckling bunch ofContinue reading →<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-race-reports","no-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sdrr.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sdrr.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sdrr.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sdrr.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sdrr.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sdrr.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2700\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sdrr.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sdrr.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sdrr.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}