Despite some atrocious weather and ground conditions (think Somme Battlefield to imagine the mud) which meant many competitors were making contact with the ground with more than their feet Duncan forged on through the day making great progress. Damon was finding it harder going, though remained remarkably cheery despite suffering extremely sore feet with blisters to make you wince to look at. Finally in the later afternoon Damon at Malham very reluctantly made the decision to withdraw as his rate of progress meant that commitments on Monday for Anna and the family would be missed. He's vowed to be back next year though! A hugely commendable performance with over 80 miles covered across difficult terrain, through rain, snow,wind and dark.
Duncan looking more and more like Grizzly Adams has seemed impervious to the weather. He told me he'd grown the beard for insulation, it may have also been to hide any signs of discomfort! Whatever, it goes to show that Borders farmers are still a hardy breed! At around 2.30 am Duncan rolled into Hawes in remarkably good fettle. He was a fantastic 3rd in the MRT Challenger . He also was in the top 15 in The Spine Challenger overall. What a result!
Well done guys.
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