Simonside Cairns Fell Race

Simonside Cairns Fell Race

Morpeth Harrier John Butters won the Simonside Cairns
fell race in Rothbury on Sunday 13th December 2015,
with a superb time of 85minutes and 2 seconds
which proved to be a clear 37 seconds ahead
of his closest rival, the unattached Andrew Shaw,
who was ten seconds ahead of another
unattached athlete Ben Grayson.

John was always amongst a lead group of five until the last 2 miles,
whereupon he managed to eventually pull away,
producing a lead that proved to be unassailable to his rivals.

Other Morpeth Harriers performances in the event
came from Steve Haswell (22nd) 93m30s,
Richard Kirby (36th) 101m59s,
and Gary Mason (49th) 107m10s.

A total of 78 competitors took part in this event,
which was being run for the 20th occasion,
and they were all subject to conditions
which were extremely heavy under foot
with an array of obstacles to overcome
such as fallen trees, ice, snow,
collapsed footbridges,
and the mandatory muddy streams
that were replacing the footpaths.

However, all were hugely rewarded with very clear and
unobstructed views across the moorland above Rothbury,
as a picturesque backdrop to their strenuous activity.

Many thanks to Richard Kirby for providing us
with information for putting this report together.