Yesterday was the inaugural Bolitho School Coast to Coast Challenge, which basically involved the entire school either walking or running from The Gurnard's Head Hotel on the north coast to The Bolitho School in Penzance on the south coast - a distance of some 7.25 miles.
This was a challenge so it wasn't by road but up and over the moor on footpaths and bits of road and lane. The weather was also a tad challenging with a cold wind and intermittent rain showers. The three houses at School were raising money for three local charities: The Cornwall Air Ambulance, Cornwall Hospice Care and The Handstand Appeal. G & T's house is raising money for The Handstand Appeal and, obviously, they both decided to run the course!
The walkers left in groups in the morning and stopped for lunch half way across. The runners started at 1.30 and the hope was that most of the walkers would be back at school in time to cheer the runners in. FB and I went to The Gurnard's to see the walkers and runners off and, to our dismay, had to spent over an hour in the pub waiting for the runners to arrive - what a dreadful hardship that was, in front of a roaring fire, chatting to Charles the landlord and drinking organic ginger beer (me) and local cider (FB). Oh, yes, it was hard work indeed.
Once the runners were off, we (I!) drove up to the top of the moor to photograph them as they came past. G was first:
Followed by T:
So we were cautiously optimistic for a Hopson 1, 2. And so it turned out to be. By the time we'd photographed all the runners at the top and then driven back to School, G had finished! So, no triumphant photo of him across the finishing line yet - although I'm sure the School has one. T came in 8 minutes later (which means that G was over a mile ahead of T at the finish!) and, oh yes, the final bit to the School is, of course, a hill!
Here's T powering up the final hill.
G completed the 7.25 mile course in 49 minutes 38 seconds and T came in at 57 minutes. We are, needless to say, ridiculously proud.
This morning T was at school at 8.30 to go for an overnight Ten Tors training weekend on Bodmin Moor, spending tonight under canvas, carrying all his kit. I tell you something - he'll sleep well tonight, and tomorrow and probably for the rest of next week.
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In knitting news, Tracey has finished four samples for an Easter weekend photo shoot - about which, more later - I have finished the tea cosy which matches the hot water bottle cover - it just needs sewing up and the patterns will be written up next week. Next hot water bottle/tea cosy combo is designed in my head - just need to get them on paper and samples knitted up. Tomorrow I'm hoping for a quiet knitterly day. I'm exhausted and I only watched them run.
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