Boot Bash - REPORT OF 2017 EVENT - 17th JUNE

This year’s event was the thirteenth Baslow Boot Bash and we had 288 entrants. This is the fifth year we have had a 14 mile route and it continues to be popular and successful. Apart from anything else it smooths out the arrival process, in that we have a more regular stream of finishers, and we managed to process most of the 14 milers before the 26 mile walkers arrived. This is also helpful for the kitchen staff.

As is usual on these events, we had quite a large number of no-shows (43) on the day but we finished up with 92 starters on the 14 mile route and 153 starters on the 26 mile route. We had 22 retirees from the 26 mile route and none from the 14 mile route as the attached results show. This was probably due to the heat! Certainly the checkpoints distributed far more water this year.

As you all know, this is not a competition but everyone likes to know who was first home and the time it took to complete the course so here goes: first home on the 26 mile route was Philip Cape in a time of 4 hours 22 minutes. The first woman home was Amy Clark in a time of 5 hours and 10 minutes.

In the 14 mile event Claire Howard crossed the line in a time of 1 hour 54 minutes. The first man home was James Cruse in a time of 2 hours 27 minutes.

Thanks once again to both Raynet, who handled communications, and to the Kinder Mountain Rescue team who provided first aid cover. Good communication is vital to ensure that we don’t lose anyone. We are very grateful for the first aid skills that are on hand whenever the need arises, although the first aiders were thankfully hardly used this year. We must also thank those members of the Mountain Rescue team who, at their own volition, chose to sweep the 14 mile route which ensured that we always knew where the tail-enders were.

Thanks also to the kitchen crew, who provide all the refreshments and keep everybody going through the day. Special thanks to Norma Clough who has run the kitchen since the beginning and is handing over completely to Gill Duckworth for next year.

We are determined to maintain quality and for this reason we have to put a ceiling on the number of entrants. If you want to secure a place on next year’s event, you are strongly advised to book early. As usual booking will open in September 2017.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to making the Boot Bash such an enjoyable and friendly event. See you next year!