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Second and Third Teams Finish

Rob Howard / 28.06.2011

The second team to finish were White Clouds, whose runners, Stuart Pitches and Eddie Winslow, crossed the line at 23.44 to complete the race for their team, than they both fell down exhausted, in unison, either side of the path! Once they’d recovered it was time for team hugs and photos, and for skipper John Donnelly to crack open a bottle of champagne to celebrate.

There was an added feel good factor for this team as they had been forced to retire early last year, after running aground in the Swellies and being hit by another yacht. They were even hit by Peaks Addix before the start this year and Donnelly jokingly said, “We finished .. . despite Geoff West trying to sink us!� Their runners had caught the Australian pair near the summit, racing past them once they had them in sight. Pitches thanked all the marshals on duty afterwards saying, “it’s been a great race and I’ve really enjoyed it. After year it’s great to finish the whole course and to come second is even better!�

The Australian pair crossed the line 40 minutes later, setting a time of 5 hours 10 minutes on the mountain. The two official competitors (Rees and Jones) were followed up and down by the team runners (Jacqui Guy and Michael McIntyre), so 4 of the team went up and down Ben Nevis. Rees said;
“That’s a hard mountain, but we’re happy with the time. We just wanted to stay under twice the time of the quickest team!� It is a safe bet they have done so, and for the second year running have come third in the race, but this time they are the Tilman Trophy winners.

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