Tim's no mug!
Tewkesbury RC’s Tim Shattock completed an event he will never forget in a hurry, The Bullock Smithy – a testing 56 miles around the Peak District, Pennine Way and encircling the town of Buxton.
Although the front runners were filtering through the finish in under 11 hrs, Tim ran a more prudent race by taking it steady on the climbs and making ground on the lesser demanding terrain.
Expecting to complete around 2:30 AM and with the finish line less than half a mile away, Tim was jumped, beaten, kicked in the head and robbed. With his head-torch and rucksack under new ownership, Tim dusted himself down and crossed the finished in 14 hrs, 48 minutes. An incredible achievement not only awarded by a finishers certificate, but Tim was also issued with a crime number from Greater Manchester Police – an excellent result for the Tewkesbury star and a swift result for GMP as they arrested two lively criminals, rescued Tim’s rucksack from the bushes and managed to relieve the lawless night crawlers of £50 in cash to replace the head-torch.
It’s easy to imagine Tim’s woe by just thinking of David Attenborough’s African migration films of Wildebeest travelling miles across the plains only to see the watering hole before being preyed upon by a pride of Lions.
He’s looking forward to next year’s event already!