A record 70 souls stoically braved the glorious sunshine and zephyr like breezes to attend our 2006 race. This years winner Robin Sedman Smith knocked 6 seconds off his 2004 time (when he was 2nd) to finish in 19.43 and deservedly walked off with a bottle of Champers. The chasing pack was not far behind however with the first nine finishers all coming home in under 21 minutes, a strong indication of the overall field quality.

The larger field meant a number of runners were making their debut at this event including Peter Stuart Ball in 2nd and Roland Stafford in 3rd. Louise Taylor had a great run to finish 14th overall and take the ladies prize whilst Simon Daws swiped the MV50 award and made off with an enormous basket of fruit (presumably for your jam making Simon?). Junior Sam Hugh added to his impressive Wrekin Streak finish with 4th overall at Sheinton.

Although the Steeplechase traditionally hosts a groaning prize table (all donated by Sheinton residents so that 100% of entry monies go towards restoring the fabric of the church), the increased numbers did mean that some regular receivers of booty left empty handed this year. However, due to a two boo boos of mine (one corrected during prize giving), I omitted to make one award. So if there is a disgruntled female (hint!) runner out there who thinks they should have received a share of the spoils – you’re right! Please get in touch so that I can quickly resolve this.

Thanks to everyone who came and everyone who helped, villagers and runners alike. I hope you all enjoyed it. Quote of the night came from one runner to another as they walked back to their cars post event: “I can’t understand why I’ve never done that event before, it was superb!” So, if you’re still in that ‘virgin’ category, remember 2007 is not too late to make your debut (we might even have gone computerised on the results by then too).

Grahame Hughes

See the results

and more photos on Dawsy's web site