For many, last year’s expedition to Russia seemed like a jolly jaunt, but little did our explorer minds know that we were in fact secretly training them up for the Southern 50 Challenge! Combined with some top notch navigation training under the watchful eye of the starry starry nanny, hopes were perhaps higher than normal for the two 30km teams - the Backscratchers (Rob, Mike, Swine-flu and last minute super-sub Scott) and The Girly Whirlies…and Keith (Rachel, Tish, Jane and, well, Keith). These hopes though seemed quite distant when we were told by organisers that two teams had stood out in particular, one went off to play on the swings by a village hall checkpoint and the other turned left where every other team had turned right! Yep, you guessed it, both of these teams were ours! But maybe they knew something we didn’t as both managed to get round the course in a none too shabby 10 hours 53 minutes and 9 hours 16 minutes respectively (that time posted by the Girly Whirlies being the third fastest by a Centurion ESU team!). Good going gang!

Meanwhile our more senior explorers – Izzy, Calum, Richard and Chris under the guise of Marmalade of the Lama’s Armpit were stepping up to the next level by taking on the 50K. The competition over this distance is always fierce, and amongst the 34 other entries were two rival teams from Hornchurch Network (full of veteran Centurions and our current chairman no less!). But some tough knee pounding saw our guys finish not only ahead of the Ferrets, but also beating the Suicidal Potato Munchers 2008 time with a record 11 hours 54 minutes, and making this the first year that all our entries in both distances have finished, well done guys!

With everyone doing so well, it was up to the leaders to put in a good show over the 50 mile course, and Ten Gallon Dixie (Sugs, Pinto, Glenn and Al) didn’t disappoint, romping home in a record smashing 15 hours 7 minutes* and finishing in a satisfying 6th place, and all without wearing an ounce of lycra!

All our efforts were justly rewarded at Sunday morning’s presentation as the joke machine that is Chris ‘Fozzy’ Foster was joined on stage by none other than UK Chief Commissioner Wayne Bullpit! Oooh er missus! Coming all the way from Guernsey (the obvious central-hub residence for someone in charge of scouting across the British Isles) he congratulated us for taking part in the Challenge 50 (something we didn’t even know we’d signed up for) more than once during a lovely speech. And whilst he may have to wait a little longer to receive his Hog badge, it did notch up another member of the top brass for our scout hierarchy hunting explorers!

Feb 2010

* subject to drugs (or more specifically Ibuprofen) testing