After having to delay the 2022 Winter Handicap because of dangerous road conditions it was great to be able to hold the event today in what was almost perfect running weather. The first job of the day was to mark out the route so I drove Ben around the course armed with a bag of flour which he used to create some excellent arrows! I had my work cut out today with the predictions with some tricky decisions including one late entrant, one first timer and Sarah who had not ran a handicap for a long time. After a bit of a panic on my part and the normal offers of bribery for an improved time it was time for Tony to lead the runners off at 9am. Twenty seven and a half minutes later it was Ben's turn to set off bringing up the rear! This gave me 20 minutes or so to have a chat with Jennie who had kindly volunteered to prepare the bacon rolls and was singing the praises of her air fryer! We then headed out to the finish line to eagerly await the first runners home. The first runner to appear was "Downhill" Dave Carnell who raced to the finish line in in his fastest time on this course (including monthly handicaps) for nearly a year. Sarah Warren and Linda Still fought a hard battle for the runners up place swapping positions a couple of times in the last mile with Linda getting across the line a couple of seconds ahead of Sarah. There was then a steady stream of runners giving it their all with Derek, who has been ever present in every running of the Winter Handicap, the last across the line, accompanied by Richard Blackmore. Unfortunately Clive was not here to present the President's Trophy so it was left to Derek to do the honours on his behalf. Congratulations again to Dave for the victory. Thanks to everyone who took part to make the event worthwhile, to Ben for some great road marking and a special thanks to Jennie who made a great job of the bacon sandwiches.  Also thanks to Linda and Ben for assisting in the kitchen.