From the other side of the fence

As a huge Pennypincher's supporter I am very impressed by their achievements at the Merrell Eden Duo.

Jeff Wilcocks took care of the Oakhill School kids and at one stage was carrying one of them on his back up some monster climbs... but from what I understand this is what Jeff does best in the team as he is the main workhorse and so it was nothing new for him to be carrying a heavy load.

James took along Rhona to show her what AR is all about and fought off some fierce competition in the mixed category to claim honours, the choice to collect an additional CP paid off and the time bonus meant they beat Team SAQ from Cape Town. He must be the ladies man in the team as last year he raced with Jo McKenzie and won the mixed category... so ladies if you want to have a good day - call the Lettuceman!

But perhaps the stand-out Pennypinchers act of the day was Chris Crewdson taking along 3 youngsters for day. When compared to the other Open Teams (The Collins, McCains type racers), these youngsters can stand tall and be proud of their achievement. Looking at their racing time and applying the 90 minute penalty system in the open category, they would have ranked about 12th out of 22 open teams. Chris merely mentored them along the route and they had to navigate for themselves.

Christine and Amanda two regular Pennypinchers ladies (racing in the MED as Magnetic South PP), also did well and finished the tough course, but they had stiff competition from the experienced McCains Chicks and the new kids on the block Team Elephant Park Blossom.

So all in all to the Pennypinchers well done, you guys have done great work in bringing new blood to the sport.

From my side I would like to see a 45 - 60 km Pennypinchers AR sprint in the near future to let all your rookies put all their hard earned experience to good use!