When it comes to racing, I like a nice straightforward event - not a big fan of these adventure-type races where you crawl through mud and so on… But the chance to race whilst pushing a wheelbarrow filled with scallop shells in my local town, Rye, could not be missed! The annual scallop race, part of the Rye Scallop Festival, requires teams of four to guide the barrow along the 1km route without spilling any shells and includes the odd kerb, gravel track and pothole. We went along for the fun of it - but as soon as our first team member, Sean, toed the start line, the competitive juices started flowing and he shot off like a bat out of hell. Jeff kept up but it took Andy and I ages to even catch them up - but once I got my hands on the barrow (Jeff and I mastered a very smooth rolling transition from person to person) I ran a good stretch of the course, breathing like a steam train.
The rules of the race are that every team member has to cross the finish line to be declared winners, and it was only when we came hurtling into the finish area that we realised we still had a chance - as both us and one other team still had one team member out on the course. ‘GO ON ANDY!’ we bawled, but the Rye Rugby Club guy pipped him to the post and Rye Runners settled for second place. This year anyway. We’ll be back for the next one though…
Was it a handicap? It looks as though some barrows were loaded less than others; I think it suggests a stewards’ inquiry but maybe you don’t fancy a re-run.