Before we get into the story of today's running, a little background on our torches ...

Our new torches are 'state of the art' with a carbon fibre handle, aluminium base and stainless steel top. These torches are a delight to run with. They are light, they burn for about 10 km and the flame stays at a very consistent level. Conversely the older torches are heavier, being made of wood and chrome plated mild steel. They don't burn nearly as long and the flame is unpredictable, sometimes getting quite large. They also don't burn for very long.

As a reader you need to understand each team needs 2 torches: we have three teams and there are only 5 'light' torches - hence there is a slight problem. We have 3 of the heavy torches but no-one wants to run with these. It's kind of like using an iPhone 3 when everyone else has an iPhone 5 ...