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Morris Minor Owners Club 2005 John O'Groats to Land End Endurance Run

by John Cooper

Day 4 - Wednesday 22^nd June 2005

The next significant stop was at the Morris Minor Centre in Birmingham. The owners had very generously agreed to remain open until midnight for spares, and equally generously, the local branch of the MMOC were laying on food and hot drinks. It was probably more like 1 o’clock by the time we arrived but they were still open and the Birmingham branch were still handing out the food.

The eagle-eyed amongst you may spot the Pro-Plus on the windscreen!

With everyone stocked up with spares we were once again on the road. It was around this time that the tiredness was starting to kick in and I started taking the Pro Plus washed down with Red Bull as a pre-emptive action. At one of the later stops, it seemed that some of the party needed to get their heads down for an hour or so, so it was decided that our convoy of four would split into two.

We were to press on with the other team who like us had not previously entered the event, whilst the others were to take a break. I must admit that I was relieved to hear about this as I was beginning to get concerned that we wouldn’t complete the run in the target 24 hours. I know it wasn’t a race, and if I’d done it previously, probably wouldn’t have been concerned, but on this occasion I would have been bitterly disappointed if we hadn’t completed the run in the allotted time.

From here on we seemed to make good time and as the sun rose we seemed to get our second-wind. Just like at the beginning, as we approached the end of the journey we were passing through fantastic countryside, but by this time probably weren’t in a fit state to appreciate it.

We arrived at Land’s End at 8:43 a.m. giving us a total time of 21 hours and 43 minutes

We arrive at "ds End"

The welcoming committee on this occasion was made up of Barnsley branch members who hadn’t been taking part. Again we were greeted with hot drinks and bacon butties. Most of the starters were there. It turned out that with the exception of the two we’d parted company with everyone had arrived safely and quite a few had already left again before we even got there! The first arrivals had been at shortly after 1 a.m., a mere 14 hours after setting off, which raised questions about the spirit of the event.

In case you’re wondering, the last 2 cars arrived probably an hour after us but still easily within the 24 hours. It looked as if my earlier concerns about completing it in time were completely unfounded.

The other most significant story we heard was the other convertible had completed the whole run with its roof down – obviously hardier than us!

As you can probably imagine, when you complete something like this and meet up with your fellow explorers, everyone is buzzing and didn’t feel remotely tired despite not having slept all night (though admittedly, the Pro Plus was probably still working at this time).

After a couple of hours, everyone went their separate ways to get some rest before meeting up for dinner in the evening. Once again we’d been fortunate in getting a fantastic B&B in Mousehole with magnificent sea views. We had fish and chips sitting on the rocks overlooking the sea before returning to our room to savour the view. We probably savoured it for about 5 minutes before passing out. It had finally all caught up with us!

The evening was another great social event with most people managing to make it along and conversation obviously being mostly about events of the previous 36 hours. For many people, us included, the next day was to be a straight run home, South Yorkshire in our case. So before it was too late we made our excuses and said our farewells to our comrades as we now saw them.

Day 5 - Thursday 23^rd June 2005

The journey home ultimately proved to be completely uneventful and in reality there is little to say about it. The day started with another hearty B&B breakfast and we then hit the road with the intention of simply getting back as directly as possible with minimal stops.

The only point of real note was the route we decided to take. We estimated that we would be hitting the M1 and the busiest traffic during the afternoon. At first we didn’t relish being in the middle of this in our little car. What changed our minds was that the car had been running so well over the previous few days so we decided to try our luck on the M1.

It turned out that we were right in our confidence for a couple of reasons. We managed to keep up a respectable 60, which allowed us to hold our own with the lorries in the inside lane. Secondly, as the traffic built up, everyone’s speed dropped to a crawl, something we can do with the best of them!

Needless to say we arrived home safely.

Epilogue

Once we had got over the euphoria of the event it was time to collect our sponsorship money. We’re very proud to be able to say that we raised £1500 for our chosen charity, Bluebell Wood.

In compiling these articles and the telemetry I’ve estimated that our speedo is out by about 9%.

Day 3/4 statistics

From To Distance Time Average speed (MPH) Average consumption (MPG) John O'Groats Inverness 35 0:55 43.7 38.2 Inverness Aviemore 131 3:00 52.5 38.2 Aviemore Perth 71 0:40 40.6 44.3 Perth Bothwell Services 85 1:45 48.6 44.3 Bothwell Services Services 58 0:55 63.3 43.7 Services Richard Charnock Services 144 2:20 61.7 43.7 Richard Charnock Services Birmingham 105 1:50 57.3 40.6 Birmingham Michael Wood Services 74 1:55 38.6 40.6 Michael Wood Services Hayle Services 213 3:05 69.1 42.0 Hayle Services Lands End 21 0:38 33.2 37.9
	Average speed between stops
	Average fuel consumption between refuelling stops

Note: figures not adjusted for speedo inaccuracies.

Day 5 statistics

From To Distance Time Average speed (MPH) Average consumption (MPG) Lands End Exeter 132 2:30 52.8 37.9 Exeter Michael Wood Services 96 1:35 60.6 47.5 Michael Wood Services Strensham Services 40 0:50 48.0 47.5 Strensham Services Doncaster 164 3:10 51.8 46.5
	Average speed between stops
	Average fuel consumption between refuelling stops

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