Speed of light exceeded in 31st CERN Relay

In the closest-ever finish of the CERN relay race, Florian Marinet (number 54) of the Neutrinos to Gran Sasso team just fails to catch Pierre Maesen of The Shabbys on the line.

The AThLetic AceS team (number 76) won the Veterans category by just 3 seconds from long-time participants The Lynx Runners, who didn't leave empty handed. They picked up the cup that is drawn at random.

Evidence for new physics? No, simply evidence for faster legs. Only at CERN could the speed of light come third to a team called The Shabbys. But that's exactly what happened on Wednesday 23 May when the team from PS Division lifted the Opitz cup after winning the 31st CERN relay race. The Shabbys sped home in 10 minutes 53 seconds, just 0.3 of a second ahead of the 'Neutrinos to Gran Sasso' team. There's some logic there since it is the PS complex that will provide the protons that will give rise to the neutrino beam. As for 'c0 the speed of light', they took a relatively leisurely 11 minutes 1.6 seconds to cover the course.
A total of 51 teams of six took part in this year's race. The fastest women's team was 'Spice Masala', crossing the line in 14 minutes 58 seconds, and the veterans event was won by the AThLetic AceS in 12 minutes 51 seconds - not bad for a bunch of old-timers!
Full results appear on page 6 of the Staff Association section, and are available, together with those of previous races, on the Web at: