three o'clock
There were hedges and brooks to be negotiated , and , worst of all , ploughed fields . The first ploughed field usually thinned the ranks of the competitors considerably . The distance was about ten miles . The race started at three o'clock . Jim and Welch , Merevale 's first string , set the pace from the beginning , and gradually drew away from the rest . Drake came third , and following him the rest of the Houses in a crowd . Welch ran easily and springily ; Jim with more effort .