I'm no coroner, but it looked like a possible heart attack to me. Both fists were tightly clenched & blood on his top teeth. Maybe suggesting he'd bitten down on his lip of tongue?Originally Posted by noel
The police said it's incredible how many people ignore a dead body!!
I've expected this to happen to me for years, and luckily I've managed to avoid it thus far. Take it easy mate, have a few jars and try and forget it. Nothing you could've done, other than what you did.
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Wow, hope you're okay mate. I myself have never experienced anything like that & can't imagine the influence it has on you psychologically. I once saw a man lay on the pavement when out on a road run but after calling an ambulance and waiting for it, he was just really, really drunk and unable to stand!
Carrying kit as you said is essential. We do get careless, especially on our training patches that we know so well, but it's always vital to carry extra clothing and a phone, I think.
Really sorry to hear that you've had that awful experience Jez.It is a massive shock when something so unexpected and so tragic crashes into our normal and day-to-day life experiences. It understandably rocks our sense of security in the normality of things. While living in Namibia, I once came across (first at the scene) a car crash on a lonely bush road where the parents of two children where fatally killed and their two children very injured. Fortunately I wasn't alone and we were able to contact the local services eventually. As a psychologist, I can vouch that those experiences you've been having, such as intrusive thoughts and unsettled sleep, are all very natural, healthy and happen to everyone. They're a kind of re-running/processing to try and make sense of something which isn't always easy to make sense of. It is good to talk, but sometimes having to tell and retell the experience can compound the shock. However, the best thing I believe is to also emphasis the positives in 'the story' of what happened and they are there too. Such as: you were really well equipped (phone etc) and probably the best person to have made the discovery (rather than a group of kids DoE etc. or less psychologically resilient person); you did exactly the right thing and the authorities got there; etc. It might even be comforting for the family of the person that you stayed with their kin, and didn't abandon them as the Police told you some people are minded to do. I think your deciding to run the route again the following day was not only courageous but a really positive step for your psychological wellbeing. Good on yer.
Am Yisrael Chai
Thanks for your kind words. I'm a pretty positive person naturally, so I'm hoping the feelings of shock & disbelief won't hang around too long! The moors have been such a cathartic place for me over the years so I see this as a minor blip. Incidentally, this week I have also been stung by a wasp & taken a bad fall, shredding my arm. Things come in 3's, so that's me done for a while.
What an awful thing to come across Jez -I can only begin to think how it must gnaw away at you and how terrible the waiting at the scene must have been. Time and running are great healers though, so let's hope it fades quickly.
It happened to a friend of mine as well. In a way his was even more disturbing, as he found a suicide victim hanging from tree on the edge of a golf course. Fortunately he is a resilient person as well.
That must have been a truly awful sight. I can't imagine. I hope he's ok?
I've just got back from another run down the path. 2nd time now. I feel ok, although I do stop for a moment & try to take in what happened. I think it helps.
Good work on getting back out there on the same route - must be the best way to deal with it.
Yes, he's good thanks. It's a few years on now.
I encoutered a dead body out running couple of years ago. I was coming up Shutlingsloe and could see some walkers gathered around a body
They were trying to do CPR on what was clearly a very dead man. I asked if there was anything I could do and they very nonchantly said "no he is dead". An air ambulance arrived and I carried on my run
It was totally bizarre. I had this incident mid run and then I could carry on as normal - still find the whole experience surreal.
Turns out the guy had had a heart attack!
Surreal is exactly the word I would use. I still can't fully process what happened. My heart still races when I picture it.
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