OMM in Borrowdale!

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Originally Posted by Phil Winskill

Guy who did an interview on News 24 was Shane Ohly, my partner. Sounds like it is still a nightmare out there.

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Phil was it you heard in the background?

what is a via ferrata,thoought it was an italian cheese.

that was no inflatable doll but the new ann summers version of the kari mat

Against the tide: Neil Young speaks to OMM on eve of BBC ...
12 Oct 2008 ... As the afternoon light floods into the hotel suite and Young ..... Against the tide: Neil Young speaks to OMM on eve of BBC documentary ...
www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/oct/12/neil-young-documentary - 110k - Cached - Similar pages

Blimey - what;s the miserable old git got to do with this?!

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Originally Posted by Pilgrim

One runner was certainly well equipped... inflatable doll attached to his pack!:p

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Ideal for white water rafting lol

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Originally Posted by dylan

just looking at sleepmonsters site pictures and videos,
as usual all the runners looked well organised and as usual controlled.
there is mention that marshalls were either already out or being sent out to most checkpoints to pass info on to the runners to advise them to retire.
i think what is happening is that the 'normal sedate person'has no concept as to just how fit these people are,and we all now they are very fit,very good navigators and there main strength is stamina.
no doubt though its going to get blown out of all proportion.
the mine owner said its the worst he had seen for 42 years,but i bet he came to that descision probably when he was being interviewed.
heck i have done the karrimor in blizzard conditions,as well as thunder and rain,but i was well prepared with kit and fitness as i am sure are our friends out there.

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Didn't look too bad to me, I'd say we've all been out in worse conditions just the media trying to sensationalise it.

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Originally Posted by Baggins

Didn't look too bad to me, I'd say we've all been out in worse conditions just the media trying to sensationalise it.

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Didn't look too bad to me either ... but it felt a lt worse :eek:

Anyroad - why have I been holding this OMM40 sticker over my head keeping dry all weekend? What happened to Swiss Toni? Waited hours for him in Wilf's last night. :cool:

A lot of the reaction here is very defensive; not surprising since all of us have some track record running in the hills or we wouldn't be posting here. But in truth, there is an argument that the organisers have exercised poor judgement this weekend though I expect I'll be shot for saying it.

First, OMM isn't a fell race. While the latter tend to attract pretty "specialist" participants, the big MMs attract a number of entrants who are far LESS qualified to be in the hills in adverse conditions (or in the hills at all.) Look at Three Peaks entries this year vs. a usual year...bet a lot of people ran it who hadn't run a mountain race before and won't do one again this year. Unlike fell races, events like OMM do attract people who just shouldn't be there. At LAMM in midsummer (outside of an exceptional year) you can get away with it. At OMM that is rarely true. I had a lengthy e-mail exchange this week with a lady running her first OMM (and asking for advice) in the course of which I made a comment about the required level of fitness. Her response: "don't you worry. I run round Richmond Park three times a week." I'm being serious, too.

Second, after the floods on Thursday/Friday there was clearly absolutely no margin for error with regard to the impact of any more rain. To add insult to injury, the forecast for Saturday made it abundantly clear that if it proved right, there were going to be serious problems. Fine, weather forecasts are mainly wrong but the organisers really were sailing very, very close to the edge in my opinion. If they had confidence in the skills of the entrants and had vetted the entries for competence then the race shouldn't have been called off no matter what. The fact that they did call if off compounds the lack of judgement they showed in letting it go ahead as, in calling it off, they acknowledged that conditions weren't safe for at least some minority of participants and probably more than that.

Lastly, though it's anecdotal evidence, the majority of the half dozen or so runners who have thus far posted their views on BBCs own site seem to have elected to withdraw within an hour of the start and even before the formal cancellation. As these were mainly hardy, seasoned runners that tells me something. Given the number of people put at risk and the number I understand Mountain Rescue are still out looking for even now, when one considers the weather over the past 48 hours plus the forecast for today, you don't need a lot of hindsight to seriously question the judgement of letting this go ahead.

While the BBCs standard of reporting has lived down to its reputation and some of the coverage has been laughable I'm sorry but I think this is mainly a mess of OMMs own making. I also think the lack of any OMM official spokesperson to address the press hasn't exactly helped.

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Originally Posted by Splinter

Look at Three Peaks entries this year vs. a usual year...bet a lot of people ran it who hadn't run a mountain race before and won't do one again this year.

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Thought the entry requirement was an AL race in the last year?

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Originally Posted by Splinter

...To add insult to injury, the forecast for Saturday made it abundantly clear that if it proved right, there were going to be serious problems....

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Here here.

It's not a case of hindsight...looking at the BBC weather forecast it was flippin obvious it was going to be really bad weather in the mid Lake District today.

Someone's been burying their head in the wet sand:(

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Originally Posted by Pilgrim

Thought the entry requirement was an AL race in the last year?

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So it said on the entry form. What are the odds the provenance of every last entry was matched against claimed race completions?