OMM in Borrowdale!

[QUOTE=Ben B;159378]

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Originally Posted by Splinter

I think you miss the point.
(edited) ...I can't see who else you can target when it comes to taking responsibility except the organisers.

I think you have made your point now - and how does targeting the organisers help? Isn't blame wonderful?

A disappointed Ben B

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Why be so defensive? It's not about blame; it's about responsibility. If you mess up, you stand up and get counted. If you pretend nothing's gone wrong then you learn nothing from your mistakes. The last thing I want to do is hammer away at people I respect and who have done a brilliant job organising OMM for a number of years. I am simply calling a spade a spade. In life things go wrong; I agree, don't dwell on them. But you do have to acknowledge the facts.

'the last thing I want to do is hammer away at organisers'...what a load of crap, thats what you've been doing in all your threads!!

one thing I can't stand in life is those who've never organised anything critisising those that do. If I was an organiser (and I am) and I knew your name I'd make sure you never ran in an event I organised!!

Because I think it is too early to call. No-one knows what has happened with any degree of certainty. Pointing fingers in the absence of facts doesn't help. Neither you nor I know if this will go down in history as the best test of skill in an MM ever or a tragedy. Why not wait until the situation pans out before blaming people (which is how your posts read to me)?

Besides which, neither you nor I have any right to sit in judgement of the OMM team. We're just two blokes typing, not omnipotent judges of good and evil. Maybe we should let those involved get on with it, without heckling from the sidelines?

Ben B

[quote=Splinter;159380]

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Originally Posted by Ben B

Why be so defensive? It's not about blame; it's about responsibility. If you mess up, you stand up and get counted. If you pretend nothing's gone wrong then you learn nothing from your mistakes. The last thing I want to do is hammer away at people I respect and who have done a brilliant job organising OMM for a number of years. I am simply calling a spade a spade. In life things go wrong; I agree, don't dwell on them. But you do have to acknowledge the facts.

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If everyone returns fit and will this morning nothing has gone wrong.

Yep it was bad weather and???

If the race had not been cancelled it would not have made any news.

Anyway I am a fell runner and not a fell moaner, so I am off to my race:)

Firstly, I'm new to fellrunning so don't shoot me if you disagree. However, surely experience would include the ability to judge the conditions and decide whether it was safe to go out? Also, if they are all so experienced why do they need rescuing? The guy who owns the Honister Mine could have closed it to teach them all a lesson in a serves you right kind of way if he'd wanted, so I think everyone is being massively unfair on him. Other large races were cancelled so why is there so much negative reaction to this?

kgc...you clearly are new to fell running...I'll leave it at that...

I don't think blaming the organiser should even be an issue. At the end of the day, some fell runners decided to run, while some felt it unsafe and didn't. The organiser did her part and still allowed the freedom of choice (a decision to be admired in this age of litigation, and she could well have just cancelled it and covered her back). I'm sure none of the runners will blame the organiser - the press like a good story and somebody to blame.

I'm currently sitting very comfortably in the lounge of a house in Cockermouth (many thanks Becks!) so I've had a very comfortable sleep on the floor - much more pleasant than a cold muddy field.

My partner and I had a very tough day on the fells yesterday, but when we arrived at Buttermere at about 3pm, we weren't expecting the event to be abandoned. The weather was wild, but that's what had been forecast and we'd been dressed appropriately. We were relieved to hear that we didn't have to spend the night in the tent, but then began the tricky bit.

I think we were the lucky ones, being some of the first to get to Cockermouth via the genuine hospitality of the Honister Slate Mine, and then through word of mouth and a lot of ingenuity arriving at Becks' house.

It was obviously much less comfortable in the barn at Buttermere, and I hope no-one had to spend the night on the hills, but at the end of the day, it was supposed to be tough, and that's what we were all prepared for.

Let me add my sincere hope that everyone returns safely, runners, marshalls and event organisers included.
I have been a race organiser who had a close call to make regarding weather, though nowehere near the scale of an OMM event and you can bet Jen Longbottom will be beating herself up more than anyone else. All being safe, please let the OMM and other MM events continue in their great tradition of being a challenge of our ability and self reliance. Learn lessons where possible, and don't allow any pressure from smart ar5es in the aftermath to muck around with the way we run our sport. I missed this years OMM for varoius reasons but pray that when I enter the next one it will be as fun and challenging as usual.

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Originally Posted by sideburns on the summits

As much as I hate to say it the BBC are understating the rain that fell in the Borrowdale Valley on Thursday and Yesterday. You can check past weather in Borrowdale here:
http://www.keswickweather.co.uk
The weather station for Borrowdale school shows that 130mm on Thursday,
and yesterdays storm threw another 130mm.
It is not uncommon for the Borrowdale Valley to receive more than twice the rain of Keswick.
This is the wettest place in Britain after all.

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Fair enough. So good idea to take a mac then.