OMM in Borrowdale!

[Baggins]

Steve Davis

Steve Davis

[Toreador]

on arrival at the Buttermere, "it's cancelled, go back to the event centre" was the sum total of it to those competitors I have spoken to

What more should they have said? That gave all the information that was required (at least until Mr Weir started turning people back/transporting them to Cockermouth).

[Highy]

A mate has asked me to post his letter to the BBC on here:

Anybody writing to the BBC is welcome to use his letter (or parts of it) should they wish.




BBC News coverage of the Original Mountain Marathon 24th/25th/26th October.

Someone at the BBC needs to explain and apologise for the inaccurate and
gross misrepresentation of the events surrounding the cancellation of
the OMM due to flooding.
The false reporting of figures, clearly unverified by journalists or
editors and the misleading presentation by the BBC, resulted in a great
deal of utterly unnecessary distress for the families and friends of the
OMM competitors.
I was a competitor and what the BBC presented as news was blatantly
false. We, as competitors, were unaware of being 'lost', 'missing' or
'unaccounted for'. All my fellow competitors I met knew exactly where
they were and what they were doing at all times. The BBC's massive
imbalance in allowing self appointed locals to speak as representatives,
ill informed Police and again the, I believe deliberate, misleading
presentation of figures was prejudiced to sensationalism. This
sensationalism was the driving force behind the BBC's journalism and
news. The facts were irrelevant to you.
Your inability to obtain information was made up for with speculation
and fallacies which were pedalled continuously even when they became
blatantly untrue. A new low for the BBC, if this is how the BBC reports
an incident in which I was involved and well placed to observe, any
trust in you has gone.
The poor communications was cynically exploited by the BBC journalists
and editors. The competitors and organisers had no ability to redress
the failures of the BBC news system. To me the BBC's impartiality and
integrity in news has been proved a sham.
The imbalance of the BBC is highlighted by the fact it ignored the
rescue of five ill equipped walkers (NOT OMM competitors) in Langdale.
This rescue required the combined efforts of Langdale, Ambleside and
Kendal Mountain Rescue Teams who worked valiantly in extremely difficult
conditions to achieve one the most technically outstanding rescues for
some time.
I have reviewed other media coverage and the BBC's is left massively
wanting, more akin to the Daily Sport than a valid source for news. I
look forward to the day I no longer have to contribute to the BBC and
support such incompetent drivel.

[Splinter]

What more should they have said? That gave all the information that was required (at least until Mr Weir started turning people back/transporting them to Cockermouth).

Well, understand that I'm speaking for a friend here (two, actually) but they felt that there was no obvious reason (i.e. visible to them, having completed the first day) for cancelling at that point and they thought in any case it'd have at least been courteous if nothing else to give a reason beyond "bad weather" for the cancellation. There have been rumours that mid-camp was flooded, but they were told nothing about that. Furthermore, there were absolutely no provisions whatsoever for getting them from the mid-camp back to the event centre and, having just completed day 1, Buttermere back to Seathwaite wasn't exactly a two minute walk. In fact, if the weather was so inclement as to force cancellation of the entire race, they felt "off you go by foot back to the start" was rather an inadequate plan to enforce it. Anyway, that was what was expressed to me, for better or for worse.

[Splinter]

A mate has asked me to post his letter to the BBC on here:

Someone at the BBC needs to explain and apologise for the inaccurate and
gross misrepresentation of the events surrounding the cancellation of
the OMM due to flooding.
The false reporting of figures, clearly unverified by journalists or
editors and the misleading presentation by the BBC, resulted in a great
deal of utterly unnecessary distress for the families and friends of the
OMM competitors.
I was a competitor and what the BBC presented as news was blatantly
false. We, as competitors, were unaware of being 'lost', 'missing' or
'unaccounted for'. All my fellow competitors I met knew exactly where
they were and what they were doing at all times. The BBC's massive
imbalance in allowing self appointed locals to speak as representatives,
ill informed Police and again the, I believe deliberate, misleading
presentation of figures was prejudiced to sensationalism. This
sensationalism was the driving force behind the BBC's journalism and
news. The facts were irrelevant to you.
Your inability to obtain information was made up for with speculation
and fallacies which were pedalled continuously even when they became
blatantly untrue. A new low for the BBC, if this is how the BBC reports
an incident in which I was involved and well placed to observe, any
trust in you has gone.
The poor communications was cynically exploited by the BBC journalists
and editors. The competitors and organisers had no ability to redress
the failures of the BBC news system. To me the BBC's impartiality and
integrity in news has been proved a sham.
The imbalance of the BBC is highlighted by the fact it ignored the
rescue of five ill equipped walkers (NOT OMM competitors) in Langdale.
This rescue required the combined efforts of Langdale, Ambleside and
Kendal Mountain Rescue Teams who worked valiantly in extremely difficult
conditions to achieve one the most technically outstanding rescues for
some time.
I have reviewed other media coverage and the BBC's is left massively
wanting, more akin to the Daily Sport than a valid source for news. I
look forward to the day I no longer have to contribute to the BBC and
support such incompetent drivel.

Sorry, but it's a pretty weak letter. I don't disagree with any of the conclusions at all, but it's full of "shouting," ranting, raving, and finger-pointing where dispassionate, objective and calm fact stating (and there are a great many facts to support the argument) would present a much more persuasive and compelling case. Ironically, he is doing exactly what he accuses the BBC of doing and writing a tabloid style letter where a "Times"-style response would make his case a great deal stronger.

[Baggins]

Know what you're saying but the state of the overnight camp left them withlittle choice but to cancel. I don;t think the fell conditions were sufficient to call it off and i'm not sure they ever could be, but when there's nowhere to put 1000 tents in such a way to organise the day 2 start then logistically the event is screwed.

Noone's fault, just bad luck.

I think they were a victim of circumstances

1. The overnight camp was in an area that didn't allow for other camping spots if the main one flooded.

2. Getting back to Race HQ involved going over a pass that had a business situated there allowing for people not involved in the OMM to get "involved"

I've been in the old Rock & Run MM the overnight camps were well away from any roads and any flooding would just mean having to camp a little higher.

I think the OMM needed to have a marshall on Honister Pass and will need to look at its procedures to stop anything like this happening again

[Baggins]

Furthermore, there were absolutely no provisions whatsoever for getting them from the mid-camp back to the event centre and, having just completed day 1, Buttermere back to Seathwaite wasn't exactly a two minute walk. In fact, if the weather was so inclement as to force cancellation of the entire race, they felt "off you go by foot back to the start" was rather an inadequate plan to enforce it. Anyway, that was what was expressed to me, for better or for worse.

While I agree that a better explanation than bad weather was needed ( I don't think bad weather on its own is an excuse to cancel any race if your not up to it don't run) I think a competitor who complains about walking back to the start (about five miles) has entered the wrong event.

[lawriej]

I
I think the OMM needed to have a marshall on Honister Pass and will need to look at its procedures to stop anything like this happening again

There were OMM marshalls at the top of the pass at 1.30pm. We dropped down to the pass intending to run down to Gatesgarth as we were running of (medium score) time. Judging by the number of C course competitors heading in te other direction; they'd only just got the message a few minutes earlier about the event being cancelled.

[mapper]

At 432 comments on this (433 including mine), have we not covered everything?

The press have said their bit, so have the police, so have the Mountain Rescue, Mark Weir, us, and so have the organisers. What happened has happened and we will be non the wiser for carrying on the discussion. It's all been said before.

Anyway, can't wait until I receive my Day 2 map..........

[Graham Breeze]

Agree. The world has moved on. In fact it had by last Tuesday.

However it takes a few days for Athletics Weekly to appear and from a well written and balanced full page article by Britta Sendlhofer (Editor of The Fellrunner) I quote the opening remarks by two competitors:

Mark Hobson: "I back the organisation 100%. It was brilliant....."

Alan Brentnall: "Personally, I think that the forecast warranted a cancellation, but I respect and understand the organisers' decision to try and carry on with the event."

Both these competitors are on the FRA Committee and I quote their differing remarks as printed in AW to illustrate that things are rarely black and white.

Very few indisputable facts have emerged about the OMM but as the vulgar expression goes: "everyone has an opinion."