Quote Originally Posted by IainR View Post
Much ado about nothing. It was freezing up there; one runner's hands were so cold he couldn't get a jacket on and reckoned he wasn't far off hypothermic; its perfectly understandable that in those conditions a gel wrapper could blow out of someone's cold fumbling hands. I managed to keep hold of all mine but one wasn't far off getting away before I stashed it back in my bumbag. It was also hard to regulate your temperature yesterday, one minute it was pretty nice, quite warm, the next sleety rain or hail. On the second to last climb I was getting very cold but knew I was close enough to the end to push on without stopping to get a jacket on.

Compared to the degree of erosion caused by races the odd bit of litter isn't a huge issue.
Much ado about nothing, I thought that was the major theme on the Forum Seriously this is a major issue along with erosion, and other such impacts on the enviroment, and could effect the future running of this race and others over Pendle and elsewhere, and to use the conditions as an excuse isn't plausible in my book, it was a bit brisk but just a typical November day, runners should be prepared for the conditions carry the correct kit, and have the fortitude to use it. A true Fellrunner is someone with a love for the mountains and wild places, and should visit these areas with as little impact as possible leaving it for others to enjoy.
This I would say is a relatively new problem, which would suggest to me people coming into the sport without a background knowledge or obviously appreciation of the mountains and hills. Stick to the roads along with your sticky gel packs!