Fellsman

[Alan Greenwood]

I am an interested outsider and have read all the posts. These seem to concentrate on the entrants responsibilities. But what about the organisers' responsibilities?

To my mind the state of the weather features high on the list of hazards to be encountered by an entrant on the event and the poor state of the weather was forecasted. Did the organisers do a risk assessment beforehand and if so why don't they publicise it? I believe you can enter the Fellsman without any previous experience (someone please correct me if I am wrong). I would have thought as an organiser I would want everyone to know the risks they are taking and that the entrants have already done a qualifying event in the last twelve months e.g. Calderdale Hike, Four Inns, Bullock Smithy rather than accepting entries from the inexperienced.

I realise most events have a disclaimer but the value of these appears to be questionable.

[Stolly]

Hey don't criticise the organisers, they were brilliant. And like IanDarkpeak said they made absolutely the right call to pull the plug at exactly the right time. If their resources were becoming so stretched because of continual multiple call outs to pick DNF's up from checkpoints etc then they did the right and proper thing. It was nothing to do with runners/walkers having insufficient equipment and, as for experience, I think you'd have had to have been there to fully appreciate the effects of the weather.

As for qualifying events, what are you on about? Are you saying that to do a long event, you have to prove that you've already done one before? A bit chicken and egg eh? I don't think one single person went into this years fellsman without the right kit and without an idea of what they were facing. But of course it was tough - if it was easily within everybody's capabilities then not many people would want to do it!

[Toreador]

I was comfortably cool (as a runner should be) but never cold and I got back just after midnight.

I wasn't there, but know people who were, and my understanding is that conditions got significantly worse after you were safely off high ground.

The Fellsman is an event (not a run, nor a walk) which takes safety very seriously. Some would say they go too far - just look at the endless grumbles on here about grouping. But everyone knows this (or could find out with a minimum of research). There are plenty of events around which expect a higher level of experience/competence and which would probably not have cancelled, but if you enter the Fellsman you should expect a bit more "hand holding". That's my view anyway.

[Toreador]

I would want everyone to know the risks they are taking and that the entrants have already done a qualifying event in the last twelve months e.g. Calderdale Hike, Four Inns, Bullock Smithy rather than accepting entries from the inexperienced.

Noooooo! There are already too many events that have such a requirement. As Stolly says, how is anyone meant to gain the necessary race experience if they can't enter anything without it?

[Alan Greenwood]

My comments are meant to be helpful and for the future. Are they valid or not?

No criticism about the organisation behind the decision to cancel.

[Alan Greenwood]

Well that is an easy one to answer. Start with short events and build up.

[Stolly]

The problem comes when entrants over-estimate their own ability (physically and mentally). They then change from runners to walkers, are generating a lot less heat and suddenly become woefully under-equipped.

I fully support the organiser's decision to stop the event and I feel the kit list is fit for purpose. Whether or not some of the entrants were is perhaps open to debate!

I agree with that completely AndyA but I also think other factors come into play. For my part I get hot while running really easily and, especially during a long run, I find getting my temperature control just right really quite tricky. There's no easy way to say this but I sweat... a lot - heck I can still remember when I used to go to a gym in Skipton for a while to do body combat and shower all those (mainly horrified) women around me with sweat and be the only person in a class of 40 to finish standing in a pool of sweat at the end (I was politely told to always bring a towell and stand in my own corner after a while). So, even in cold weather, I worry about getting hot and I especially worry about getting hot and then cooling really quickly, as I can then get super cold super fast. I've run the HPM three times and completed the fellsman twice before and pretty much each and every time I've had problems with getting too hot/too cold and its very hard to get it right.

Coupled with that going into this years fellsman I was up for really giving it a good go so I agree I did start quite quickly. I also agree I shot myself in the foot at Dent by not taking on enough food - this though was probably weather related as I was just burning far more calories than expected. Jez Bragg in his Grough write up said the same thing so it wasn't just me . Sooo... when I finally did get cold coming over Dodd Fell, coupled with a low energy moment, my mistake (I think) was to put on too much body cover at Fleet Moss and then ironically get too hot running to the Middle Tongue checkpoint. And then gradually freezing on what I found to be mostly unrunnable ground going towards Hell gap.

All the same another valuable experience to put into the memory banks

[Stolly]

Well that is an easy one to answer. Start with short events and build up.

Do you know anything about the event? Its chock o' block with ultra runners, ultra walkers and BGR finishers. In fact pretty much every runner I spoke to on my particular journey round had completed a Bob flipping Graham!

[Toreador]

Well that is an easy one to answer. Start with short events and build up.

Before I ever did any official event I'd done things like the Lake District 3000 footers, which should I have to enter lots of short races (in which I have no interest) to be allowed to do the Fellsman? There are already more than enough safeguards in place - stringent kit checks, grouping, many opportunities for strugglers to drop out.

[dmd]

If their resources were becoming so stretched because of continual multiple call outs to pick DNF's up from checkpoints etc then they did the right and proper thing.

DNFs are not an issue. We have systems in place to transport retirees and we do this every year. However when a large number of retirees are also needing First Aid and medical treatment that's when it gets a whole lot more difficult, and however many first aiders you have there is always going to be a limit.