In reply to all the one sided comments on http://www.blipfoto.com/entry/2572280
We had contacted Nav4 and had their expressed invitation to attend and photograph this event.
When we saw that stustod had placed quite a number of pics on fliker we asked (not snottly) if he would take them down to give us a chance to earn our living to which he kindly agreed.
It appears that what has upset people mostly is that sustod received a "snotty" messagefrom us, I can assure you that Laura has never written a "snotty" message in her life.
The comments from IWC about the lazy photographer 10 meters from the road pretending to be a marshall in a high vis jacket I find particulary insulting. We not only covered Dunmail Rise but were also just before checkpoint 3 and the driving time meant that we may have only just arrived when IWC went past me but he would have pasted my wife half way up the fellside on the way upto Grisdale Tarn.
I was on the route that ran parallel with the road at a gate. I had been a quarter of a mile into the route but when it became apparent that runners (not all of them) were taking the more direct line but then having to retrace their steps (not all of them, some were crossing the beck) I decided to try and guide them to the safer route. Many thanked me for doing so.
I had been advised by my wife who was up the fellside that the beck was in flood and runners were having to retrace their steps so they could cross.
Sportsunday wear hi vis as a safety measure, we dont want anyone running into us because they could not see us. Not only do we not want to be hurt but we dont want anyone else hurt either. Sorry if this basic common sense safty measure offends.
As for pretending to be a marshall, give me a break. Too suggest I was trying to divert runners just so I could photograph them is comtemptable.
Our stance is that we do not own the fells and and anyone is entitled to go and do as the feel, all we would ask (and did) is the chance to do our job and earn our living. We were as I said asked to cover this by the RO.
In the past we have helped people in running events by calling them back when they have gone wrong and pointing them right when they are mistaken.
We have both been hurt by these comments by uninformed people.