Borrowdale Fell Race

[Rhiannon]

Race report by Scoffer on the Borrowdale website here

[wharfeego]

Plant those Studs!

Plant those Studs! by Andy Holden, on Flickr

[wharfeego]

Price's Going Down!

by Andy Holden, on Flickr

Please - no comments about the salute!

[wharfeego]

Got it Taped

Got it Taped by Andy Holden, on Flickr

[wharfeego]

Moses Parts the Scree

Moses parts the Scree by Andy Holden, on Flickr
Wharfedale Harrier - Hard Man - Colin Moses

[dcglim]

Not sure if anyone else picked up the comment from "Mike" on the news report in the North West Evening Mail (http://www.nwemail.co.uk/home/fell-r...bria-1.1152465). Now there's a whole new debate!!!

I have responded to Mike's letter. Below is what I have said:


Dear Mike,

This man who fell on Scafell entered a mountain race of his own volition. As you state, he fell off a rock where he "had no good reason to be on in the first place". You therefore reason that he should be made to pay for the costs of mountain rescue, A&E and air ambulance.

You have a point. Perhaps a "sensible" person wouldn't be trying to run on a mountain. Then again, a "sensible" person shouldn't be smoking, be overweight, drink alcohol excessively, eat too much salt or sugar, lead a sedentary lifestyle. I am hard-pressed to find anyone I know who is entirely "sensible" and does ALL the things his doctor tells him/her to do.

I am a doctor and see patients who have to a certain extent, "self-inflicted" illness everyday. The man with lung cancer who smoked his whole life, the obese man with diabetes, gout, hypertension and double knee replacements. Or the woman who became depressed and took an overdose, after she got hooked on alcohol and drugs.

You see Mike, much of modern illness in the NHS is to a certain extent self-inflicted. If I were to use your argument, we would have to charge all these people for using the ambulance and NHS service. In effect, the NHS, free at the point of delivery would cease to exist as we would be charging the majority of people coming through the door.

[Don't fear the sweeper]

Good reply!

[Fozzy42]

I have responded to Mike's letter. Below is what I have said:


Dear Mike,

This man who fell on Scafell entered a mountain race of his own volition. As you state, he fell off a rock where he "had no good reason to be on in the first place". You therefore reason that he should be made to pay for the costs of mountain rescue, A&E and air ambulance.

You have a point. Perhaps a "sensible" person wouldn't be trying to run on a mountain. Then again, a "sensible" person shouldn't be smoking, be overweight, drink alcohol excessively, eat too much salt or sugar, lead a sedentary lifestyle. I am hard-pressed to find anyone I know who is entirely "sensible" and does ALL the things his doctor tells him/her to do.

I am a doctor and see patients who have to a certain extent, "self-inflicted" illness everyday. The man with lung cancer who smoked his whole life, the obese man with diabetes, gout, hypertension and double knee replacements. Or the woman who became depressed and took an overdose, after she got hooked on alcohol and drugs.

You see Mike, much of modern illness in the NHS is to a certain extent self-inflicted. If I were to use your argument, we would have to charge all these people for using the ambulance and NHS service. In effect, the NHS, free at the point of delivery would cease to exist as we would be charging the majority of people coming through the door.

Can't really argue with that, (although Mike probably will) Buy a treadmill? Is that supposed to be an alternative to running on the fells, haha, sounds like a complete knobhead to me.

[hellhound on your trail]

I agree with the last 3 posts,all the fellrunners I know are hard working people, maybe the benefit thieves should pay more.

[Jimmy]

I agree with the last 3 posts,all the fellrunners I know are hard working people, maybe the benefit thieves should pay more.

I beg to disagree. I found the post pretty distasteful. A doctor blithely describing his own patients' illnesses as "self-inflicted" displays an unpleasant sense of smug superiority and crass insensitivity.

I got the distinct feeling that the poster wasn't that far off actually wanting to penalise these feeble untermenschen - after all, they're probably 'the benefit thieves' you seem to despise so much.

Quite a few fell-runners I know (and good ones) have had problems to greater or lesser extents in the past with alcohol or drugs, and the last thing they would have wanted is 'help' from someone as grossly insensitive and superior as that. Don't worry, they're 'hard-working' now though, so you can rest easy.