Just to further add to this thread and in particular my own situation which was entirely of my own making of course, on reflection these are the things that I believe contributed to my situation -

1. I removed my jacket in Greendale because it was warm and humid in the valley and didn’t put it back on until way after I should have by which time I had become soaked. My reasoning at the time was I just didn’t feel cold. I should have anticipated better how I would get being out on the fells in poor conditions for what turned out to be upwards of 6 hrs. Having read Nicky's blog on his race experience some useful pointers in that especially his use of the rule of 3.

2. I should have taken more food than I would normally have done given the weather. I didn't anticipate enough how much more energy I would be burning off in the wind and rain. I normally struggle to eat during long runs/races like many of us but that wasn’t the case on Saturday when I ate more than I normally would but still could have done with more.

3. Most importantly I should have run off the pike on a bearing rather than trust that I would be ok and be able to stay in contact with others. Had I done that last thing I don't have any doubt I would have been back at the finish eating those lovely sandwiches and drinking sweet tea but the extra time bumbling around somewhere on the side of the mountain getting colder got the better of me. My nav up until that point had been ok despite a little detour around Scoat fell and having done that run down to the valley many times before (including in poor visibility) didn’t think it would be a problem, a stupid mistake on my behalf and I should have known better.

Finally the one thing that struck me is just how quickly you go from feeling ok to being a mess (I felt reasonable enough going through the Scafell checkpoint) proving above all how important it is to react early and anticipate what potentially might happen.

It’s a great race and fantastically organised by the Cumberland Fell Runners Association and I'll definitely be back for more I hope. Thanks again to all involved.

Ash