I just got back last night after taking part in the OMM this weekend.
The conditions were the worst I have ever experienced in 20+ years of being out on the fells with gusts recorded of 120mph and torrential rain. We were blown off our feet at times and couldn’t look into the rain because it was to painful when it hit your face.
We decided to abandon the race about an hour before the organisers called it off and headed back to the start, which was interesting trying to cross streams that were now fast flowing rivers.
We did expect conditions to be bad and have taken part in this event and other similar events before – this one is purposely held at this time of year to test yourself in poor weather conditions. I am a great believer of taking personal responsibility for yourself and making your own decision whether to take part – and I’m pleased we did. It was a good test of endurance, navigation and survival.
I think the organisers were always going to be open to loads of criticism for running the event, which given the forecast was a bad call, mainly from the fact that it brings so much negative publicity to these types of things where people should be allowed to do what they want (like many so called dangerous sports such as paragliding) There’ll always be people who don’t understand the reasons for doing the things we do. Life without risk is or testing yourself is pretty dull. We live in a world now where Health & Safety has gone mad and there are people to blame for everything that goes wrong. It’s a nanny state
The people doing this event are all experienced and all equipped with tents spare clothes, maps survival equipment and the media as always blow these things out of all proportion. There were always going to be a few cases of hypothermia and the odd broken limb; the runners got themselves to safety, and the media saying there were over a 1000 lost on the fells is absolute crap. - Only 13 of 2500 were taken to hospital. There were no fatalities Mountain rescue is a voluntary organisation and they choose to be part of this because they are like minded people. Costs of the so-called rescue are again massively exaggerated. Its people who don’t understand what living is really about who criticise these activities and personal freedom. Anyway that’s my rant about it.
On a funnier note – after we got back to the start we hitched a lift back in one of the few cars to get through the flooded roads through buttermere and the Newlands pass. We’d texted Jan to come and get us when we were coming off the hill and didn’t imagine that when we’d hitched that she’d ever get through but she did and when we got back to Keswick to Steves’ Shop we got a call from Jan saying she was stuck at Seathwaite and was flooded in and was expecting to spend the night there! So after getting dried and changed at Steve Giles house Steve took his car back through the floods to rescue Jan who’d walked out upto waist deep along flooded roads We retrieved her and another 2 competitors and returned back to his house again to warm up. Great job Steve. Good service from the Sick and Wrong yet again. (Going above and beyond paragliding services –now retrieve and rescue)