The Original Mountain Marathon

They do say you can’t believe what you see on TV. A case in point has been the coverage of the Original Mountain Marathon this week. According to the TV show 8 Out Of 10 Cats it was the 5th most talked about subject this week, and (if I’ve got this quote right) ‘100 mph gales and horizontal rain made this year’s event the funniest ever’. Strangely that may have been some of the most accurate reporting.

My first contact with the story was late on Saturday night, when I saw a report on BBC news 24 that thousands of runners in a charity run had been stranded by bad weather in the Lake District. As many as 2,000 were unaccounted for, and hundreds were taking shelter in barns, and maybe camping out. I hadn’t heard of the event, but with hundreds of events each year that’s not surprising. I was as horrified as anyone at the idea of runners, maybe dressed in shorts and brief tops, caught out in gales and heavy rain in the mountains in October.

Unlike many folks though, I checked out the OMM website. I soon found out that the event was a 2 day one, with folks expecting to spend the night out on the hills in bad weather. In fact they hold it in October to get bad weather. Entrants were in teams of 2, with at least one in each pair expected to be experienced in mountain conditions. All competitors had a kit list including tent, food for 36 hours, spare dry clothes and a cooking stove. Many competitors were themselves mountain professionals, including members of the mountain rescue service. Those unaccounted for were not lost or in trouble, just not yet reported in. Many competitors were delighted with the challenge of rough conditions, disappointed that the race was called off, and bemused to find people had thought they were in trouble. There were injuries, but probably no more than expected during any running of this very tough event. And no deaths, unlike some ‘safer’ events such as Great North Run… One of the worst injuries, a woman who was stranded on an island for a couple of hours (with tent and hot drinks set up by other competitors…) before being airlifted out, is already planning to enter next year.

Over the weekend a total of 17 people attached to the OMM needed ‘rescuing’, including the woman’s helpers who were airlifted out with her. Meanwhile there were 22 separate incidents of other people needing help that were nothing to do with OMM.

Nobody was ‘forced to take shelter’ in barns, schools etc. They expected to sleep out, and many commented that they’d have happily camped in the intended campsite, in spite of it being flooded, if there hadn’t been alternatives. The barn was at the flooded campsite, and open sided and half built, so only suitable for those well kitted out. No ‘taxpayers money’ was spent ‘searching’ for those ‘lost’. Nobody was lost. Those rescued after injury were picked up exactly where they were expected to be. Mountain Rescue is paid for by donations, not tax. The RAF would have had to make up a training exercise to spend the money on if they hadn’t had the opportunity for a real bit of experience flying their helicopter around.

It would be impossible to summarize the posts I’ve been following on the OMM website… Highlights include ‘balloon beds’ popping in the barn, requests for the return of a map last seen disappearing at 80 miles an hour, and a thread calling for the banning of helicopter commuting (a dig at the slate mine attraction owner who earned gratitude by giving folks shelter, then pissed them off by starting the whole media circus with comments about the Lake District being turned into a morgue).

They’ve also debated what to overprint the official T-shirts with. ‘Unaccounted For’ was a big favourite. The eventual choice was ‘You had to be there’. Having been entranced all this week, I rather wish I had. Maybe one day.

In a society where life is very much about playing safe, finding someone to sue if you get hurt, and never being without your mobile, it’s refreshing to find a gang of folks like this. Testing themselves with great good humour, and ready to sleep in a bog and get themselves out of trouble if that’s what it takes.