The fact that there were so few injured I feel was more from luck than good judgement. The kimm/omm has always gone ahead in bad weather and has been enjoyed for that challenge. But this time the forecast was so bad (and turned out to be worse) that showed that the organisers did not have the common sense to postpone or cancel it.
The Thursday before was frightening in the lakes, but the forecast for the Saturday said that it was going to be worse, this should have been a wake up call. There had been media messages not to drive into the area for the previous two days the roads in places were 4 feet deep in water. For people to say that there was no emergency was slight under play of the situation. 5 Mountain rescue teams, NW ambulance service, st Johns ambulance, countless police officers, the opening up of reception centres & a dozen or so ending up in hospital some would say is not over playing the event. If you then say it got out of hand due to the fact that the organisers had no mobile phone coverage in the area. There has never been good mobile coverage in that area so what other system had been put in place to over come that problem, there appeared to be none. Hopefully this should be a wake up call, run the event but don’t press on regardless.
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  It basically just seems that much of the emergency services reacted in panic here then according to this version of events above from Paul; just in case anything might possibly go wrong, anywhere along the line. I'm sure that is not actually what happens in true practise. Emergency services are usually only deployed as and when really essentially needed in most cases.
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| Edited: 27/10/08 14:20 |
 I'm not giving an opinion on whether the event should have gone ahead or not, but it's interesting to read what was written in the OMM blog two days before: OMM Blog
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Do you mean the bit there where it says race competitors must remember to pack wetsuit, snorkel and flippers?
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| Edited: 27/10/08 15:01 |
I did a 20ml night ride loop on my bike with a beginner on friday night (finished about 10pm) around Skiddaw. I had planned 2 -3 bail out routes and as the weather was due to get worse for the weekend decided it was gonna be one to push through with. I havent had so much fun on a night ride for ages. Yes it was blowing a gale but not a drop of rain and as i was prepared for it i found it very enjoyable.
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"Do you mean the bit there where it says race competitors must remember to pack wetsuit, snorkel and flippers?" Yes, that's the bit. Wouldn't want anyone to miss it.
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Yes Friday & Sunday were good days but Thursday & Saturday were crap. Here in Langdale we had vehicles flooded up to the roof blocking the main roads. This was the worst flooding I have seen for 20 years.
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Already had a customer in with a flooded vehicle
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Was it just the engine flooded, or the whole car there TLH? 
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 Would have hoped for more informed comments than these, the OMM (KIMM) attracts the fittest, hardiest endurance types in the country. It looks like the whole thing has been blown out of proportion by the clown from the Slate Mine who became Mr Rent a quote and the all seeing eye of everything to do with the event (this guy should be ashamed of himself). It wasn't the event organisers who called the Police & the BBC & the world media, if you take part you know what to expect, you are on your own, you train hard and carry what you need, look at all the pictures even in this adversity people are still smiling its what it is all about. The weather was unfortunate (and extreme) but it should be allowed to tar the name of a great event which has helped to raise the standard of outdoor equipment, skills and be a challenge that should be looked forward to. The injuries are on a par with a usual year... Where the attention should be is the media coverage which was a complete joke!!!
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 i'm intrested in how their kamleika waterproofs performed.
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'Would have hoped for more informed comments than these'
Were you in the Lake District this weekend? I was I live here in langdale just over the hill from where the event took place, the weather was not just bad it was the worse I have seen for 20 years. The rent a quote person as you call him may have shouted loudly about it; however he was the one who had hundreds of people turning up looking for shelter. He was the one having to provide vehicles to get everyone out of the valley; the event did not do this.
The other thing it may not have been the event organisers phoning for the police etc but the competitors certainly did.
I like many, have taken part in these events and fully enjoy them. However there comes a point when you have to say that the weather is too bad and postpone it.
Iam not trying to rubbish the event, it needs to keep going, but people need react to exceptional circumstances and plan ahead.
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It was the entire van. - Wrote TLH.Yeah, I know. I read the other post you did on it beforehand. I just wanted to get in a 'flooded' engine joke is all! I know it is rather hard to flood an engine with modern motors, but it was a common problem for cars in the seventies when I was growing up I recall.
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Welcome to the forum anyways there, Derek. Even if you don't much like what some of us have to say every once in a while. All part of the fun that is the great OM you will no doubt happily find. By the way, if you read back through the three threads on here about this again you will no doubt see that we are all actually too talking about the media coverage of the event being at fault, in fact.
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| Edited: 27/10/08 23:35 |
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 From the near hysterical coverage in The Times: Mark Weir, who began a rescue effort on Saturday night from his slate mine near Keswick, said that the race could have led to many lives being lost. “We have come within inches of turning the Lake District mountains into a morgue. We need to learn from this,” the 52-year-old owner of the Honister Slate Mine said. His tourist attraction was used as a temporary shelter for hundreds of runners who became trapped by the storm. “On a good day, this place is heaven on earth. In extreme freak weather like this, it is hell. We need to give serious thought to a mountain centre for England being based here,” Mr Weir said. No ulterior motive there, then... Email from a mate, who lives in Eskdale and took part: Superb fun.
I completed the B course on day 1 and was camped up when the message got to me that the event was off and we had to get back to event HQ. Which is where the fun started....
Then several tossers tried to force us into honister mines, and then again at Seatoller. We ignored them and waded through the waist deep flood with cars bobbing about in it. My mates car was fine but had to sleep in it till morning until the floods went down. No big deal. Car in a storm is better than a tent in a storm.
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A fair bit of difference of perception there then, for sure! Different attitude too meethinks. Optimist versus pessimist maybe do you think, Montgomery?
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| Edited: 27/10/08 23:53 |
 Haven't had time to come on here much recently but had to say something about this! Whatever the situation on the ground was at the weekend, we end up with yet another crazy media circus with various uninformed muppets banging on about "selfish idiots trying to prove how tough they are", which in turn provokes Mrs Couch Potato of Croydon to ring the radio talk show and insist that everyone should pay a fee to go on the hills as it's unfair to waste "taxpayers' money" on rescuing the fools. Maybe there are too many mass-participation events organised nowadays and there must be extra demands placed on the MRTs and emergency services - but surely the OMM is one of the last events that needs "cancellation"? Mike Parsons has a bit of experience in these things I think and I'm sure is capable of making the call if needed. As for Outraged of Honister, this is the same Slate Mine guy that charges tourists a lot of dough to hang off a wire on a not especially dangerous bit of quarry, right? He seemed to be especially worried about people being sucked up in whirlwinds and blown into crevasses. Hell of a wind that would be
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