Independent Redresses OMM Balance

Following on from the weekend's near hysterical coverage of the Original Mountain Marathon in the northern Lakes, it's a relief to see at least one national newspaper is prepared to redress the balance, with the Independent carrying a piece by Richard Askwith - the author of classic read Feet In The Clouds - explaining the realities of mountain marathons.

Once you get past the daft subhead, which describes the OMM as 'the ultimate adrenalin sport' - really? - it's a nicely balanced piece that puts the weekend's events in perspective. Not only does Askwith explain what the event entails, something none of the weekend's reports seemed capable of doing, he also simultaneously acknowledges that while the weather was extreme, the competitors were prepared for it both in terms of equipment and expectations:

"Reports that hundreds were "forced to spend the night on a mountainside" missed the point entirely: the only ones whose plans were disrupted were the disappointed hundreds who were forced not to spend the night on a mountainside. I have yet to speak to a single competitor who felt that he or she had been the victim of an emergency.'

He goes on to talk about the mental toughness required by fell running and the slightly perverse revelling in dire conditions that's at the heart of the sport and was completely missed by the media at large. And above all, the importance of escaping from our conformist, consumerist society... Amen to that.

It's welll worth a read and you can find it at www.independent.co.uk