Stranded fell runners thank towns for help
Last updated 08:24, Friday, 07 November 2008
COCKERMOUTH and Keswick townsfolk have been praised for helping hundreds of fell runners who became stranded after atrocious weather conditions on Saturday.
The towns swung into action after runners in the 42nd Original Mountain Marathon, near Keswick, had to be evacuated off Great Gable due to gale-force winds and torrential rain.
A massive rescue operation, led by mountain rescue teams, police, county and Allerdale councils and dozens of volunteers, was set up and about 600 runners took refuge at Honister Slate Mine, Gatesgarth Farm and Glaramara Outdoor Pursuits Centre after roads became impassable.
About 130 runners were taken to the Sheep and Wool Centre, off the A66 near Cockermouth, by volunteer drivers before being transported to an emergency rescue centre at Cockermouth School to stay overnight.
The Sheep and Wool Centre fed runners and sent over food to the school and Sainsbury’s donated food to the stricken runners.
Volunteers from the Red Cross, St John Ambulance, Salvation Army and WRVS worked through the night providing blankets, clothing and serving hot drinks.
Competitor Adam Whittle, of Bristol, said: “I want to say an enormous thank you to all the people in Cockermouth who helped the fell runners on Saturday night.
“The manager of the slate mine gave us all tea, let us warm up in his cafe and organised transport.
“The staff at the Sheep and Wool Centre welcomed us into their bar, gave us more tea, towels and blankets.
“The volunteers at Cockermouth School were fantastic, spending their Saturday night and Sunday morning providing food, finding dry clothes and towels and making us feel like pampered guests.
“I don’t know any of the names but I cannot thank them all enough. It was a truly impressive and humbling experience. Cockermouth is lucky to have such people.”
Cockermouth resident Richard Johnson said one competitor told him: “I would like to pass on to the people of Cockermouth the extreme gratitude of 100-plus mountain marathon competitors who found themselves cold, wet, hungry and some of us nearing exhaustion.
“We were overwhelmed by the care we received. A huge thank you to everyone in the town who brought up dry sleeping bags, towels, clothes and hot soup.
“Your mountain rescue teams, police, paramedics, St John Ambulance and Red Cross people were magnificent.
“To have a supermarket that at 11pm on a Saturday night donates to us as many sandwiches, cakes and pieces of fruit as we can eat is quite outstanding.”
Mountain rescue teams involved in the rescue operation were Cockermouth, Keswick, Penrith, and Wasdale.
RAF Leeming sent out a helicopter to search for unaccounted-for runners.
The premises manager at Cockermouth School, Paul Heap, 45, said: “We are a community school and so we aim to help the community as much as possible.”
Debbie Keir, of Allerdale council’s emergency planning team, was on duty at the school for around 15 hours.
She said: “Members of the public brought in pans of soup and we had around 20 to 30 volunteers working through the night to care for the runners. Everybody has said the care they received was absolutely brilliant.”
The Sheep and Wool Centre’s duty manager, Pamela Robertson, said: “We were pleased we were able to help and everyone has done an excellent job.”
At Gatesgarth Farm, runners took shelter in a barn that had only been built a month ago.
Owner Willie Richardson, 51, said: “The runners were meant to be camping here but because the weather was so bad they could not put their tents up.
“I dread to think what would have happened if I had not had the shed there.
“The conditions on Saturday night were extreme and the worst I have ever seen in my lifetime but I was happy to help out.
“One person wrote me a letter with £10, thanking me for letting him stay in my barn overnight.”
David Oglethorpe, 41, owner of Glaramara outdoor centre, said: “We had about 98 people staying with us as well as normal guests.
“All of them said they were very grateful to not only us but the guests as well that helped them out.”
Mike Park, 43, team leader of Cockermouth Mountain Rescue team, said: “I had never seen weather like we had on Saturday.
“We have received a lot of grateful thanks from people and a lot of competitors have donated generously to us, which we are grateful for.”
n Meanwhile, fierce debate has erupted over who should foot the bill for the search operation. It is understood that the cost of responding to the emergency could run into hundreds of thousands of pounds – the RAF helicopter is believed to have cost £10,000 an hour. Competitors and supporters have begun to make donations to the mountain rescue teams and the marathon spokesman said organisers will also make a donation.
n Floods round-up – Pages 5,6 and 7
