Hudds pensioner beats elements in Lake District marathon fiasco

Oct 27 2008 by Barry Gibson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A VETERAN Huddersfield fell runner has defended the decision which led to thousands of athletes being stranded overnight in appalling conditions in the Lake District.

Organisers of the Original Mountain Marathon have been criticised by the police for l allowing the race to start in heavy rain and strong winds.

And when the seriousness of the situation became clear as organisers lost track of 2,500 competitors, the event was abandoned.

But 70-year-old Rod Shaw from Golcar completed his race and said the organisers were right to allow the event to start.

Rod said: “The fact that many hundreds of competitors were unaccounted for on Saturday night was no cause for concern since it says in the safety rules: ‘It is assumed that anyone not reaching the overnight camp will be camped in safety elsewhere.’”