The Missing Marathon

In Northern England, extreme competition participants gathered in the mountains for two days

The 40th mountain marathon, which has been held in late October in the Lake District National Park in north-west England since 1968, was the most extreme ever. Strong winds and downpours became an additional test not only for the race participants, but also for the organizers of this event - yesterday morning they were forced to admit that they do not know the whereabouts of 1,700 people out of 2,500 who took to the start line on Saturday morning. During Sunday, most of the marathon runners were found in various shelters, making themselves known in one way or another, but by the evening rescuers, including with the help of helicopters, continued to search for several dozen runners. Police in Cumbria, where most of the marathon routes pass through picturesque terrain, hope that athletes will be able to ride out the storm on their own.

The participants in this unusual marathon with a 40-year history are for the most part really well prepared. Organizers usually offer several high-mountain routes, ranging from 40 to 80 kilometers in length and with a height difference of 3 thousand meters. According to the BBC, the timing of these competitions - the end of October - was also not chosen by chance; the autumn weather, as the organizers of the marathon warn, seems to raise the level of difficulty of the competition in advance, providing participants with the opportunity to “overcome various challenges.” However, even on Saturday morning, no one expected that there would be too many “challenges”, and the main one would be heavy rains with piercing winds. According to local meteorologists, a month's worth of rainfall fell in the county of Cumbria in one day; the rains caused river overflows and flooding, including along the marathon routes.

Now we can only guess whether the marathon organizers overestimated the capabilities of the rescue service or underestimated the forecasts of meteorologists. One way or another, the start of the competition on Saturday was given near the town of Kezik, and the race had to be canceled already at the moment when most of the participants were in the middle of the route, where it was not so easy to inform them about the approach of the elements. As a result, by the end of Saturday, only about 800 people found reliable shelter and a warm overnight stay; the rest had to escape the rain and wind in caves and hastily constructed shelters. Medical facilities in Cumbria County had to deal with the consequences of the extreme marathon on Sunday. By the morning, rescuers who had examined the routes along which the athletes were supposed to move began to deliver the unlucky marathon runners to hospitals. There are no reports of deaths or serious injuries; the first two dozen patients suffer from hypothermia and minor bruises.

Cumbria Police are hoping the 40th Mountain Marathon will not be marred by casualties. “There is no reason to assume that the marathon runners who have not yet been found were injured and require medical assistance,” ITAR-TASS quotes a reassuring statement from a police representative. However, it is possible that both the police and the county authorities may still have questions for the organizers of the marathon, who, it seems, are not going to repent of the fact that they released 2,500 people on an extremely difficult route, and even, on the contrary, complain that today “It’s not popular to rely on one’s own strength.”

Fedor SEREBRYANSKY