Mountain racers tell of 'awful' conditions

Roads were dry when Alexandra and Jim Aitken arrived in Cumbria

Within 20 minutes of setting off in deteriorating weather, 50-year-old Jim Aitken's experience told him there was little point in trying to compete in the race.

"It was just a battle for survival," he said.

"You just wouldn't expect conditions like that in the UK.

"We were being buffeted right and left by the wind and there was always a danger of being thrown onto rocks and breaking a leg."

That morning he had driven with daughter Alexandra, 18, from their home in Perth, Scotland, confident of their abilities to tackle one of Cumbria's toughest events.

"When we arrived the roads were dry but the rain had just started when we set off at 10.20am," said Mr Aitken, an agronomist - an economist specialising in the potato industry.

'Survival was the key'

"Within 20 minutes we changed our course because conditions deteriorated fast and survival was the key.

"The wind was penetrating and when the rain struck your skin it felt like hailstones. What should have been easy paths were like rivers, while small streams were suddenly knee-deep.

"When you were on the high ground, you couldn't see much at all. It was difficult to hold the map to get a look at it and low cloud made visibility pretty bad."

Alexandra is an experienced fell runner and goes orienteering regularly so the pair were well equipped.

Mr Aitken said: "We had waterproofs from head to toe, as well as hats and gloves, but the rain blew in every seam.

"Our feet got numb after an hour or two and our hands were cold but we managed to keep the rest of our bodies warm. The biggest danger was hypothermia but we never got too worried because we knew we were aiming to take the safest route."

Helen Gilbert and Stephen Wyatt spent the night in an activity centre

"We were disappointed but in hindsight it was the right decision," said Mr Aitken.

Tired, they still faced a five-mile walk back along the road to the start.

"It should have been easy but there was a constant stream of water. That was probably the worst part for Alexandra because it was so tiring."

When fellow competitor Helen Gilbert, 28, set off with partner Stephen Wyatt, 33, at 10.50am, the wind and rain had already made conditions "pretty horrible".

"It was gale force wind, gusting up to 80 or 90mph and really heavy rain. Conditions were awful. Probably the worst I've experienced up in the mountains," said the chartered accountant from Birmingham.

"Every time the rain touched your hands and face it was really painful. Running was impossible, it was hard enough to stand up."

'Clinging for balance'

With 90 minutes of their allotted five hours to go, they decided it was too dangerous to climb to the overnight camp and decided to abandon the race.

"We had already seen one guy with hypothermia and met the mountain rescue team going to help him, so that made us think," Ms Gilbert said.

Finding the road back to the start flooded, they had to take a path through the hills.

"We had to cross a couple of fast-flowing deep rivers, which was quite scary. They were above knee height so it was a case of clinging onto rocks and trying to keep balance. I ended up half-crawling," she added.

The pair eventually spent the night sharing their stories with others on the floor of an activity centre, where they were provided with warm clothes and soup.

"Watching the news reports on TV was very bizarre," Ms Gilbert said, backing the organisers' decision to go ahead with the competition despite the weather prospects.

"The fact that there were so few injuries proves that it was right for the event to go ahead, and none of the competitors I spoke to would disagree.

"The mandatory kit list means all competitors should have been equipped to deal with the conditions."

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