It was billed as an epic Lakeland challenge for beginners and experienced runners alike.
But it turned into a disaster that only the weather prevented from becoming a tragedy. Now one of the amateur athletes taking part in last month’s Lakes Trail Festival has revealed the full extent of how a supposedly professionally organised event ended up with:
- More than 1,000 runners setting off without knowing the course had been changed and extended;
- An extra 10,000ft of ascent added to the route;
- Exhausted stragglers still on the mountains after more than 12 hours.
Organised by outdoor running company Trail Pursuits – whose stated mission is “to provide a unique trail running race experience for all levels of runner” – the event on May 28 featured four races of 4km, 10km, half-marathon and marathon distance, with routes in and around Buttermere.
Michael Uttley, an experienced trail runner from Barnoldswick in Lancashire, had signed up for the half-marathon, but became concerned a few days earlier when he checked the website to review the route.
“I discovered they’d all been changed,” he told the Reminder. “The 10km – which most beginner runners had signed up for – now featured over 2,500ft of ascent, including heading up to Red Pike, High Stile and High Crag, before the steep, shale descent back to Buttermere.
“The half now featured 5,000ft of climbing, including tricky technical terrain not suited at all for beginners, while they’d added an extra three miles and 10,000ft of climbing to the marathon.
“What was worse, these routes were not even available for download. I had to email them for mine, but you would have had dozens of inexperienced runners just setting off without a clue what they were letting themselves in for.”
The weather that day was bright and sunny, which Michael says is the only thing that prevented the event from turning into a catastrophe.
“People were heading up big Lake District mountains in running gear, with no phone signal and no maps for reference because there weren’t any provided. Imagine it had been raining or cold or foggy – somebody could quite easily have got lost, or badly injured themselves, or worse.”
Michael completed his run in 4hrs 20mins, although he says the expected 13-mile course had been extended to 15. But after eight hours there were still 10km runners out on the hills, with insufficient supplies, equipment and guidance.
“These were clearly inexperienced runners that shouldn’t have been on that terrain,” he said. “There was no GPS tracking, only one aid-station, and so few marshals it beggars belief. The last half marathon runner came back around 12 hours later.”
Trail Pursuits was founded two years ago by Ed Flood and David Riley, who this year plan to stage similar running festivals in the Cairngorms and the Brecon Beacons.
In a Facebook post two days after the Lakes event, the company apologised for what had happened, blaming “a mix of internal challenges which led to poor communication in the lead up to and during the event”.
Acknowledging that the safety of runners should have been better managed, they continued: “We were faced with a difficult decision to cancel the event or move forward with the proposed routes.”
They have now said they are to implement a series of changes to procedure, including increased numbers of event staff, marshals and volunteers.
But Michael Uttley is one of many runners who have vowed never to take part in a Trail Pursuit event again.
“It was, by far and away, the most dangerous running event I have ever seen take place, and the total disregard for runners shown by the organisers is criminal,” he said.
“They simply shouldn’t be playing with people’s lives in this way, and shouldn’t be given permission to put on events to make money in such a dangerous way.”
