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Runner tells of peak ordeal (From Oxford Mail)
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Runner tells of peak ordeal
7:04pm Sunday 26th October 2008
An Oxford man caught up in the floods and 90mph winds which turned a gruelling mountain run into an emergency zone has spoken of his baptism of fire.
Tim Beale, 24, was for the first time taking part in the Original Mountain Marathon (OMM) along with 2,500 other runners.
Yesterday mountain rescue teams and an RAF helicopter were scouring the peaks for runners and by early afternoon all had been accounted for. Some were being treated in local hospitals for injuries and hypothermia.
Mr Beale, a former Oxford Brookes University student, of Barracks Lane, East Oxford, was yesterday on his way home. He had completed 15 kilometres when the organisers abandoned the two-day annual mountain marathon.
He told the Oxford Mail: "It was my first time and it was a real baptism of fire.
"Conditions were pretty tough. We started out at Seathwaite and when we got to the north side of the Honister Pass we learned that it had been called off.
"Everywhere was being flooded. They wouldn't let us walk back to where we'd started. We had to camp up overnight in a barn. We'd got food, stoves and stuff, so it was okay, but they were having to ferry others over to Cockermouth to put them up for the night."
Mr Beale, a hydrological consultant working in Wallingford, added that despite the harsh conditions it would not put him off taking part again.
Reports came in of runners in narrow escapes, including one woman swept away in a torrent but rescued by other competitors.
OMM organisers stressed that the event has been running for 41 years and runners accepted the tough terrain and conditions as part of the challenge. It is the first time it has been abandoned.
Although some were left pitching tents for the night on the fellsides and in the Honister slate mines, many like Mr Beale were given refuge in mountaineering centres, barns and farmhouses.
Marathon organiser Jen Longbottom said that, despite the forecast of extreme weather, safety measures had been put in place to minimise risks.
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Your Say YourOxford
timbeales_alegend, oxford says...
8:32pm Sun 26 Oct 08
Paye, Oxon says...
9:10pm Sun 26 Oct 08
timbeales_alegend, oxford says...
10:01pm Sun 26 Oct 08
turnerprize, lower garsington says...
8:01am Mon 27 Oct 08
When there is trouble in the world these are the guys( and gals) who come to the front and lead.
Your sayYour Oxford
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Tim Beale
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amazed_fan, oxford says...
8:12pm Sun 26 Oct 08