Mountain rescuers at work in the Lake District
An Original Mountain Marathon competitor has weighed in with a hefty £500 donation to mountain rescue services as a thank you for being rescued.
The anonymous donor stumped up the cash, saying they would not now be able to go skiing in the New Year and giving the mountain rescue teams the money saved up for the trip. Donations to the fundraising website set up after the OMM have now reached more than £8,000.
The event came in for widespread criticism in the mainstream media, led by the BBC, after wild weather hit the two-day event in October, leading to the abandonment of the marathon at the end of its first morning.
A Justgiving website was set up, with proceeds going to the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association. The original target of £5,000 was quickly surpassed as competitors and supporters, almost all of whom needed no help from the mountain rescue teams, chipped in in gratitude to the unpaid volunteers who are on call every day of the year.
Richard Warren, chair of the LDSMRA, stated it would be nice if £12,000 could be raised through the appeal – a grand for each of the teams that operates in the Lake District.
So far, the total is £8,332 which, with Gift Aid added, should bring the mountain rescue teams nearly £10,000. This should provide a riposte to those who were quick to call for the organisers to pay for the cost of the rescue operation.
Among them was Cumbria’s public health director Prof John Ashton who described the cost of the rescue effort as ‘enormous’. Unlike most Alpine rescue organisations, British mountain rescue teams have never charged for their services.
Donations are now slowing, but the appeal runs for another 17 months, so there is still time to contribute.
Mr Warren publicly thanked all those who had added to the fund. He said shortly after the event: “There has been a lot of criticism related to this year’s OMM and it is good to be able to acknowledge an extremely positive outcome. The comments from the donors on the Justgiving website are very much appreciated.”
The teams’ efforts on the weekend drew almost universal praise and one contributor went even further, confessing he ‘Fell in love with the girl MRT walking up from Rosthwaite with the stretcher’.
Donations can be made online by visiting the Justgiving website.
See also
Hundreds stranded as floods hit mountain marathon
All back safe as media storm follows OMM weekend
Health boss: ‘make marathon organisers pay rescue costs’
Mountain rescuers say thanks to marathon donors
