THE organiser of an endurance race in the Lake District which ended in chaos has pledged to give prize money to mountain rescue teams.

More than 1,000 people were reported as “unaccounted for” on Saturday, when the two-day event near Keswick was cancelled due to heavy rain and high winds.

Organiser Jen Longbottom, of Haslingden, was hit by a media storm, and has faced calls to pay for the rescue teams and RAF helicopter called out to look for the runners.

But many competitors said they were experienced mountaineers who had set out with all the correct survival equipment.

Ms Longbottom, who has organised the annual Original Mountain Marathon for 40 years, said: “Seeing as the race didn’t finish and we had no winners, that money will be donated to the mountain rescue teams.

“We’ve also set up a fundraising campaign on the Just Giving website.

“Of course we support mountain rescue teams, but it’s also important to point out that the race also brings money into the area, and that the community centre had been opened as a rescue base for people whose houses had flooded - not specifically for our runners.

“We faced an awful lot of media interest over the weekend, and some criticism, but hopefully the mood towards us has chan-ged now.

“There was an awful lot of ruction created by one or two people blowing everything out of proportion, and the really sad thing about that is it meant a lot of families and friends of competitors were needlessly very distressed and concerned.

“It was a pretty sad end to a weekend that people had attended to enjoy themselves.”