OK, so the death toll from the Great North Run matched that of the Hatfield rail crash.
I wonder how long the court case will last?
Dr Andrew Vallance-Owen of BUPA said, "At BUPA we encourage everyone to take an active interest in their health and running is a great way to keep fit. This year BUPA is sponsoring six runs including the BUPA Great North and BUPA Great South Runs."
Oops, wrong page. That was last year. Actually, he said that fun-runners who failed to prepare properly for such gruelling events could suffer heart attacks. (Metro, Monday 19 Sep).
Not that there is any evidence that the victims did fail to prepare properly. The brother of 28-year-old Reuben Wilson said that Wilson had trained for the race. The immediate assertion that "if it didn't work, you weren't doing it properly" is one of those things that I generally find very annoying. Facts first, please, then conclusions.
Seriously, I don't think that the organisers of the race should be considered liable for the deaths that occurred. But there is at least is much justification as in many other cases of accidental death, including Hatfield.