Tag: mountain marathon

British Mountain Marathon Calendar

Posted on by Alistaire MacGregor

2019 is set to be another great year in the world of Mountain Marathons with some old favourites bowing out and new events stepping to the fore.

Last year saw the final running of the uber-classic LAMM, with a fitting farewell on the beautiful Isle of Harris. Thankfully for those of us who looked to the LAMM for our annual Highland Fix, Ourea events took up the mantle and launched the all new Scottish Mountain Marathon for this year. It promises to be a beaut, upholding the spirit of the original.

Introduce friends & family to MM at the OMM Festival

Event: Great Lakeland 3 Day
Date: 4-6th May 2019
Location: Lake District
More information: www.greatlakeland3day.com

Overview:The SILVA GL3D™ is an adventurous three-day mountain marathon with a unique, relaxed and friendly atmosphere that attracts both runners and long-distance walkers. Over the years the event has built up a dedicated following of participants who enjoy the challenge of three long, consecutive days in the hills. We start and finish in the same location and so that participants can get maximum enjoyment, we transport their overnight equipment between each camp.

Event: Scottish Mountain Marathon
Date: 8th – 9th June 2019
Location: Attadale Forest, North West Highlands
More information: www.scottishmountainmarathon.com

Overview: The Scottish Mountain Marathon™ is a classic two-day hill running and navigation challenge held in the Scottish Highlands and Islands each year.

Open to pairs who must compete as self-sufficient teams, the event is suitable for novice participants and elite competitors alike. There are seven different courses, offering something for everyone who enjoys navigating through wild and challenging terrain.

Event: 41st SLMM Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon
Date: 6th July – 7th July 2019
Location: Howgills, Western Dales
More information: www.slmm.org.uk

Overview: The Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon (SLMM) is a two-day mountain navigation competition (or race) that is held annually in the Lake District for pairs and experienced solo entrants. The event comprises 8 courses of which 6 are solely for pairs of runners, one is exclusively for solo competitors and one course is open for both pairs and solo entrants.

Event: Mourne Mountain Marathon
Date: 21st – 22nd September 2019
Location: The Mournes, Newcastle, Northern Ireland
More information: www.mourne2day.com

Overview:The Mourne Mountain Marathon is Ireland’s only two day endurance and navigation event held each year in the beautiful mountains of Mourne in Northern Ireland.  It is run entirely on a voluntary and non-profit basis by a team with many years experience of organising and competing in this type of event.

New to Mountain Marathons?

Event: ROC Mountain Marathon
Date: 28th – 29th September 2019
Location: Lowther Hills, Southern Uplands
More information: www.rocmountainmarathon.com

Overview:The event has proved a popular choice with mountain marathon competitors with its combination of both linear and score courses that provide participants with huge choice and minimise the chance of ‘snakes’ of runners all heading to the same control.

Event: 52nd OMM Original Mountain Marathon
Date: 26th – 27th October 2019
Location: Scottish Coastline, Details TBA
More information: www.theomm.com/the-omm/

Overview: The daddy of Mountain Marathons and the one that started it all. The UK’s biggest mountain race has shaped the UK outdoor community for over 50 years. Since 1968 the UK’s greatest running legends, product creators & influential people have stood on the start line. The 52nd OMM will be held somewhere on the Scottish Coastline, as is tradition the exact location will be released in September though clues may be found before then.

Last Of The LAMM

Posted on by service

LAST OF THE LAMM

Last weekend it was announced that it was the end of the LAMM.

The treasured Mountain Marathon, held for the past 24 years among the Highlands & Islands of Scotland, this highlight of the racing calendar will be sadly missed.

But there is hope!….will there be another Highlands & Islands MM?

We look back at the history of the event and the future of Mountain Marathons as a whole.

This year sees the end of a 24 year era, as the Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon, or LAMM, announces this to be its final year. With a fittingly dramatic swan song on the Isle of Harris earlier this month, organiser Martin Stone declared that this was to be it and with it, nearly a quarter of a century of Scottish Highland and Island adventure.

a gentle breeze, pristine beaches, flat dry grass and the sound of the pipes reverberating around the glen

The LAMM followed a similar structure as the OMM, with an overnight camp and self-supported navigation but always held in the Scottish Highlands and Islands.

Being held on the first weekend in June ensured there was a (slightly) better chance of (slightly) better weather than in October’s OMM but did mean there was a high likelihood of losing several pints of blood to the infamous midge.

Each year of the LAMM felt like a classic, thanks to the stunning Scottish landscapes that competitors passed through. From its inception in 1994, held among the spectacular Arrochar Alps, the quality of venues and course setting has always been of the highest standard.

Notably among the 23 editions, the 1997 event was held on the island of Paps, whirlpools, Orwell and whisky; Jura. This was a rare treat for mountain marathons and was immortalised in a documentary, available to watch below..

Being held on the first weekend in June ensured there was a (slightly) better chance of (slightly) better weather than in October’s OMM

Founder, Martin Stone, was at the forefront of fell and mountain running and endurance racing for many years, with several podium finishes in the Elite class of the OMM and famously taking the win, along with race partner Helen Whittaker (nee Diamantides), in the inaugural 1992 Dragon’s Back race. Needless to say he know’s a thing or two about what makes a race special.

30th-1st July

15th-16th September

29th-30th September

27th-28th October

Whats next for Mountain Marathons in Scotland?

We’re saddened to hear that Martin and the LAMM are calling it a day. The big open wilderness’ of Scotland are some of the best Mountain Marathon territory in the UK. But there’s good news, we spoke to Shane Ohly, organiser of the ROC Mountain Marathon, who has confirmed he will be creating a new Mountain Marathon in the highlands & islands on the same weekend to take the place of the LAMM.

Speaking to Shane he wants to keep a mountain marathon in the  Highland. He mentioned that the expansive terrain & large ranges are perfect mountain marathon country. We look forward to hearing more details about the event and will keep everyone informed as information is confirmed.

How we’re growing Mountain Marathon participation.

If you’re reading this then you’ll be as passionate about our sport as we are. We want to see all the Mountain Marathon events growing and the awareness of the ethos behind the events reach the wider outdoor users.

Our approach is two fold. One, to support all the existing Mountain Marathon events and inspire our existing competitors to keep coming back each year.

Secondly to bring new competitors in. Over the last few years we’ve developed the OMM LITE format as a feed series. OMM LITE uses the same basic format as the big MM’s but without some of the gnarly bits. This has been very successful every year which last May culminated in the first ever OMM Festival.

The OMM Festival was attended by over 2000 competitors and spectators with 50% experiencing the Mountain Marathon format for the first time. We’re pleased to see an increased number of first time competitors feeding into the October OMM from the Festival as well as Orienteering, Ultra Running & other activities. Next year will be the second OMM Festival and we hope to build on the success of this years event.

Results from the last ever LAMM

For more information and a great race report of the final LAMM, look no further than Jon Brook’s great write up, we are also indebted to him for these great photos: http://www.lamm.co.uk/2018/saturday.html

The only other medical emergency was a man at the overnight asking for Vaseline, but he didn’t specify what he wanted to do with it.

The calendar ahead has some great racing to come with some places still available in most of the events. Check it out here: http://theomm.com/british-mountain-marathon-calendar-2018/

Thank you Martin!!

On behalf of all the competitors & the Mountain Marathon community who have competed in the LAMM over the years we would like to thank Martin and everyone that has been involved.

If you would like to thank Martin he will be at the October OMM in his other difficult role of processing the 2000 competitors results.