UKH

After some advice for OMM,

Looking at doing it this year with misses and can't decide which course to do.

It will be our first time fairly fit both done marathons and completed the cuillin ridge w couple of years ago in.p a decent time.

Got a bit of a busy year this year so training will be a bit slimmer what's the big difference between a course and b course?

Be good to hear from a few peeps!

Cheers r

In reply to bigrob:

Fitness is helpful but navigation is more important.

In reply to bigrob:

I'd say don't think about it as a running event, just look at the distances / height gain and ask yourself if you could do 2 days like that walking. If the answer is yes then you'll be reet. At the end of the day it's a question of whether you want to challenge yourself and potentially DNF or drop a category and just enjoy it.

In reply to bigrob:

Where do you live? Last year's Highlander reinforced to us that Peak District fit does not prepare you for slogging straight up the side of Scottish mountains. (Unless you are committed enough to train by walking up and down the side of Edale all day...)

In reply to bigrob:

I have done a few mountain marathons now up to A class.

I would look at the previous years average times to make a decision about which class to enter. Also how good your navigation is will make a big difference as a few small mistakes can add up and add time to your day. The distances can be deceptive. They often don't look far, but given you might be bashing through deep heather or tussocks on a steep hillside it can take longer than expected.

But in general I would advise people to start in a lower class than they think for their first event. I think its important to enjoy the first one and if you underestimate it and do really well then you can always move up and try a harder class next time.

In reply to bigrob:

I would also advise starting a class below what you think you might be capable of. There are so many things that can go wrong and turn the event into a miserable experience and adding a potential divorce just isn't worth it.
Navigation error, hard ground (no tracks, bogs, tussocks), injury and appalling weather could have to turning up late at the campsite, pitching in a c**p spot in darkness and a howling gale.
Better off arriving in good time and gas in your tank for day 2 and try to enjoy it. You can adjust the course the next year.

In reply to bigrob:

Do you know how many hours you feel confident in going for?
Could always do a score class: IIRC Short Score was 5hrs & 4hrs, MS 6hr/5hrs, and LS 7hrs/6hrs.

As a vague guide I'm short legged, getting older and more overweight and at most might run 20km a week (more usually 5-10km!). I just keep up a speed we refer to as "shamble" for the duration. We generally place high in D, middling in C, very low in B; and usually about half way down medium score. If the weather is appalling we do quite well, being in possession of blubber and extensive reserves of misery-repellent humour - always fun watching the whippets shiver and shake while we bumble past like a pair of knackered but happy fat labradors heading for the rug in front of the fire.

We also feast sumptuously at midcamp and almost continuously on the way round if it's cold

Have a great race

cheers

b

In reply to bigrob:

From experience, don't forget the tent pegs

In reply to ben b:

That sounds identical to my experience!

In reply to bigrob:

As with others advice, if it's your first two day it's no harm to drop a class from what you think you could get round, to what you will get round with a bit less suffering. Suffering is always something you can catch up on in future years.

With the OMM don't forget you're getting an extra hour in bed. In October. When it's cold. And possibly miserable. Be prepared to spoon your partner if you get your clothing choices wrong.

Random bits of advice from over the years:
- Get your nav sorted. Fitness is secondary to this.
- Light is not always right. Think smart about the kit and layers you bring.
- Food for midcamp is weight you don't have to carry on day 2. Carry lots, gorge, adopt the Labrador attitude.
- Subway bags for your feet at midcamp. Sliding into wet fell shoes with your nice dry socks...not smart.
- Chin up. It'll probably get better. You're probably hungry. Don't be that whinger.

You could always enter a summer race like the Saunders first, but you're not guaranteed good weather at that either

In reply to greg_may_:

I'd agree with most of that. Especially getting nav right - on our first MM, we walked throughout but still got into the chasing start on the 2nd day due to accurate navigation on Saturday (and then dropped several places on Sunday due to inaccurate navigation!)

For a first event, if you're not sure on whether to take something - then take it. It's far better to learn what you can do without by carrying something and not using it, than by not carrying it and finding you need it. You can then start ditching things before your next event.

Bags for your feet at mid camp. I always used to do this (the LAMM even give you special bags for the purpose). But I realised that my socks were getting wet anyway due to sweat+condensation. So these days, I just wear my fell shoes without any socks when walking round the camp, and save my dry socks for when I'm in the tent. For summer events I don't even both with spare socks, but for the OMM I do.

Regarding course choice. Quite a few people (including some of the OMM team) recommend choosing short score for a first event. This has the advantage that you'll know how long you'll be out for, and can always miss out a control if you can't find it. On the other hand, score courses require an extra ability, namely to know how far/fast you're likely to go, and also need much more careful map reading to avoid an apparently short easy leg which actually involves some big reascents.

The other consideration with course choice is the number of other competitors. For C, you'll get long lines of people between controls. This has the advantage that you can just follow and not worry too much about navigation. And the disadvantage that you're relying on the people at the front of the line to know where they're going! And of course if the clag comes down you'll lose sight of the others (though you'll still often get trods to follow).
For B there are still crocodiles, but with A you're likely to spend most of the weekend on your own (and anyone you do meet will probably turn out to be on a different course).

Finally, if you haven't already, take a look at previous years' courses at http://www.omm.routegadget.co.uk/

In reply to Tom Valentine:


Or the gas.
Arrived at mid camp once, very well placed after running a blinder day 1, stretched out for a well earned brew. Partner had left the gas in the van.
We were home in respective beds before midnight.

In reply to bigrob:

Cheers all plenty to think about!

In reply to bigrob:

Go for a score event. Pick a realistic average distance you reckon you can cover in an hour (including floundering in bogs, looking at the map, chasing the map that's blowing away etc) and use that and a piece of string to work out a rough course for the time you have. Spend time looking at the map and the route - 5-10 minutes at the start is nothing compared to finding yourself later committed to some horror ascent or on the wrong side of a river. Check your average regularly and reappraise your route if necessary. Plan a route that gives you two options for the end of the day - a 'going well at the end' option and one for 'I want to go home'.

Don't be late. Learn to count paces without losing your place (get toggles on a cord) and practice. Learn to judge distance covered by the time you've been moving - never managed this myself - Tim Sparrow above can do this, but he cannot remember the gas

Let the people who appear to be mounted on springs head for the far far away checkpoints. 'Imitate the action of the labrador' seems like sound advice