Surviving my first OMM
Last weekend I survived my first OMM. And it was a survival test at times...
The OMM is a two day mountain event during which you and a partner (in this case my husband, Dave) have to navigate round a fixed linear course or a score orienteering-type course. You carry all your camping gear, food and spare clothes making your way to a designated camping area at the end of day 1 and returning to the main event centre where you started by the cut-off time on day 2.This year was the 50th Anniversary of the OMM (formerly known as the Karrimor Mountain Marathon) so it was rather special. The OMM is very popular with 2000 people taking part annually.This year it was to be held in the fells around Langdale.
On entering, we had to choose a class. There are three linear classes, three score classes and one combined which is a bit of both. We chose the B class which is the easiest linear class. I kept thinking that a score class would be better as you visit as many controls as you can in a given time so if you can't find one or you get too cold or tired you can finish the day early and still get a result. With the linear classes if you miss a control you don't get a result. However, we stuck to the linear B class along with approximately 155 other pairs. We had an early start time on the Saturday so spent the Friday night in our camper van on the parking field. Although Friday was a lovely day, the forecast was bad.
Saturday dawned with low cloud, rain and wind. We made our way to the start, were given the map and were off. The OMM has a reputation for bad weather; given that it is always held at the end of October on the weekend that the clocks go back, this isn't really surprising. It turned out that the reputation was justified again.
Running up the valley and then following a stream uphill meant that the first control was quite easy to find but as we gained height the wind increased and the rain got heavier. The second control was a spur between two streams. Unfortunately, we spent a lot of time visiting various tops which loomed out of the mist being slightly too far north. This wasted a lot of time. Eventually we found a group of other competitors and by means of a joint effort found the kite marker. I realised at this point that the day was going to be long. I was expecting to take about 7 hours on the first day and 5 on the second but this turned out to be an underestimate.
Conditions as we dropped into the next valley were not so bad and we gradually worked our way through the next few check points. However to find checkpoint 7 we had to go over Esk Pike and the weather here was very bad indeed with wind being about 60 mph, I guess. It was difficult to communicate with each other and hard to see the detail on the map. I realised I was getting too cold when I couldn't undo a zip on my jacket pocket. We stopped to put on more layers - just in time I think!
The terrain between checkpoints was either steep up or steep down or tussocks and bog. There were few usable footpaths and we quickly gave up the idea of running. A fast walk was the best we could achieve. We didn't take a good line off Esk Pike and ended up on treacherous bouldery ground and had to be very careful. Dave slipped and broke the SI dipper at this point; it still worked but was in two pieces. I carefully stored the working end in my pocket hoping it still worked - which it did!
Eventually we got to checkpoint 10 with one more to go. Unfortunately there was a real "sting in the tail" now with a very steep climb out of a valley to try to find a re-entrant on complex ground. Fortunately there was a small group of us looking for this checkpoint and by way of luck rather than navigation skills one of the group managed to spot the orange marker in a slight clearing in the mist.
The others set off at a fast pace to make their way to the end. I had sore toes due to the cold and couldn't run very well so we made our way down as fast as I could, turning up at Cockley Beck for the overnight camp at 5pm. I thought we would be one of the last teams to finish day 1 but only 24 teams had finished before us. All the others were still out on the mountain. In fact only 75 teams finished the day, many of these finishing in the dark, with the rest either missing checkpoints or making their way back to the start and retiring. The other linear classes were even more severely decimated with relatively few teams getting round successfully. Well-known, strong fell-runners were forced to retire by the conditions and the length of the courses and the difficult navigation.
As we set up our camp, we were pleased just to have got round in one piece. We put on dry clothes and made ourselves as comfortable as we could in our one-man tent. The dehydrated food tasted really good and we managed to get warm. I had quite a good night's sleep considering, tucked up in all my clothes inside my light sleeping bag. Part of the skill of mountain marathon-ing is choosing equipment that will keep you warm enough and comfortable enough without being too heavy. The other thing is to try manage to eat enough and drink enough.
The next day was a complete contrast with clear blue sky and extremely good visibility, although it was cold with a strong breeze. We again had an early start time and were given our second map a minute before the hooter set us off. It was certainly easier to navigate today and most of the time we could see other people, although we had to remember that they might have been doing a different class and might be looking for different controls. The course was shorter but there were still 11 checkpoints to find and it took us 7.5 hours to return to Langdale. The hot squash, tea and sausage and mash at the end was very welcome.
Mountain marathons have a handicap system for vet teams - ie those whose combined age is over 90. Our combined age is 122(!) so we are allowed a very generous handicap. This meant that we were the third vet team in our class. And 37th overall. In the end only 55 teams finished the B class two days with about 100 teams having to retire or missing checkpoint. I was delighted to have survived relatively well!
The general consensus seems to be that the courses this year were long and tough especially with the weather as it was on Saturday. The event though was very well organised with the different routes for the different classes being spread across different areas so there wasn't a sense of it simple being a procession of competitors. I was out of my comfort zone again but I enjoyed it - well most of it....
The final challenge was to get off the parking field which was a quagmire. Fortunately, the organisers had this under control as well!
The OMM is a two day mountain event during which you and a partner (in this case my husband, Dave) have to navigate round a fixed linear course or a score orienteering-type course. You carry all your camping gear, food and spare clothes making your way to a designated camping area at the end of day 1 and returning to the main event centre where you started by the cut-off time on day 2.This year was the 50th Anniversary of the OMM (formerly known as the Karrimor Mountain Marathon) so it was rather special. The OMM is very popular with 2000 people taking part annually.This year it was to be held in the fells around Langdale.
The start of the second day.
On entering, we had to choose a class. There are three linear classes, three score classes and one combined which is a bit of both. We chose the B class which is the easiest linear class. I kept thinking that a score class would be better as you visit as many controls as you can in a given time so if you can't find one or you get too cold or tired you can finish the day early and still get a result. With the linear classes if you miss a control you don't get a result. However, we stuck to the linear B class along with approximately 155 other pairs. We had an early start time on the Saturday so spent the Friday night in our camper van on the parking field. Although Friday was a lovely day, the forecast was bad.
Saturday dawned with low cloud, rain and wind. We made our way to the start, were given the map and were off. The OMM has a reputation for bad weather; given that it is always held at the end of October on the weekend that the clocks go back, this isn't really surprising. It turned out that the reputation was justified again.
Running up the valley and then following a stream uphill meant that the first control was quite easy to find but as we gained height the wind increased and the rain got heavier. The second control was a spur between two streams. Unfortunately, we spent a lot of time visiting various tops which loomed out of the mist being slightly too far north. This wasted a lot of time. Eventually we found a group of other competitors and by means of a joint effort found the kite marker. I realised at this point that the day was going to be long. I was expecting to take about 7 hours on the first day and 5 on the second but this turned out to be an underestimate.
Conditions as we dropped into the next valley were not so bad and we gradually worked our way through the next few check points. However to find checkpoint 7 we had to go over Esk Pike and the weather here was very bad indeed with wind being about 60 mph, I guess. It was difficult to communicate with each other and hard to see the detail on the map. I realised I was getting too cold when I couldn't undo a zip on my jacket pocket. We stopped to put on more layers - just in time I think!
The terrain between checkpoints was either steep up or steep down or tussocks and bog. There were few usable footpaths and we quickly gave up the idea of running. A fast walk was the best we could achieve. We didn't take a good line off Esk Pike and ended up on treacherous bouldery ground and had to be very careful. Dave slipped and broke the SI dipper at this point; it still worked but was in two pieces. I carefully stored the working end in my pocket hoping it still worked - which it did!
Eventually we got to checkpoint 10 with one more to go. Unfortunately there was a real "sting in the tail" now with a very steep climb out of a valley to try to find a re-entrant on complex ground. Fortunately there was a small group of us looking for this checkpoint and by way of luck rather than navigation skills one of the group managed to spot the orange marker in a slight clearing in the mist.
The others set off at a fast pace to make their way to the end. I had sore toes due to the cold and couldn't run very well so we made our way down as fast as I could, turning up at Cockley Beck for the overnight camp at 5pm. I thought we would be one of the last teams to finish day 1 but only 24 teams had finished before us. All the others were still out on the mountain. In fact only 75 teams finished the day, many of these finishing in the dark, with the rest either missing checkpoints or making their way back to the start and retiring. The other linear classes were even more severely decimated with relatively few teams getting round successfully. Well-known, strong fell-runners were forced to retire by the conditions and the length of the courses and the difficult navigation.
As we set up our camp, we were pleased just to have got round in one piece. We put on dry clothes and made ourselves as comfortable as we could in our one-man tent. The dehydrated food tasted really good and we managed to get warm. I had quite a good night's sleep considering, tucked up in all my clothes inside my light sleeping bag. Part of the skill of mountain marathon-ing is choosing equipment that will keep you warm enough and comfortable enough without being too heavy. The other thing is to try manage to eat enough and drink enough.
The next day was a complete contrast with clear blue sky and extremely good visibility, although it was cold with a strong breeze. We again had an early start time and were given our second map a minute before the hooter set us off. It was certainly easier to navigate today and most of the time we could see other people, although we had to remember that they might have been doing a different class and might be looking for different controls. The course was shorter but there were still 11 checkpoints to find and it took us 7.5 hours to return to Langdale. The hot squash, tea and sausage and mash at the end was very welcome.
Mountain marathons have a handicap system for vet teams - ie those whose combined age is over 90. Our combined age is 122(!) so we are allowed a very generous handicap. This meant that we were the third vet team in our class. And 37th overall. In the end only 55 teams finished the B class two days with about 100 teams having to retire or missing checkpoint. I was delighted to have survived relatively well!
The general consensus seems to be that the courses this year were long and tough especially with the weather as it was on Saturday. The event though was very well organised with the different routes for the different classes being spread across different areas so there wasn't a sense of it simple being a procession of competitors. I was out of my comfort zone again but I enjoyed it - well most of it....
The final challenge was to get off the parking field which was a quagmire. Fortunately, the organisers had this under control as well!
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