A Beginners' Guide to Mountain Marathons
Colin Blackburn
Could I do one?
Anyone who has done some endurance running and has some navigational ability can do an MM. Some MMs even have a class for walkers if you don't feel that you can run long distances. If you don't feel confident with mountain navigation then there are some training courses available (see below) and there are a couple of useful booklets. The best way of gaining experience is by getting out there and doing some moorland orienteering, some long fell races or some fell walking. Alternatively, you could just find a running partner who is a crack navigator — it works for me!
What's the format?
Almost all MMs have cross country classes. This is where you visit each control in the order given from the start to the mid-camp on day one and from the mid-camp to the finish on day two. The day two distance is usually shorter than the day one distance.
Some MMs have score classes. This is where you have a fixed amount of time each day to visit as many controls as possible in whatever order you choose. Each control visited gains you points, each minute you take over your allotted time loses you points. The day two time is usually shorter than the day one time. Finally, a couple of events have additional classes where every control must be visited but in any order.
What do I need?
Although you don't need specialist equipment you do need some basic light(ish) camping gear. Each MM differs slightly on what you
- a tent between the two of you. A basic backpacking tent at 3kg would do but getting your tent down to 900g is possible and makes a real difference when running.
- a stove and fuel. A small gas stove is ideal, minimal solid fuel stoves are lighter but fiddlier.
- a sleeping bag and sleeping mat. The type of sleeping bag may depend on the conditions, 400g for a summer MM, more for a spring or autumn event. Sleeping mats vary from a bit of cut down Karrimat, to a roll of bubble-wrap, to a very strange thing involving those balloons used for making animals.
- food and drink. You need food for the overnight camp, evening meals and breakfast. In addition you need food to eat while running and emergency food just in case. You also need to carry water for the run so a bottle, refilled from streams enroute, is useful.
- clothes. Several layers of clothes to cope with changing conditions, thermals, lightweight fleeces, and waterproofs and well as a hat and gloves.
- navigation equipment. A map (usually provided by the event) and compass, altimeters are allowed, gps units are not!
- emergency equipment. Torch, whistle, foil bag or blanket and some first aid stuff.
- a rucksack to put it all in. As small and light as possible.
- finally, shoes. Fell or orienteering shoes are ideal, trail shoes would be okay, road shoes are out—in some events road shoes are officially banned.
Note that each event has slightly different rules and you should make sure your kit complies with those rules. Random kit checks before and after the event can and do result in disqualification. Also, despite what the rules specify you should carry the right equipment for the conditions. Even a July MM can take place in cold, wet conditions. Be prepared.
Any tips?
Everyone who has done a MM or two will have their own tips. Here are some of mine, though they are by no means definitive or complete.
- Don't have just one large evening meal, take food for several small meals and several hot drinks. The overnight camp can be a boring place to be especially if confined to a tent by the weather. Cooking stuff every now and then relieves the monotony and sits better on the stomach.
- take a spare pair of socks and a pair of foot-sized fully-sealed polythene bags. Dry socks after a day's running are a wonderful luxury. As soon as you arrive at the mid-camp put every item of clothes on, take off your wet socks, put on your dry ones, stick each foot in a polythene bag and put your shoes back on. You'll now have dry, if not warm, feet for the rest of the evening.
- Take some food that you actually like. While most of your food will be dried take something to add that you enjoy. Cake is nice, as is a plastic miniature of a decent malt.
... and some from Liz Green:
- While packing the poly bags for your feet during the overnight camp on MMs, don't forget to take garage-style plastic gloves for your cold,wet hands. This is my invention that I am sharing with you and it works! Either wear the gloves under your running gloves in which case your hands get very sweaty but are very warm, or put them over your gloves, holding the wrist in place with an elastic band to stop the wind blowing the plastic glove away. (These plastic gloves are made for huge lorry drivers' hands!) This will keep your hands dry until you fall into one too many bogs or heather tussocks and tear the plastic. However, if you start collecting plastic gloves early enough you can have plenty of spares.
- I use poly bags for water at the o/night camp. You need fairly big ones (chicken-sized freezer bags) and plenty of elastic bands. Before you put on your dry socks go to the stream and fill the bags (not too full). Secure the top with an elastic band and the important bit is to have a spare carrier in which to sit the freezer bags for strength and to stop them wobbling and falling over and spilling. Three such bags will probably be enough for you and your partner overnight and you can pack as many as you like as they don't take up any of that precious space in your tiny rucsac. I slide them down in the overlap of my karrimat (with the spare plastic gloves) so I can find them quickly as you really do want a hot drink when you reach camp. One year any team which left its water outside the tent found it frozen stiff in the morning so tuck the bags under the tent flap.
- The SLMM might camp on a proper campsite, in which case there'll be taps but the OMM usually relies on river water. Don't forget the iodine.
