UKC

Doing the OMM next month, never done it before (nor the Saunders nor any other for that matter).

Any top tips?

TtB

In reply to Tony the Blade:

try to have a comfortable, warm night's sleep - probably gives you a handicap of several kg weight on the back!

What class are you in?

In reply to Tony the Blade: yup- don`t scrimp on either warm kit or decent scran- unless you`re doing Elite- in which case you deserve everything you get... : )

p.s. better to be cautious with your nav, rather than haring off- it can save a lot of time in the long run. Enjoy

In reply to Tony the Blade: Try and get your bag sub 5kg if possible is the big tip. Also take a dry pair of socks, put some talc in and then change into them at the half way camp. Freezer bags over the top then put your shoes back on. Loads of little tricks around, look on the KIMM forum.

In reply to Tony the Blade: the best tip i can give you is to make sure you finish the first day, then your on easy street. For food, dont have the dehydrated chicken korma from reiter its not good. Other than that enjoy it and dont get lost.

In reply to Tony the Blade: I'm in medium score, 1st time in a score class.. any specific tips for score class planning a route etc would be cool..

My tip is use your foil blankets (that you have to carry) one underneath you both and the other one on top if it gets really cold, keeps a lot of heat in .. mmm cosy!!!

In reply to johnsdowens:

We're (Me and Harry the Owl) in medium score - I think.

In reply to Tony the Blade: Really think about how much you will eat during the day (which is probably not much)- I took way too much on my first MM.
Expect to have wet feet from the start.
Ensure you don't mind sleeping close to your 'partner'
Ensure you know how to put your tent up (it may be dark when you pitch it!).
If you're doing score, don't be late. I've been late twice now on the Sat night. It's frustrating losing all those hard won points : (

In reply to Anita:

Good point - I had way too many cereal bars and a "spare" 1000cal flapjack left over last year...

In reply to Tony the Blade: if you are med score you will (almost certainly!?!) not be out in the dark and will be in you tent a long time so maybe very light on the head torches and heavyish on the gas for brews and good sleeping kit. It might sound trite but I find occasionally reminding myself that I'm there to have fun helps a bit
Chocolate also helps

good luck, P

In reply to Paul Atkinson: I've done about 4 MM's now and come reasonable positions in 3 of them in B type classes, so can run ok - well could run before i became a knacker... but my worry is thati'm not sure about tactics for the score classes.. I've heard a bit about using string to plan distances etc! What do you think is a reasonable distance for medium score for somebody who is out to be competitive (top 10)?
cheers
Matt

In reply to Mattyk: I don't do the score classes (concentrate on doing very badly at A) and have probably only done a couple more MM than you so take this with a pinch of salt, but going off my general experience and discussion with my mates who regularly do the score classes:

get a thumb compass a la orienteer and learn to use it on the hoof - this quickens up nav a lot (I did this and am a convert)

the string thing works if you know your own performance well AND it is calibrated to the terrain - lots of people were fecked by this last year! Someone I know who has 20+ years MM experience and has won the Elite did really badly on day 1 LS because of this - maybe practice on last year's course or at least Howgills / Cheviots as the terrain is not dissimilar


don't worry about what performance is required - work out what you can definitely do and just go very hard at that (and don't be late obviously)- such thoughts would have been very counter-productive last year, the people who did well realised quickly that a conservative unambitious approach was needed

good luck! wish I was doing it P

In reply to Mattyk: If you're hoping top 10 then you should be looking to collect most if not all of the controls. Take 5mins to plan your route before starting - it's worth it! REmember there are generally a few low pointers near the end that you can pick up if you have time easily, but aren't the end of the world if you miss out. Also make sure you take into account climb - typically they put a high pointer out of the way at the top of a very big hill which you have to go up and down to get to - is it worth it?!

I'd always take score over the linear classes - much more interesting!

Ali