UKC

Anyone doing this, Capel Curig, Snowdonia?

We seem to be marshalling so be about the site somewhere.

In reply to Moley:
Aye!

yep. despite being very much under done on the running front, cant wait for a stomp around the Ogwen Valley.

In reply to Tim Sparrow:

Well of course you are there Tim, forgot about you! Paul B and wife are also marshalling so a good Welsh contingent up there to rescue you off the mountains!!!

In reply to Moley:

Yes, we'll be there as usual. Training has been non-existent, so we're doing the OMM Lite in Swaledale this weekend to prepare

In reply to Simon Caldwell:

Look out for a little old fella with longish white hair, wandering about looking aimless - probably me.

In reply to Moley:

Has anyone had their registration number? I can't seem to find mine :-/

In reply to Moley:

I'm looking forward to it, running with the missus so I will be carrying all the heavy clobber! it looks like the controls are going to be the same day 1 and day 2, so we can spend all afternoon planning day 2!

In reply to Doghouse:


Sorry, no idea as we are just marshalling and not entered. Hope someone else can answer that - have a feeling you should be able to check your entry on the sportident site?

Car packed and ready to go early tomorrow - get the tents up ready for registration etc. weather looking great for the weekend

In reply to Doghouse:

Just turn up and give them your name. If there's a number they'll write it on for you.

In reply to Moley:

Weather's looking awful - we always do best when the clag is down!

In reply to Simon Caldwell:


I don't care about you runners - us Marshalls want a nice time in the sunshine and dry! Don't forget some water on your carneddau day, not much up on the top ridges.

In reply to Moley:

Thanks marshalls. A grand job and grand weekend. Thought I knew the Glyderau ....

In reply to Tim Sparrow:

Tim, you got a prize. You were 3rd in the pair old old people category, I think.

In reply to Moley:

Aye, you missed that one Tim. 3rd male vet pair. I'm sure Shane'll be in touch in the week.

In reply to Moley:

Not sure if we met you or not, I was in no fit state to notice anything much after Saturday!
Chuffed with our best ever result though, 6th overall in short score. Could have been better though, we were 4th after Saturday, but messed up with poor route choice at the start of Sunday.

In reply to Simon Caldwell:

Probably somewhere. I was doing the car parking field with Paul Friday/Saturday and kit checks at the finish.
There seems to be a picture of me on the facebook site heaving a portaloo about - the sh**ty end of marshalling (pun intended!). We did get a nice new Rab jacket for our efforts, though very envious of all the competitors up on the hills in that weather.
Well done, the terrain seemed to break quite a lot of people, but nearly all enjoyed the weather and scenery.

In reply to Moley:

Cracking weekend, really enjoyed it )

In reply to Moley:

Some interesting comments from RO Shane Ohly.

http://www.rabmountainmarathon.com/news/2015/09/30/Rab_Mountain_Marathon_20...

I don't think anyone would object to people wearing numbers to identify them if they went out of bounds. I saw quite a few people in out of bounds areas, but they were too far away to shout to.

Obviously Shane is quite strongly against GPS use at these events, fair enough and it's a strong position he is taking probably to his commercial disadvantage.

A great event I though, but obviously the terrain was too tough for some people.

In reply to ablackett:

I wonder if / when someone will organise a mountain marathon where GPS is allowed? They all ban it at the moment, and have varying approaches to enforcing it - the OMM Lite for instance allowed you to take anything with GPS if you wanted and relied on honesty not to use it. The Saunders on the other hand bans any GPS tracker even if it doesn't have a display - the last event to do this I think.

I wouldn't do a GPS event but there may be some demand for it. Or perhaps people only use GPS if they know they're going to get an unfair advantage...

As for out of bounds - my guess is that the carrying of trackers is going to become the norm. Shane's using them for the Dark Mountains next year for instance (largely for safety reasons).

In reply to Simon Caldwell:

Personally speaking, I am totally against GPS on these events and think Shane is taking the correct stand.

I was brought up with map + compass and have never used anything else - I wouldn't have a clue with a GPS. For me the traditional method engages my brain and makes a great challenge to anything I do and I just accept when I go completely t**s up, my fault, get out of it.
I'm sure there are still many about who want this and if I was doing a mountain marathon I wouldn't even consider entering one that allowed GPS, and I'd be really peed off by anyone using them.

Having said that, I'm not sure what the next generation will bring, most younger "outdoor" people seem brought up with assorted electronic devices (GPS type) and I'm sure many will altogether skip traditional map/compass use and be unable to enter these events. I guess it won't be long before a GPS simply works out the quickest route for running - you enter the grids and it will calculate naismiths rule, terrain etc. and off you go following the arrows. Then what?

Be interesting to see how these events are run in 20 years time, hopefully much the same.

In reply to Moley:

Beats me how anyone vaguely competitive has the time to use a gps. Map and compass is so much quicker anyway. I can see the placings tumble as I fire up the gps, wait for it to find me, run out of battery, replace, sort out my error, ooh, 10 mins of precious time gone.
Ban the bloody things altogether.

In reply to Tim Sparrow:

I doubt the ones that see the need to cheat are vaguely competitive anyway

In reply to Moley:

Woo hoo! That is a nice surprise.

Had a great time, thanks to the organisers, marshals and whoever sorted the weather. I also agree the terrain was very tough! However I was left frustrated on Sunday having only managed to get 30 points (we got 100 on Saturday, doing short score). It felt like loads of effort for little reward and was obviously down to poor route choice (I'm not too bad at the running bit). I know how to navigate from a general hill walking/mountaineering perspective but clearly lack ability to quickly identify the most efficient routes and our estimated potential speed at the start line, has anyone any tips they'd be willing to share or links to other resources?

In reply to Moley:

Just found this:
http://www.ukhillwalking.com/articles/page.php?id=3993

Nothing I don't know already, I probably just need practice, apart from OMM lite last autumn this was our first mountain marathon...

In reply to Tim Sparrow:


I would think that people leave them running all the time! There is usually one point in a MM when it would be useful for me to know my precise position (mostly because I've lost concentration on the approach!) and a GPS would provide a definite advantage then. They are also useful for measuring distance travelled, if you forget to count paces...

I reckon they can make a few places difference if you can navigate, and more if you can't. Less difference than people who cross uncrossable walls...

In reply to flying el burro:


The RAB this year was unusual in having a long distance from start to midcamp, especially relative to the terrain, and I (and almost everyone else) failed to adapt their planned course, which made for low scores and lots of slogging through tough terrain. We covered vastly less distance than normal, even though the height gain was comparable. I was all set to retire after day 1 and leave my running companion to go solo on day 2 (I was feeling pretty ill) until I discovered everyone else had an equally bad day and we were only 10 points outside the prizes! Mind you, 10 points was worth more this year.