A few years ago Becca and I did our first mountain marathon together. We learned things and enjoyed it enough to do it again, and then again…
Three years in and we may well have found the appropriate balance between challenge and enjoyment, but we still spent the journey home discussing successes, mistakes and what we may change for next time.
One of the more miserable climbs (for me at least) on day 1
What is the OMM?
For the uninitiated, the OMM (formerly the KIMM) is a mountain marathon: a two day orienteering and fell running (or fell hurrying) event. There are two formats – score and linear – all of which involve an overnight camp (the location of which is possibly one of the fell running world’s best kept secrets). Becca and I would do the linear course.
Our tactics:
We’re not a particularly fast runners so the A Course is really on the limit of what we can get done in the allowed time. Our tactic was to speedwalk consistently and run the flat/downhill when terrain and navigation allowed. However we couldn’t really afford to make any navigation errors and would generally opt for bog trotting shortcuts over more runnable paths. This really played to our strength of bog-based power walking.
Our aim:
Last year we arrived at camp after nightfall and only just finished before the cut off on day 2, so our base aim was to get round the course with enough of a time margin that we would actually enjoy the experience.
Runners and fell hurriers approaching the startline at Shap Abbey
Things that went well:
- Running/fastpacking specific bags have been a game changer. I have the OMM Phantom 25. I will probably modify it for the next race, but it has a plethora of front pockets which allowed us to drink, eat, etc. without stopping. The back support is a sit mat which I use at overnight camps to supplement my inflatable sleep mat.
- We ran more this year that previously, which earned us lots of time.
- Eating – big running days are all about eating! I managed to snack without stopping to avoid hanger. We also ate well at camp, including our traditional custard pudding (the key is to use boiling water for the best consistency). I might try take some form of savoury carbohydrate for day two, but i’m not sure what will travel well.
- Talcum powder inside your fresh socks at camp – always lovely and worth bringing.
- Partnership: I can’t not mention this! The way that Becca and I navigate in our instructing jobs means that our styles are generally quite complimentary. We seem to hit our highs and lows at opposite times, which means one of us is usually able to drag the other through the lows, and I feel we can generally be honest and not take things personally. The recipe for good partnerships!
- Ziplock bags for snacks helped avoid litter from little corners of packaging.
- We did some good navigating, sometimes against the crowd, that really earned us some time. Being confident to choose your own strategies is key!
- Singing – it important to have a good song on the go to keep spirits high, this year we sung about bogs to the melodies of popular Christmas hits.
Before the startline – a cold morning in Shap. Photo: Becca Lounds
10 lessons learned on the OMM:
Lesson #1: Practise on Harvey maps first, and don’t be tempted to rush the plan.
In the excitement of a start line and the desire not to lose time, we lost time with a bit of sloppy navigation and a walk of shame back to the correct checkpoint. Next time I will get my eye in on Harveys maps before race day. I will also avoid rushing the navigation strategy and next time I will take the time to differentiate between when we can meander and read the land (the navigation green zone) and when we need to really focus in or make a safer plan.
Lesson #2: Do the legwork (ha ha ha).
For me the first morning of the OMM is often the worst psychologically, and in the afternoon I find an optimism which lasts into day two. This was amplified by my fitness; for various reasons I haven’t prioritised running/strength and conditioning this year (mostly because of a desire to stay in bed for longer). This meant that I was operating at my maximum for two days: it’s tiring and injuries new and old flared up over the weekend. A bit of discipline throughout the year would have made my weekend (and the aftermath) a lot more pleasant!
Lesson #3: Supermarket Pakoras do not travel well and are therefore not a good OMM snack.
Also do not put spicy sauce on any cheese sandwich that you will eat whilst running.
Lesson #4: Test all your race kit as a system, not in isolation.
Okay we knew this anyway, but there is always something to refine… This year I accidentally packed a sports bra that I had never worn with a pack… Big fabric plasters that you can cut to size were great for patching up the resulting chafe wounds and protecting from further damage. (Thanks Becca!)
No really a lesson (more a reminder) #5: Double check letters before you dib a checkpoint.
This year there was a cluster of checkpoints straight out of the startline, it’s easy to dib the wrong one and get disqualified in the first hour.
Lesson #6: Morale is everything!
Becca and I are rarely grumpy at the same time. Sure, we are both grumpy separately, but for me good teamwork involves acknowledging this without draining any resolve and positivity from your teammate. Challenges often involve some form of enduring, so you’re not expected to be smiley all day, but team morale is worth protecting.
‘It is liberating to run through bog’. For me, morale comes from positive mantras, a bit of singing and breaking the route down into manageable chunks
Lesson #7: Remember the fundamentals of navigation.
Forget the fancy stuff! Well, don’t – but prioritise the basics (a plan with some element of Distance, Details, Direction) for the best results. I can fall into the trap of ignoring distance when running with good visibility as my pace off-path is very variable. However an eye on the distance and timings may have prevented some small errors early on.
Lesson #8: Make sure everything has a well-considered home in your bag.
I usually run with a smaller pack and still don’t have a perfect location for my map with my OMM Phantom 25. I think this could be solved by some bag modifications and/or a nose bag for snacks to free up other pockets, the aim is to have a dedicated and secure yet accessible pouch for my map and compass that sits away from anything magnetic.
In our tent at overnight camp, grateful to have our not-so-lightweight but slightly warmer sleeping bags! Photo: Becca Lounds
Lesson #9: two poles, one pole, no pole?
The jury is still out – two poles certainly help your legs but make it really hard to navigate, eat, adjust etc, on the move. This will surely be the main topic of conversation at next BtE pub trip (it usually is).
Lesson #10: You’re probably doing better than you think you are (the most important lesson of all).
What is lovely about the OMM is that, although it’s technically a race, you’re not really thinking about what everyone else is up to for most of the day. Especially on those longer checkpoints where navigation strategies vary and the crowds really spread out. Becca and I were happy enough to get to camp before nightfall, so it was especially exciting to find ourselves second in our class. Whilst this was on our minds on the second day, it was by no means the focus of our journey and we were mostly keen to get in before the forecasted storm arrived.
It’s not often that I get to stand on a podium! A very unexpected finish to the evening.
As always, I left the event feeling excited for the next one. But despite the lure of the 2026 destination (back to Scotland), Becca and I have other priorities next year. 2026 will be a fallow year for our OMMing, but I feel sure we’ll be back in 2027!
Hati
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