Winter Mountain Marathon Launched
News Release / 18.07.2012
January 2013 will be the first year for an exciting new event called Dark Mountains™. It takes the classic two-day mountain marathon format and gives it a new… darker twist. Rather than two days of running with an overnight camp in between, Dark Mountains™ packs two days worth of running into one winter’s night!
Brainchild of the Dragon's Back Race™ organiser and OMM Elite winner, Shane Ohly, this exciting new event is set to become a regular appointment, on the last weekend of January, for all mountain-running addicts. Like most regular mountain marathons, Dark Mountains™ is a pairs event. Ohly explained, "I've always enjoyed the sense of adventure found when running in the mountains at night and the real satisfaction gained from finding your way".
With entries already coming in Ohly commented that, "Although we only soft launched the event through Facebook earlier in July, we are already taking entries, which makes me confident that there are plenty of other runners who relish dark mountains!"
Dark Mountains™ will be based on the traditional mountain marathon format with Elite, A, B, C and Score classes for competitors to choose from. Usually at a mountain marathon the nature of the terrain dictates the distance of each course with the planners designing a course with a certain winning time. The organisers are sticking with this principle but allowing for the added difficulty of navigating and running at night. Therefore although the winning time for competitors will be similar to a normal mountain marathon, the overall distance will be less.
The event will kick-off on the evening of Saturday 26th with the longest classes setting off first for dusk-to-dawn racing. The shorter classes will set off later in the evening with the aim of most competitors finishing within an hour or so of each other the following morning. This should make for an exciting finale as all the courses and most of the competitors converge on the finish as dawn breaks.
Dark Mountains™ is meant to be challenging but with the courses remaining open until 1200 on the Sunday there will be sufficient time for all the competitors to complete their course and share in the success.
It goes without saying that organisers are providing a hearty breakfast and hot drinks for everyone as they finish. They are also allowing competitors to camp at the Event Centre should they wish to grab some sleep before travelling home.
Key Event Information
Website: http://www.dark-mountains.com
Date: 26th/27th January 2013
Venue: Northern England
Entry: £90 per team of two
Courses: Elite, A, B, C and Score courses
