The Original Mountain Marathon
A Fine Morning and Close Racing
Rob Howard / 27.10.2007
The pre-race forecast may have been a little scary but come race day the reality was better than expected. Overnight there had even been some stars visible and on Saturday morning the hill tops were visible too! It was still overcast, with a layer of autumn mist hanging over the Durisdeer valley, but the cloud was broken and there was no rain falling as newly arrived competitors made their way past the impressive church at the heart of the village to the start area in the fields behind it. (Those who camped overnight walked across the fields directly to the start.)A start box was taped out on the ground with 7 rows, one for each class, from which the pairs started at one minute intervals, running through a nearby gate to cross over a disinfectant mat, a precaution taken against the spread of foot and mouth. Teams were issued their maps on the start line and quickly assessed which way to set off. They were helped as nearby wall crossings were flagged for them, and the racers climbed either side of the valley or continued along it, depending which courses they were on.
Confident navigators set off at a run straight away, others took their time, laying the map out on the ground to study the options and route choices. One Long Score team ran off with the comment, “Oh Crikey – let’s just head for the mid-camp!� Paul French didn’t go anywhere for quite a while, he just sat on his rucksack waiting for this partner, Gamel Kamli, who had gone back to use one of the portaloos. There were only two at the start so it was a long, long queue. Not that Paul was worried about waiting. “With 7 hours ahead of us we’ve plenty of time,� he said, “We’re not in it to win it!�
Melisa Hart was even sung to on the start line by the marshals. She had 3 brightly coloured balloons tied to her pack, with ‘Happy Birthday’ printed on them and got a rousing rendition of ‘Happy Birthday to you’ to send her on her way.See All Event Posts
