The Original Mountain Marathon
A Bright Dawn After a Stormy Night
Rob Howard / 28.10.2007
By dawn the fierce storm that blasted the campsite overnight had swept through, much to the relief of everyone, and especially the damp, tired and battered competitors. After dark last night the rain turned from persistent to torrential and it was driven horizontally on a wind which must have been gusting to gale force. It certainly felt like it and it was fortunate the camp was low lying, though the broad valley floor offered little shelter. A few wise racers found good spots behind walls, but the wisest of all were Richard Gledhill and Alan Rees who moved some big rocks to squeeze into the corner of the field for the best possible shelter.
There were, of course, plenty of tales of a miserable night. Elite racer Gary Tompsett said, “We just got soaked so all our down sleeping bags and jackets were sodden and useless. It was a miserable night.� The story was repeated by Neil Munro in the short score, who regretted buying a new, cheap tent from an outdoor superstore ... “That had to be the worst night ever. We were so wet and cold and my one season sleeping bag was not a lot of good.�
Piers Constable in the Long Score said he had to sleep all night on one side to stop the wet tent wall being pushed into his face and had little feeling on one side of his body. He was impressed with the standard of the Long Score. “We can get top 10 in medium score,� he said, “but the top Long Score racers are very competitive and I don’t think we’re in the top 50.�
Not everyone was uncomfortable. Dave Morrow (Short Score) said he’d had little sleep but listened to jazz most of the night on the radio. It was one of those nights when a few extra comforts or slightly better, heavier gear were worth their weight! All around the site there were shoes, socks, jackets and sleeping bags being wrung out, everyone was wrapped up against the chill of the damp and wind, and the main walkways were ankle deep in mud. Not surprisingly there was a steady stream of pairs walking out having had enough and retired.
The leaders left camp in the dark, with chasing starts between 07.00 and 08.00 ensuring the first over the line will be the winners, and the rest had timed starts after that. There were two start boxes either end of the camp, but whichever way you left it was a big climb to start the day. Some Score racers had a particularly brutal climb from the start, but at least the tops were visible and soon there was even some sunshine on them. By 9am there were blue skies, most competitors were on their way again and there was no prospect of rain for day two of the competition. See All Event Posts
