The Original Mountain Marathon

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Whatever the Weather

Rob Howard / 23.10.2008

The OMM is such an enduring event because it tests a combination of outdoor and sporting abilities and no two years are alike. Teamwork, endurance, self-reliance, camp-craft and equipment selection, navigation and route choice are put to the test in varying, but always demanding, terrain and weather.

The terrain this year will be familiar to many with a superb event base in Seathwaite in the Western Lake District and with only a couple of days to go its time to look at the all-important weather forecast ... and it does not look good!

Two of the best sources for weather forecasts are given below, but the summary is for torrential rain on Saturday, especially later in the day (when setting up camp!), wind gusts to 90mph and conditions described as “Very difficult even at a relatively low level, with any mobility widely difficult on higher areas.�

Sunday’s forecast is a little better, with sunshine and showers predicted, but still with strong winds.

How does this affect the event? Well, it won’t be cancelled that’s for sure. The OMM and the KIMM have had some desperate weather in the past and there has never been a cancellation, and is not likely to be. Regular competitors may remember the windy Howgills or the flooded Galloway Hills and there are many tales of racers crawling along the ground against the wind or struggling to cross rivers in spate. You only have to think back to last year to recall a flooded campsite and blown down tents. (At one event the ground at HQ was so wet the central pole in marquee began to sink rapidly, gradually lowering the roof onto everyone.)

So, the organizers know how to cope with bad weather contingencies and there are optional short courses prepared for all the straight-line courses, which can be put into operation. More importantly the expectation is that the competitors will prepare, plan and race sensibly, with the weather conditions in mind.

This may mean taking more clothing or more robust and heavier gear, choosing lower level routes or avoiding river crossings and steep ground, and protecting the map better. Competitors will have to look after each other that much carefully and not push so close to their limits, as well as considering bale-out routes and leaving a safe margin when making the most difficult decision of all; when to give in. (The organizers make no special provision for collecting those who withdraw from a course – the expectation is that everyone will make their own way back to the finish area.)See All Event Posts