The Original Mountain Marathon
Racing the OMM Elite
Oli Johnson / 27.10.2009
We approached the OMM 2009 with trepidation as we had heard horror stories about the tussocky, wet terrain that the Elan Valley has to offer. But as we set off early on Saturday morning it seemed as though they may have been unfounded. The weather was warm and reasonably dry, and the first part of the course was nothing if not fast - just short cropped grass and the occasional trod. We started hard, as did all of the strongest teams on Elite, and we covered half of the distance in just over two hours. But we were expecting tougher terrain to come and we weren't disappointed - the second half of the course offered some tricky navigation and some heavy terrain.
A 7km leg back towards the overnight camp offered a tempting track run along the side of Claerwen Reservoir, but we opted for a high line though the terrain, which took us through awkward tussocks all the way - probably the fastest route, but hard going after a few hours on our feet.
It was to be a trivial short leg back to the overnight camp that was our undoing, as we missed the control and spent over half an hour searching for it. This came as a blow at the end of an otherwise good day, and it took a pot noodle each to get over the frustration. The overnight camp was in a relatively dry field with plenty of space to find a sheltered spot. We tucked ourselves under a small crag to get out of the wind, which had been building throughout the day, but we still had a noisy night in our constantly buffeting lightweight tent.
Morning brought an improvement in the weather with the brief spell of sunshine (!) and warm temperatures, but still enough wind to make running into it uncomfortable. And the first 8km-or-so of our course took us directly into the wind through some heavy terrain. Leg 1 offered some great route choice with only small time differences between the options. We opted for a high route to the South, while overall winners Steve and Jethro took time out of Jon and Al on the Northern route by cutting up a ridge to the control rather than staying in a tussocky valley bottom.
From there on it was tussocks most of the way, with the odd small trod offering some brief respite. The terrain on the way from 1-2 in particular was some of the toughest that I have been through, with every footfall throwing your balance in a different direction. Running (wading?) through a sea of wafting grass was a surreal experience at times and it did strange things to your vision if you stared at the ground for too long.
The last section of the course was faster running but with plenty of sting left in the tail. There were one or two steep climbs in the final few kilometres that quickly used up any energy that we had left over. Running down the final descent to the finish was a great feeling, although I was too spaced out by then to really appreciate it. Soup and tea in the sunshine before the efficient bus service back to the event HQ was an especially welcome treat.
Overall it was a great weekend of racing, on well-planned courses that were a bit shorter than normal (not that I was complaining), but which offered plenty of unique route choice and terrain challenges. My trepidation was unfounded, the Elan Valley was a great venue for the OMM. Congratulations to Steve and Jethro who ran really well over the weekend, and many thanks to the organisers for all your hard work.
We hope to see you again next year!See All Event Posts
