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Summer Fun at the SLMM

Rob Howard / 09.07.2009

The Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon is a popular fixture in the calendar, attracting a wide variety of competitors, many of them coming back year after year. They know what they are going to get for their entry money; it is always on the first full weekend in July, so there is some hope of good summer weather, and is always held in the Lake District. It�s always low-key and friendly, and nothing much seems to have changed much since I first went to an SLMM over 20 years ago! (This year was the 31st event.) The only recent innovations are the use of Sportident and for this year a specially printed 1;25,000 Harvey map.

The race was once again back in the John Ruskin School in Coniston, a perfect venue in many ways, with plenty of indoor space if its too wet, a big playing field for parking and camping, with enough hard standing for the �camper vanners�. After something of a dip in entries over recent years, the event was once again full with a big waiting list, attracting its usual mix of walkers, fell runners, orienteers, road runners and adventure racers, and both elite racers and beginners. The classes have not changed in decades either and range from long courses for the elite (the Klets being the only solo mountain marathon class), to a walkers class (the Bedafell), where boots are required and running is prohibited.

The start was an uphill walk away, just above Miner�s Bridge, and exactly as the first starters were called to the line to collect their control descriptions, big, heavy rain drops began to fall. It was a very wet wait for the earlier starters, but the shower had passed for those who set off later. This set the pattern for the weekend, with some heavy showers falling, but they were not too prolonged and for most of the weekend the clouds were high enough to be above the tops. (Although when they were not conditions were very testing.)

The inexperience of some of the competitors showed as they came up to the start line, both in their big heavy packs, and the questions they asked. One even pointed at the control descriptions and asked, �Do I need one of those?� There was a fair bit of confusion at the start too, as the marked start point was on the track to the Youth Hostel above the �start box� and many pairs were unsure if they needed to punch there. (They didn�t.)

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