RAB Mountain Marathon
Rab Mountain Marathon Success Under New Organizing Team
News Release / 06.10.2014
In an exciting finale to Ourea Events year nearly 500 runners competed in the 8th Rab Mountain Marathon™ over the weekend of 27th & 28th September in the Lake District National Park.
The Rab Mountain Marathon™ has built up an enviable reputation over the years as a super friendly and welcoming event. Ourea Events acquired the Rab Mountain Marathon™ from Dark and White Events in February 2014 so there were high expectations all round that the ethos and quality of the event would remain unchanged.
Shane Ohly, Race Director for the event explained, “One of the many reasons we were keen to take on the Rab Mountain Marathon™ was because of its excellent reputation but with this came real pressure to deliver another great event in 2014. We couldn’t start the planning process until February, which is later than I would have liked and we took a small gamble by opting for a completely new area. However, Charlie Sproson and my team have done a superb job and the feedback from competitors has been universally excellent."
Dan Thompson, the Marketing Manager at Rab said, “We at Rab are delighted with how the event went and lots of tired but happy faces and weary legs bore testament to another successful event. Shane Ohly and his team at Ourea Events succeeded in a seamless handover of this event from the previous organisers, the team delivered a great course in a stunning area with a friendly, competitive atmosphere… we even managed to continue our run of great weather.”
Chris Baynham-Hughes, a veteran of many Ourea Events races including the Dragon’s Back Race™, Great Lakeland 3Day™ and Marmot Dark Mountains™, alongside his running partner Matty Brennan finished 17th overall in the Long Score. He said, “Thank you for such a fantastic weekend, outstanding course planning and event management! The course area and control locations were a revelation with surprisingly contrasting terrain covered from day 1 to day 2. The atmosphere was terrific and the organisation couldn’t be faulted; from the great beer on the Friday night to the finishing meal. Top marks to all involved.”
The plaudits continued with the overall winner Stewart Bellamy saying, “The 2014 Rab Mountain Marathon™ was a fantastic two day feast of mountain running and navigation. The course planner had done an amazing job, offering oodles of route choice requiring both mountain and fine navigation. I loved the contrast between the two days, day one being more of the traditional mountain marathon terrain with loads of climbing and some high tops. Day two on lower, rougher, fells had much more fine navigation and would have been very challenging if the clag had been lower. Oh, I nearly forgot to mention the fantastic overnight camp in the beautiful Longsleddale valley. A great event, well-planned and executed, with free tea and coffee… What more could you want!"
Leading mountain running photojournalist Ian Corless was on had to document the event and was able to lend his perspective to the race, “Shane Ohly as Race Director and the Ourea Events team bring slick organisation to difficult terrain and along with the course planning skills of Charlie Sproson, these events are a must do on the calendar. It’s been a busy year for the team, it all started in January with Marmot Dark Mountains. The Rab Mountain Marathon concludes 2014 but already plans are in motion for 2015 and remember, it’s a Dragons Back year! Arguably one of the toughest challenges in the UK.”
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