Mountain Marathon is an extended form of fell running, usually over two days and often with a strong orienteering element. Competitors usually participate in teams of two, and have to carry their own food and tent. There are various classes of event (such as, for the Original Mountain Marathon - Elite, A, B, C, D and Long, Medium and Short Score).
The major events are listed below:
- The Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon (LAMM) - held in the Scottish Highlands in June.
- The Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon (SLMM) - held in or near the Lake District in early July.
- The Mourne Mountain Marathon held in Mourne Mountains, County Down, Northern Ireland in September.
- The Original Mountain Marathon (OMM - Formerly the Karrimor International Mountain Marathon/KIMM) - held in a UK hill or mountain area in the last weekend in October.
There are also newer events springing up and attracting increasing numbers, including the Highlander Mountain Marathon which began in 2007 and is held in April at a Scottish location 'within a 2 hour drive of Inverness'.
The start arrangements on the two days are usually different (and are designed to encourage navigational independence). For example, on day 1 of the SLMM a staggered start is used, with teams being sent off at 1 or 2 minute intervals, and not getting their way-cards until they are 'on the clock'. On Day 2 the overnight leaders are often sent off half an hour before the others (a 'chasing start') and a mass start, for those more than half an hour behind overnight, then follows.
The races have provided the stimulus for various items of specialist lightweight equipment, for instance lightweight tents and multipouched running rucksacks (the 'OMM Classic Marathon 25 or 32 Sac').
Other articles related to "mountain marathon, mountains, mountain, marathon":
... from England to Switzerland 47 teams were at the start of the first Swiss Karrimor 2-day Mountain Marathon in Muothatal in 1976 ... Over the years several thousand lovers of the mountains, nature and sport from about twenty countries have been able to participate in 24 different regions of the Swiss Alps ... Arova-Mammut, a Swiss firm manufacturing mountain sport equipment, stepped in spontaneously, so that the event had to be changed only little under a new name its organization would be secure for the next ...
... The Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon (SLMM) is a two-day mountain marathon usually held in the English Lake District ('or its environs', such as the adjoining Howgill Fells) in early July ... The Marathon comprises eight classes ranging from the Klets Class (the only solo class) for elite runners, through six running classes for teams of two, to the Bedafell class for walkers ...
Famous quotes containing the words marathon and/or mountain:
“In their eyes I have seen
the pin men of madness in marathon trim
race round the track of the stadium pupil.”
—Patricia K. Page (b. 1916)
“Again, he felt a crude ecstasy. He could not have given the reason, but the mountain tormented him, beckoned him, held an answer to something he wanted. It was so pure, so austere.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)