- Original Mountain Marathon
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The Original Mountain Marathon (OMM), formerly known as the Karrimor International Mountain Marathon (or KIMM), is a 2-day Mountain event, held in a different region across the UK every year. It was first held in 1968 and continues today. Gerry Charnley, a skilled mountaineer and orienteer, designed the KIMM to test orienteering skills in extreme circumstances; the full-length KIMM course is a double-marathon length race. Each team must carry all their gear, including equipment for an overnight camp. Moreover, the course is not disclosed until the race begins, so each team must have good navigation skills. Some have called the KIMM the forerunner of modern adventure racing.
In January 2010 the ownership of OMM, the event and the products was bought by Ark Consultants UK Ltd. (www.arkconsultants.co.uk).
Contents
History
The 2008 OMM was abandoned, for the first time in the race's history, due to ill-informed media coverage which suggested that the very challenging weather conditions (100 mph winds and extremely heavy rain) placed competitors and potential rescuers in danger. Reference was made to '1,700 people unaccounted for in the hills' though in fact all of these were still competing and unaware that anyone was concerned for them; as usual a significant number of competitors were current or former Mountain Rescue Team members. In fact only one competitor needed to be rescued after being swept away in a torrent, slightly injured and stranded on an island, though there were other unconnected rescues in the Lake District at the time which were widely assumed to be connected to the OMM. Flooding did cause considerable disruption and damage at the base camps and the high winds resulted in the abandonment of some of the manned radio checkpoints; this and the genuine risk at river crossings were the principal reasons for cancelling the second day's competition.
List of event locations
Year Location Region 2010 Dartmoor South West England 2009 Elan Valley Wales 2008 Borrowdale Cumbria 2007 Lowther Hills Scotland 2006 Galloway Forest Park Scotland 2005 Ullswater Cumbria 2004 Brecon Beacons South Wales 2003 Langholme Scottish Borders 2002 Cheviot Northumberland 2001 Clydes MuirSheil Regional Park Scotland 2000 Lake District Cumbria 1999 Cowal Peninsula Argyll Scotland 1998 Howgill Fells North Pennines 1997 Kielder Forest North East England 1996 Galloway Forest Park and Hills Scotland 1995 Brecon Beacons South Wales 1994 St Mary's Loch and Manor Scotland 1993 Upper Nithsdale & Queensberry Hills Scotland 1992 Northern Lake District Cumbria 1991 Arrochar Alps Scotland 1990 Glen Lyon Scotland 1989 Howgill Fells North Pennines 1988 Cheviots Northumberland 1987 Ffestiniog Snowdonia North Wales 1986 Galloway Hills Scotland 1985 Langdale (Lake District) Cumbria 1984 Peak District Pennines 1983 Strathyre Scotland 1982 Dartmoor South West England 1981 Langdale Cumbria 1980 Isle of Arran Scotland 1979 Rhinogs North Wales 1978 Peebles Scotland 1977 Howgill Fells North Pennines 1976 Galloway Highlands Scotland 1975 Ennerdale Cumbria 1974 College Valley, Cheviot Northumberland 1973 Plas Gwynant North Wales 1972 Tibbie Shiels (Selkirk) Scottish Borders 1971 Plas-y-Brenin North Wales 1970 Eskdale West Cumbria 1969 Troutbeck (Windermere) Cumbria 1968 Muker North Pennines Classes of competition
OMM currently comprises seven competition classes (four line events and three score courses) which vary in length and severity, approximately as follows:
- Elite 80 km 12 hrs
- A class 65 km 11 hrs
- B class 50 km 10 hrs
- C class 45 km 9 hrs
- D class 40 km 8 hrs
- Long Score 7+6 hrs (day 1/2)
- Medium Score 6+5hrs
- Short Score 5+4hrs
Compulsory kit list
- Warm Trousers or Leggings
- Shirt or Thermal Top
- Sweater or Fleece Top
- Waterproof Over Trousers (taped seams)
- Waterproof Jacket (taped seams)
- Socks, gloves & hat
- Head Torch
- Whistle
- Food For 36 Hours
- Additional Emergency Rations
- Compass (GPS Not Allowed)
- Sleeping Bag
- Footwear With Adequate Grip For Fell Conditions
- Space Blanket or large heavy gauge polythene bag
- Rucksack
- First-Aid, a minimum of a crepe bandage and small wound dressings.
- Pen Or Pencil
- Tent With Sewn-In Groundsheet
- Cooking Stove with enough fuel at the end of day 2 to make a hot drink
Clothing Brand
OMM have also started producing their own branded outdoor clothing and equipment. Items required on the event, such as waterproof jackets and trousers, backpacks and sleeping bags, have been produced, specially adapted for the event. The Kamleika (from the Aleutian word for a long robe) range of jackets, smocks and trousers have become famous amongst mountain marathon runners and hikers alike. They are unique in that they are specially developed to be stretchy and produce minimal noise when running. OMM are currently planning a larger range of clothing and equipment, also specially created for mountain marathons.
Swiss version
Dieter Wolf brought the Karrimor idea 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. After some structural and personal changes at Karrimor ltd. in England and Salewa Sport ltd. in Switzerland a new partner had to be found for the event in 1997 so as to achieve a balanced account. 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 few years. The long cooperation with Arova-Mammut ltd. came to an end in 2002. R’adys Outdoor & Snowwear in Lachen became a new sponsor in 2004. In 2006, the event changed its name to The Original Mountain Marathon following the end of Karrimor's sponsorship.
The earlier Karrimor 2-day Mountain Marathon, then the MIMM for several years, and today’s Mountain Marathon are unique in Switzerland. Apart from several very successful similar events in England and France there have also been some attempts at organizing such an event in Norway, Australia and New Zealand.
External links
Orienteering Orienteering concepts Sport disciplinesIOF governedIARU governedOther sportsRelated sportsEquipmentEventPersonalExceptionsFundamentalsMap (Orienteering map) · Navigation (Resection, Route choice, Wayfinding, Waypoint) · Racing (Hiking, Running, Walking)OrganizationNon-sport relatedAdventure travel · Bicycle touring · Location-based game (Geocaching, Poker run) · Hiking · Hunting · Mountaineering · Scoutcraft orienteering · Traveling backpacking · Wilderness backpackingOrienteering competition events Top ranked onlyOpen to everyoneTop ranked onlyTop ranked onlyWorld ChampionshipsOpen to everyoneList of orienteering eventsCategories:- Multi-discipline sports
- Ultramarathons
- Fell running events
- Orienteering in the United Kingdom
- Orienteering in Switzerland
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