2009 Kintail - Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon

After last year's Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon, I vowed never to do the 'B' category ever again. We were last out of the teams who actually managed to complete the course and I was suffering from heat exhaustion. However, I found myself yet again driving up to Scotland to put myself through 45km of pain and midges and the forecast was not good with wintry showers and strong winds predicted. It was either that or more DIY at home so no contest really. The heavy showers soon cleared though on the Friday night and the wind kept the midges at bay so things were improving already.

The event this year was being held around the Kintail mountains on the Skye Road. Saturday morning was slightly overcast but OK. I was racing with my usual LAMM partner, Kev and we had late 9.30am start. I met Steve Moss at the event centre who was also running the 'B' course with Alan Greenwood.

At the appointed time, we collected our maps and then found that we would be taken by coach about 15km away to a start at Cluanie Inn. The first checkpoint was close but the next was some distance away with a Munro mountain in the way. Ascending the mountain, I noticed that there was a second Munro on the same ridge. This would mean that there would be a track along the ridge although nothing was shown on the map. Most teams were dropping straight down into the valley and contouring around the hill but we decided to use the track on the ridge and we made good time. There was however a bit of winter snow still left which made the traverse a bit chilly. We found the second checkpoint easily by descending onto it rather than contouring round to it.

Between the second and third checkpoints, we caught up with Steve and Alan and stayed with them for a few km before losing them when we decided to take a different route down to check point number four. Checkpoint 4 to 5 was a long way but easy to navigate and then there was only a few km left to the finish. Kev by this point had really started to struggle because of a knee injury from last year. We managed to keep a reasonable pace tho’ and finished Day 1 in 7 hrs 22 min. More importantly, the breeze was still keeping the midges away so the mid-camp was much better than expected.

Some quarrying was required to excavate boulders to create a flatish area to pitch the tent. A pot noodle then coos-cous then custard and cake with several brews along the way sorted the food issue. I was too tired to do much else so got into my sleeping bag about 9pm and slept right through until the traditional bagpiper alarm at 5.15 am. This is a truly horrible way to wake up. If he had come much closer to our tent I'd have done some mischief to his bagpipe with a tent peg.

Day 2 dawned bright with only a few clouds, ideal for running over the hills. The finish at the event centre was south of the mid-camp so the organisers sent us north to the first checkpoint. No chance of an easy day then. We found checkpoint 1 without difficulty and then a short climb took us up onto a ridge and on to checkpoint 2. Checkpoint 2 was located on a knoll at the base of a cliff which meant that we would have to scramble down the cliff, dip the dibber thing and then climb back up again before heading onward to checkpoint 3. On the way we found a load of rucksacks strewn all over the moor where competitors had abandoned their packs to head down the cliff and the back up again. I found running with my pack off for a while was as good as a rest.

Checkpoint 3 was a long way off but mainly downhill so not too tiring. I found a deer antler on the way and strapped it to my pack as a souvenir. The spikes sticking out behind me made it a bit dangerous for anyone to come too close but I now had an emergence brake if I slipped downhill on my back.

There was now only one long climb up to Checkpoint 4 and then another 5km back to the finish. Kev’s knee was now giving him serious gyp so the going was steady but a bit slow. The sun was also now beating down and a quick paddle in the odd stream to cool off tired feet was bliss. The finish line was a welcome sight and we were pleased to finish in a total time of 14 hrs 22 min in 65th place out of 113 teams. That’s our best placed finish on the ‘B’ course to date.

I really enjoyed this year’s LAMM and reckon that a top-half finish is feasible next year. Hang on, this is the first time I’ve finished one event and can’t wait until next one! It would seem I’ve finally lost my marbles.

Chris King