Original Mountain Marathon 24th/25th October

At the fourth attempt Steve Moss and Frank Reddington finally completed an Original Mountain Marathon on the weekend of 24th/25th October.

The two day event was held in the Elan Valley, just north of Builth Wells in Wales. Steve and Frank completed the B Class finishing 134th of 201 finishing pairs with a further 27 pairs not finishing the course.

After last years infamous storm and world wide media coverage the event quickly filled up with those who are attracted by adventure and a wish to be 'unaccounted for'! Last year Steve and Frank completed the first day before the race was abandoned. The previous year Steve pulled out when he was hospitalised with an infection in his knee, although Frank did complete the score class with another partner. In our first attempt we punched above our weight entering the Elite Class and floundered in the rain, mist and heather of the Galloway Hills.

Wind and rain were forecast again this year and although it was windy throughout the weekend temperatures were mild and we never had any really long periods of rain. With only seven checkpoints to find on the first day our prospects looked good and we ran well to finish 116th. The overnight camp in a farm field was as comfortable as it can be when travelling ultra light. Reveille was at 6 am although people in the tents near us were woken at 5.30 with Steve's trumpet call! Twelve check points on the second day gave us some concern but it was a clear day and the first six were found OK. However we turned of our brains off at that point and went way off course looking for the seventh point, taking nearly 80 minutes where runners around us took 40mins to find the same mark. The sun came out at the end of the day and we successfully completed the rest of the course although some steep hills caused Frank to hobble down the final descent with Steve threatening to throw him in the beck if he let any more runners overtake him!

Steve and Frank were not the only Spen runners taking part. Ace navigator Steve Hemingway with a partner Mark Frain completed the medium score and finished 80th of 271 finishers. Steve and Mark were 59th after the first day but were 107th on the second day.