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The Connoisseurs Mountain Marathon

GLENFINNAN 2008 7th/8th June

*** 2008 Feedback ***

Overall Results | Winners Reports | Map & Route Gadget | Control Descriptions
Controllers' Comments | Planner's Comments | A Marshal's Tale | Just Say No | The Agony and Ecstasy of the LAMM 2008

Prize Giving Photos | Photo Galleries | Photos for Sale | Photo Competition

Outdoor Industry Results | University Championship Results

Sunday | Day 2 Checkpoint Time

Saturday | Day 1 Results | Day 1 Checkpoint Times | Overnight Competitor Reports

Friday | Weather Forecast

 

Photo Competition Winners

Best LAMMer in action photo
'Elvis has left the checkpoint' by Nick McLean

Elvis has left the checkpoint

Best Scenic Photo Including a LAMM Competitor
'Just after Saturday's checkpoint 1 on the D course' by Ian Cumming

Just after Saturday's checkpoint 1 on the D course

 

Descending to the finishSunday - Pleasure and pain in Glen Pean

Day 2's chasing starts put pressure on the leading teams. Teams on courses A, B and C had to cross the River Pean and get over 400m of bog on the far side. In the rush, some people disappeared up to their waists in the quagmire and had to be pulled out by their team mates. More >>>

Saturday Evening - High hills under a sweltering sun

Never in the history of the LAMM have competitors been dispersed so widely through the hills. Today teams headed northwards, from the A830 Fort William to Mallaig road, across a front 18 miles wide. More >>>

Friday Night - Relaxed atmosphere as teams register

Welcome to sunny Glenfinnan, the LAMM event centre where teams are gradually arriving and registering (then heading for the pub to avoid the midges, which appear as soon as the breeze drops). More >>>

The LAMM will take place at Glenfinnan, 15 miles west of Fort William on the A830 road to Mallaig. The Event Centre is here.

ARRIVING BY ROAD
You should only park in designated areas as directed by the LAMM team. Please do not park in the National Trust car park at Glenfinnan, Glenfinnan Estate public car park or the church car park. Approaching from Fort William the majority of vehicles will be routed into the event parking on the left hand side, 2 miles before you reach Glenfinnan. Look out for yellow signs. Cross a bridge and turn right onto a wide forest track that runs west, parallel with the A830. Max Speed 15 mph on tracks. You will park on the sections of road either side of a quarry. See map. There is now a board walk (not shown on the map) that leads from the track to the main road near the Glenfinnan monument. It is a gated track that will be locked at midnight on Friday night until 06:00 Saturday. When all event vehicles have been parked, the gate will be locked and only opened to allow those retiring to leave between 18:00 - 18:15 and 21:00 - 21:15 on Saturday evening. It will be re-opened on Sunday from 11:00 until all vehicles have left. You must remove your vehicle on Sunday as big logging lorries will be using the track again on Monday morning. If case of emergency, please ring 07748 886602 or 07817 849090.

Event CentreIf you are registering on Friday and then heading off for other accommodation you should follow the A830 all the way to Glenfinnan and park as directed by our marshals. Look out for our yellow signs. Have a safe journey.

The A82 along Loch Lomond and all roads approaching Fort William will be very busy on Friday evening as people head for the World Cup MTB Championships at Nevis Range.  The roads will be busy again from late afternoon on Sunday.

ARRIVING BY TRAIN
Travel from Glasgow Queen Street -> Glenfinnan. Trains leave Glasgow at 08:51, 12:21 and 18:21, arriving Glenfinnan at 13:20, 16:54 and 22:43 respectively. It's a short walk to the Event Centre.

LAMM COACH - CHANGES TO THE SCHEDULE
Due to the the extra traffic on roads between Fort William and Glasgow our coach to Glasgow will now depart at 14:30 on Sunday. The prizegiving will take place at 14:00

ACCOMMODATION
There is no accommodation available within a 10 mile radius of Glenfinnan. Fort William will be incredibly busy as it is hosting the World Cup downhill MTB. Its best to camp but be prepared for midges if it is still.

WEATHER FORECAST - Kindly Provided by David Braine at the BBC Weather Centre

Is this control on your course?Our planner this year is Andy Spenceley, who planned the excellent routes at Inchnadamph two years ago and controlled the event last yeasr.  Angela Mudge who planned our 2007 routes and Dave Coustick will share the role of controller.

DISAPPEARING FEATURES
Our controller Dave Coustick writes - "Harry Potter has been practising his spells while on the train to Hogwarts!
Spell 1 - "Snowhide!" When the map was being finalised, some new tracks were buried under a long-lasting blanket of snow and so are not on the map.
Spell 2 - "Precipstop!" Since the snow vanished the lack of water (there has been just 15mm of rain in the last 5 weeks) means that some water features on the map cannot be seen on the ground.
"

THE LOCATION - A Note from our Planner
The map contains the usual collection of Munros and Corbetts that are typical for a LAMM area. So, as always, the LAMM is not a boggy moorland trudge, but a journey through real mountains (or up and over them!). If the weather is good, the views from the high ground are astounding and some of Scotland’s best scenery and most famous peaks can be seen.

The area has steep sided glens, lochs, long bumpy ridges (not always going the way you want to go, unfortunately) and, as mentioned, plenty of hills. It’s generally rockier and rougher than last year (but perhaps not as rough as Assynt, two years ago), although the terrain does vary across the area from more grassy and easier going to rocky scrambles. Apart from the odd estate road, there are few paths and even paths that are marked on the map are often not very good or as well made as, say, the stalkers paths in Assynt.

The centre of the area is very remote, with just a few bothies, and there are parts that I’d be surprised if more than a handful of people in the race had previously visited and I think you’ll enjoy the overnight campsite (if you are not too tired to appreciate it!) – think nice camping like last year in a spectacular setting surrounded by hills.

THE MIDCAMP
It's a very unusually shaped campsite at an idyllic location. We are camping in the back garden of a most accommodating family. We're very, very grateful to Edward and Sue Hinks for making us so welcome as their microlight landing strip is the only place to camp for miles around and we will be invading their peace and tranquility.

ROUTE GADGET - NEW FOR 2008
As the competitors are setting off on Saturday and on Sunday we will use the popular orienteering tool, Route Gadget, to display our map on the website. During the weekend, folks back home will be able to see our Planner and Controller's route choices displayed on the LAMM map. By the time you arrive home on Sunday evening we hope to have loaded all your results into Route Gadget. Please make an effort to visit the Route Gadget web page where you will be able to add your routes to the map and compare them with those of other teams. The
routes are automatically linked with your SPORTident punch data and you will be able to replay the event. You will actually see little squares run across the map as if all teams had started off in a mass start. This really adds another dimension to post-event analysis.

ATHLETES ANGELS - SPORTS MASSAGE
For the first time, the LAMM will have on board the highly experienced Athletes Angels at the finish. Athletes Angels provide sports massage and physio for endurance and outdoor sports events across the UK and Europe and will be on hand to tend to weary muscles, creaky joints and any sprains or injuries at the end of the race. As many will know, a thorough sports massage at the end of an event can make all the difference in the recovery stages! For more information please visit www.athletesangels.com and to pre-register (highly recommended!) for an appointment please email info@athletesangels.com. The team will be at the Event Centre from 10.30 am on the Sunday and a 10 minute appointment will cost £10, if you wish a longer appointment please specify when you pre-register.

Climate Care

Route planning above Loch Duich

The clouds over mid camp

Racing together - the spirit of the event

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