Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon - the connoisseurs mountain marathon

LAMM 2011 - FULL & FINAL DETAILS
This Supplements the Event Details & Includes All Recent Updates

PLEASE PRINT THE FULL & FINAL EVENT DETAILS AND BRING THEM WITH YOU.

AT REGISTRATION, LOOK FOR THE DESK SHOWING YOUR FIRST TEAM MEMBER'S SURNAME (AS ON THE ENTRY LIST). YOU DO NOT NEED TO KNOW YOUR TEAM NUMBER.

LAMM LOCATION
Further information about the location will be provided by 12:00hrs on Thursday 9th June. If you are on the LAMM email mailing list you should receive a LAMM email on Thursday lunchtime. Those with Internet access should visit www.lamm.co.uk where details will be provided. If you don't see a new home page with the event venue, please click on REFRESH, to update your browser window. For those without web access, a recorded telephone message will be available at Lowe Alpine from 17:30 on the Thursday until 08:00 on Friday. Telephone 01539 742052. Please visit the LAMM website, which will tell you far more than is possible in a brief telephone message.

LAMM 2011 TEES
The LAMM tee is a bright white crew neck sports tee shirt bearing the LAMM logo including the name of the venue and date. There is a unisex tee with the logo on the breast and and a ladies tee with a logo on the sleeve. The material allows wicking and moisture control and tees are available in S, M, L and XL sizes. We recommend that you purchase them when you register on Friday to avoid disappointment on Sunday. Tees are very reasonably priced at £15 and can be purchased during the weekend in the marquee. Should these sell out, a mail order list will be compiled and items despatched by the end of July.

LAMM BEER - 20% DONATION TO MOUNTAIN RESCUE
In 2010 Fyne Ales, a local microbrewery, provided barrels of beer on Friday night and after the event on Sunday. More than £2,500 was raised for Arrochar MR Team and they will be bringing the new Land Rover that you helped to fund, to the LAMM. This year another local microbrewery will provide a bar on Friday evening and Sunday, serving a selection of their own beers. Beer will be very reasonably priced at £2.50 a pint, of which 50p will be donated to the Mountain Rescue.

On Sunday, all competitors will be presented with a commemorative bottle of the microbrewery's beer just beyond the finish. The label on the bottle bears the name of our 2011 event. Please take the bottle home as a memento of the event and don't open it at the event as we must avoid glass waste at the venue.

LAMM RECYCLING
This year we intend to hit recycling really hard. All the plates, cutlery and cups that Scotts provide are made of very fast biodegrading materials and these will be buried in a trench at the event. Rubbish sacks will be located in pairs at a number of locations in and around the marquee:

Please help us this year by focusing hard on sorting your rubbish into the correct sacks so that we don't have to do it all over again on Sunday evening! Please return plastic beer glasses to the bar, take home your unopened bottles of beer, trashed shoes, clothing and rubbish brought back from the midcamp.

INDEMNITY FORM
Each team must complete one of these forms and hand it in at registration. You will also find the form on tables near to registration. Please save yourself time and hassle by downloading and printing one from here. It is a PDF file so you will require the free utility from Adobe, Acrobat Reader.

TEAM CHANGES
Please make any team changes online before you come to the event by clicking on UPDATE ENTRY. The last chance to enter or make changes online is 21:00 on Thursday 9th June. This will help us considerably with the smooth running of the event. Report any even later changes to the Information Desk at registration. Please register for the Outdoor Industry or University MM championships if your team fits the bill. See the appropriate links.

ROUTE GADGET
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 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.

SCOTT'S EVENT CATERING (inc. WILFS) who attend orienteering events and mountain marathons all around the UK will be present to provide a variety of food for purchase on Friday evening from 16.00. This will include Soup, Pizza, Chilli in a bowl, baked potatoes, pasta bowl, a number of cakes and the usual brews. On Saturday morning, cereal and bacon rolls will be on the menu from 06:00. A free meal is provided to each competitor on Sunday at the end of the event. Visit www.scottseventcatering.co.uk.

JON BROOKE PHOTOGRAPHY & LIVE ONLINE REPORTS
Photographer Jon Brooke will be out on the course attempting to capture at least one image of every team. His pictures will be available to purchase online a day or two after the event via his website www.rightplacerighttime.co.uk. The images will be available as JPEG files for personal (non-commercial use). They come in two different sizes suitable for regular prints or enlargements. The large file would probably be acceptable up to A3 size at least. Those taking part in the Chasing start on Sunday will be wearing race numbers front and back and can search for photos using their race number. Payment can be made using any credit card (via Paypal) and no registration or other faffing is required. Prices are £4.95 and £7.95 respectively.

As well as taking pictures, Jon will also be writing and posting several live online reports over the weekend and he is very keen to hear your interesting stories or tidbits. So if you have anything to report, whether serious or silly, notable or nugacious, please let him know about it.

ATHLETES' ANGELS - SPORTS MASSAGE
For the fourth year, the LAMM will have on board the highly experienced Athletes Angels at the finish. Athletes Angels provide sports massage and physio for some of the UK and Europe's top outdoor endurance events and will be on hand to tend to weary muscles, creaky joints and any sprains or injuries at the end of the event. 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. A member of the team will be at the Event Centre from 10.00 am on the Sunday and a 15 minute massage will cost only £10, if you wish a longer appointment please specify when you pre-register. Go on - treat yourselves, you deserve it!

EVENT PARKING, EVENT CENTRE, ACCOMMODATION & CAMPING
The LAMM car park will not open or be signed until 15:00 on Friday so please do not arrive until then. It will close at MIDNIGHT and re-open at 06:00 on Saturday. There is a fair amount of accommodation available within 7 miles. If fields are wet, it could be a walk of up to 1KM from the parking to the camping field so it would be best to consider how you will carry your kit to the Event Centre. We think it is best to leave a tent up on the camping area throughout the weekend and you can change in it on your return. If you don't have a second tent, a rucksack can be left in the event marquee and we will provide labels.

REGISTRATION will be open from 16:00 - MIDNIGHT on Friday but be closed between 22:00 and 22:30 for the marshals briefing. At registration you will receive your TWO Si-Cards and wriststrap, 2 LAMM car stickers and 2 small polybags for the Control Descriptions (which are not waterproof). Teams will receive a pair of foot shaped plastic bags, care of Sidas. The Information Desk will provide your Saturday start time, vouchers for laminated maps and allow you to register any VERY LATE team/course changes. Could doctors please collect a 'Barrier Tape Streamer' and attach it to your tent at the Event Centre and midcamp so that we can locate you in an emergency.

OVERPRINTED MAP
Each team will receive 2 maps, approx. size (68cm x 69cm) which will be handed out on the way to the start. If you have purchased laminated maps you will hand over your voucher (issued at registration) and receive a laminated map in exchange. No voucher, no laminated map - so don't lose your voucher. The map is at 1:40000 scale with a contour interval of 10m and is based on data from the relevant OS 1:50000 sheets. The map has control circles for all controls overprinted on it. From the grid references on your Control Descriptions, you will be able to identify the control circles for your course. For the Score Course, the values of the controls will also be printed on the Control Descriptions which you will receive as you start.

A word of warning, with the map based on the OS 1:50,000, not all crags are marked accurately and many small streams are not marked, so be wary of using these features for fine navigation. Just remember it is not a purpose made orienteering map, but a map for travelling through mountains and gives you exactly the information you need for the LAMM.

If we have not used up our entire allocation of laminated maps, extra vouchers will be available at registration on a first come, first served basis - price £3 each. For those whose maps are not laminated, map bags sized 60cm x 45cm will be available for purchase at registration. Plain maps are not waterproof so please ensure that you take a large enough map bag with you and if the weather is really bad we suggest that you save one map for use on the second day. After the event is over, any remaining LAMM maps will be available at the LAMM shop.

START TIMES ON SATURDAY MORNING
Registration will be open from 06:00 - 09:00. Assembly times are between 08:00 - 10:00 for the D course and 07:00 - 09:30 for the other courses. At the start enter the taped area corresponding to your course. You are advised to use the small plastic bags provided at registration to protect the description sheet, which is not waterproof. The description sheet will give a 6-figure grid reference for each checkpoint on your course, plus a written description and code to look for at the checkpoint. Except on the Score Course, all checkpoints must be visited in the order shown on the sheet.

VISITING CONTROLS
Pairs must stay within visual and verbal contact of each other and BOTH MEMBERS MUST VISIT EACH CONTROL CARRYING THEIR EVENT RUCKSACK. We are aware that in previous years, a few teams have cheated by leaving rucksacks on the way to an out and back checkpoint or one member descended to a control before climbing back up the hill to join a weaker partner. Each competitor will use an SI-Card and both team members must dip the SI-Card at each control on their course. Controls will be marked with an orienteering-type orange and white nylon marker and a SPORTident station will be attached to it. This will usually be sited at ground level, weighted down with rocks. Always check the 3-digit identification code on each SPORTident station to ensure that you have visited the correct one for your course. You will not be penalised if you inadvertently dip your SI-Card at an extra control that is not on your course but you must dip your SI-Card at all the controls on any course other than Score, in the correct order. Ensure that the station is not upside down when you insert the SI Card. Any closing times will be marked against the relevant checkpoint description and you should not expect to find a checkpoint marker if you arrive after this time.

THE MIDCAMP
This year, the midcamp is a wild location with a limited number of grassy camping spots. Other ground is roughish tussock and if we have rain before the event, could be quite soggy underfoot. If you are in any doubt about the quality of your groundsheet, please consider bringing a thin plastic sheet to place under your tent.

SUNDAY MORNING STARTS
The start regime for the Sunday morning will be flexible. Chasing Start times for the leading teams on Elite, A, B, C and D courses will be displayed near the results by 20:00 on Saturday. The Chasing Start will begin at 06:00 and will last for 90 minutes. If you are not on the Chasing Start list you may start anytime from 06:30 onwards until 07:30. All teams in the Chasing Start should come to the midcamp results tent after 20:00 to be given 4 race numbers which indicate your course and position. Each team member will wear the numbers pinned on the front and on the back of the rucksack. For these teams, Sunday will be all about head to head racing and far more of you than ever before will be able to experience the exhilaration (and pressure) of racing on Day 2 of a Mountain Marathon.

Teams that retire or are disqualified on Day 1 are very welcome to start Day 2 and we don't need to be informed about this. If your partner pulls out and you would like a new team mate to join you for Day 2, come to the Download Tent anytime from 06:00 and we'll try to help you form a new team. Teams will start from a taped area close to the mid-camp and those that are not in the Chasing Start will use their SI-Card to record their start time. Course description sheets will be issued in the taped area and competitors will receive description sheets just after they start. Any teams taking more than 9 hours to complete Day 1 or who are concerned that they will miss our transport to Inverness at 14:00 will be given the opportunity of starting at any time from 06:00 onwards.

On Sunday morning there is NO Chasing Start for the Score course and you may start at anytime from 06:00 - 07:30. You will receive the description sheet for all Sunday controls which shows score values. Please don't all come at once as we would like there to be a small gap between each team. We suggest that the inexperienced teams who may overshoot the 6 hours, those who have a chance of winning a prize and those who are depending on our coach transport should start early. If you are likely to be a prize winner, please don't finish after 13:00!

PRIZEGIVING
his will take place by the Event Centre marquee at 13:15 and will last no more than 30 minutes. Prizes will be awarded to the first 6 teams on each course, first mixed and first women's team in each class. A prize will be awarded to the veteran's team on each course with the best handicap results where the total age of the team is 90 or more on Saturday 11th June. On the linear courses, the adjusted time is calculated by deducting 30 seconds per hour of running time for each year the combined age of the team exceeds 90. On the score course, the adjusted score is calculated by adding 1.5% to the score for each year the combined age of the team exceeds 90. There are also prizes for the teams with most LAMM appearances, also the best University team and team associated with the Outdoor Industry. The retail value of LAMM prizes this year is £7,000. We only provide one prize per person so that the prizes can trickle down to more teams.

POT HUNTING!
Prize-winners in previous years (other than Elite) are ineligible for prizes when competing on a course & category (unless veterans) where they have previously won a 1st or 2nd, Mixed or Ladies prize. We reserve the right to decide a team's eligibility for a prize where one team member who has previously won a prize pairs up with another previously unplaced member and they enter a lower course.

SPECIAL ELITE PRIZE
Anders Morell who organises the BAMM - Bjorkliden Arctic MM has for the third time very kindly offered a prize of a free entry for the BAMM on 19-20th August 2011. The prize will include transport from a local airport and accommodation/food at a hotel the night before and after the event. The LAMM will share the cost of this this prize and we will pay £500 towards appropriate flights from a UK airport. Bjorkliden is located 200km (124 miles) north of the Arctic Circle just north of Sweden's Abisko National Park, almost on the border with Norway. It is possible to travel to or from the venue to the UK in one day. This is a great opportunity to take part in a Mountain Marathon in another wonderful location far from home and we're very grateful to Anders for his kind offer. However - here's the catch. This prize will not necessarily be offered to the winning Elite team. It will be offered to the best performing Elite team that remembers to confirm at LAMM Registration Information Desk that (barring exceptional circumstances) they will be able to take part in the BAMM. We will use the information from registration and your results to allocate this prize

LEADERS ON COURSES WILL HELP TO WRITE THE LAMM WEBCAST
This year we will again pull out all the stops to keep those at home informed about the LAMM during the weekend. At the end of each day top teams on courses will be asked to step into a "room" or maybe a shed or a tent where we will have a few laptops setup. We would like them to write a paragraph or two about their experiences of the day. Please write whatever springs to mind and we think that this will help to make the reportage from the event come alive. Jon Brooke will be taking digital photographs out on the course and writing about the event as it unfolds. He will compile a section of the LAMM webcast that contains the competitor's stories of the day and pictures of each team. If any other team has the urge to tell the world about their day on the Scottish hills there will be space. Its a flexible arrangement so we'll just see what happens…..

THE LAMM WEBCAST
We may be living in a technologically advanced age but the Scottish Highlands still present significant communications problems and this year it will be especially difficult to provide updates from the midcamp. However we will try to not disappoint. Those with access to the Internet on Friday night will be able to see something of significant interest from 18:00! We aim to upload photographs and reports on Friday evening, Saturday morning by 10:30, Saturday evening by 22:00, Sunday morning by 10:00 and Sunday evening by 20:00. We will also display the courses each day after the competitors have started and upload photographs of each of the prize winners. Results will also be displayed at the end of each day showing overall positions on each course and also split times between each checkpoint. Andrew Leaney from SPORTident UK will also be processing results and acting as our webmaster for the weekend.

PRIZE FOR THE BEST PHOTO
After the event is over, we will offer 2 prizes of Lowe Alpine kit for best digital photographs taken by competitors while the event is in progress. The two categories are best photo of LAMMers in action and best scenic photo (which should also include a few competitors). The photos will be displayed on the website. Please only send a maximum of 2 of your very best photos and no bigger than 0.8MB. Email them to andrew.leaney@sportident.co.uk.

USING A SPORTident SI-Card
Each competitor will carry an SI-Card and both members must punch at each checkpoint. Failure to punch by either team member at any checkpoint will lead to disqualification. This is intended to ensure that in future all unmanned checkpoints are visited by both team members. Each team member must visit registration to either receive a hire SI-Card or to present their own card so that we can confirm the card number. To ensure fair play and that both team members visit each control, all SI-Cards will be attached loosely to your wrist using a tamper proof wrist strap. This will remain attached all weekend and will be cut off you either when you finish or if you retire. If you lose, break or take a hire card home with you the charge will be £25.00. We use these wristbands for non-orienteering events of more than 2 hours duration. Also you will quickly get used to carrying the card on your wrist. Wrists do swell during exercise and providing you have attached the card loosely, you will hardly notice that you are wearing it overnight.

If a checkpoint station doesn't beep or flash, please record or memorise the 3 letter word written on the station and tell us at the finish.

WHILE COMPETING
Please remember not to touch any deer calves, even if they appear to be distressed as the mother will often reject them if human scent is detected. Also try to avoid stepping on nests of baby grouse - the estates get annoyed. A number of rivers in this area soon become uncrossable after prolonged rain or even a heavy shower. If in doubt, move UPSTREAM, not DOWNSTREAM to cross and if moving downstream, ensure that if all else fails you can cross by a bridge. Carry all your rubbish back to the Event Centre on Sunday and be prepared to show it during a kit check.

RETIREMENTS
Should you retire and return to the Event Centre during Saturday or early on Sunday, please place your hired electronic control cards in the labelled box in the marquee or leave a note if you own the SI-Card. At other times, please report to the finish. THIS IS THE GOLDEN RULE AND MUST BE ADHERED TO WITHOUT EXCEPTION. Failure to follow this procedure could result in the local Mountain Rescue team being called out. Any competitor doing so will be blacklisted for all future events. It is the responsibility of competitors to make their own way back to the Event Centre. The mid-camp will be at an isolated location and unless you have suffered a broken limb or other severe injury it is unlikely that we will be able to offer transport back to the Event Centre.

ACCIDENTS
Use your whistle to summon assistance from other competitors. Put the casualty in a sleeping bag or tent while someone, preferably two people, go for help. Someone should stay with the casualty at all times, although if you cannot summon help you may have to leave them on their own. Make a careful note of the grid reference, nearby features, time and nature of injuries. Telephone the 24 hour emergency phone number shown on your Control Description sheet and ask for a suitable message to be passed to the Mountain Rescue Team.

Adders are quite active at this time of year; however it is extremely unlikely that anyone will be bitten. Should you be unlucky, it is not likely to be too serious. Immediately wash the bite to remove venom on the surface, dispel any notion of continuing competitively and rest with the relevant limb lowered below the heart for about half an hour. Bandage the limb above the bite just tightly enough so that the veins below bulge but pulses can still be felt. "Milking" the bite area to expel blood and plasma could be tried too. If you are not feeling too feverish or nauseous after this rest, proceed gently either to the mid-camp or to a road, whichever is the nearer. Seek medical advice as soon as possible.

EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER
This is printed on the control descriptions and should only be used in extremis. Rescue facilities are only available to deal with potentially life-threatening situations. An emergency medical kit is available on Saturday at the midcamp and on Sunday back at the Event Centre. Please carry some money with you in case you get stranded miles from the Event Centre.

COMPULSORY INDIVIDUAL KIT
Each person must wear or carry a whistle, compass, map, pencil & paper, torch (not penlight) with spare bulb & 6 hours light. A torch with multiple LEDs is fine. A sleeping bag or Blizzard Pack, Survival Bag, waterproof cagoule with hood (not a windproof), overtrousers (these can be showerproof), hat & gloves, tracksters/thermal bottoms (lycra tights OK if weather forecast is good), thermal vest or similar, warm thicker top, hill food for each day with a small amount of emergency rations to remain at the end of day 2. Please carry some money with you (a note) in case you get stranded miles from the Event Centre.

A Goretex bivi bag may be used as a sleeping bag but not as a tent. The survival bag must be a bag rather than a blanket. An example of a specialist lightweight product is Adventure Medical Kits Heatsheets Emergency Bivvy (100gram).

Footwear must be lightweight boots, fell running or orienteering shoes - no flat-soled trainers permitted. Trail shoes may not be ideal for contouring but will be acceptable as long as the heel is not too high. The ideal shoe for most is a fell running shoe such as the Walsh PB, Inov-8, New Balance RX Terrain, The Felldancer or Adidas Swoop or Lightfoot.

Teams should be prepared for random kit checks on arrival at the midway camp and at the end of the event. We will expect to see your rubbish.

FORBIDDEN KIT: GPS, Satellite Navigation or mobile phone devices that show your current location either on a map or as a grid reference. Altimeters are allowed. However, we are keen that teams should carry a mobile phone that does not include current location displayed on a map or as a grid reference.

MIDGES
The midges WILL be quite annoying if it is humid or still. We strongly recommend that you bring some insect repellent or a net.

COACH TRANSPORT
If you have booked places on our transport, please visit the relevant page on the site to check your booking is correct and read the final coach details.

CAMPING IS AVAILABLE ON SUNDAY NIGHT You are very welcome to camp at the Event Centre on Sunday night.