Just a quick email to say thanks for another excellent LAMM.
You certainly have your mojo back, and LAMM is by far the best
MM on the calendar. You do all the right things, and it the
right amount of detail. Your experience as a competitor really
shows, and you know what we want .... unlike some other marketing
driven events. I hope Lowe Alpine are happy with it all, and
appreciate your efforts. Sharon really enjoyed her first LAMM,
'so much better than the OMM' she said, etc. My only bit of
other feedback is that our optimum route in the score seemed
to be back over the same ground as Day One for the first two
hours, which had we been ultra competitive we would have done.
However, we are there for the adventure and scenery so our route
and strategy isn't the most scientific! But, hey .... just thanks
for a stunning event.
Joe Faulkner
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Just to congratulate you on your 20th - a truly
fantastic effort by you and all those who have made it possible
both this year and in previous ones. Well done the lot of you,
as well as to Debbie for putting up with you, and time for a
well earned breather.
I thought it was one of the more memorable events - for me the
good ones are mainly linked to good weather, and not too much
event-related trauma. Though there were some moments on CP1
on Day 2 when following Angela's dodgy fence...! But the Bealach
na Ba was a real high point in all ways and a great "sting"
- not lost your touch yet! I had my camera stuffed in an inaccessible
part of the sack and felt it a bit premature to ask my (new)
LAMM partner to stand by within 20 mins of starting to allow
me to empty my entire rucksack on the hillside so I could snap
the view along the ridge of Beinn Bhan - it seemed politic to
wait until about 3 hours out before dropping that one in.
And goodness knows why you say you lack confidence in your putting
these events on - everyone else looks to you as the gold standard!
All the best for now
Alec Keith
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Just to say congratulations to you and your team
for a fantastic event. This was my niece's first ever mountain
marathon at the tender age of 17 and she absolutely loved it.
In fact she just texted me tonight to say she has LAMM withdrawal
and wishes she was still in the hills....you have another convert:-).
Hopefully we'll manage next years. Kind regards
Elaine Gillies
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Thanks for another fabulous event! You were rightly
generous with your praise and thanks on Sunday, and in your
email today, to all the people and organisations who made this
year's event so successful. One person was missed out though
and that's you!
If I had the energy and wherewithal on Sunday, I'd have asked
everyone to give you 3 cheers for being the driving force and
heartbeat of the LAMM for a remarkable 20 years. You deserve
it!
So pleased you've got your LAMM mojo back and we'll see you
in 2015 at LAMM 21!
Kenny Leitch & Keith Masson
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I just wanted to mention that Phil and myself have taken part
in a number of mountain marathons over the years and without
a doubt both feel that the LAMM is the best organised of them
and always seems to be tuned into the needs of competitors of
all abilities. Keep up the good work!
Phil Margrave
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Brilliant event! Welcome back, you were much missed. If I could
only do one event each year it would be the LAMM. More specifically,
regarding the 1-per-minute lateness penalty that Angela asked
for comments on. A good idea, if only I'd noticed the change
before the end of day 1 we could have got a few extra points!
If you're going to do the same next year (yes please) then you
may want to avoid having a control less than 5 minutes from
the finish (as 160 was) - anyone approaching the finish from
the east, however late, could have gained at least a couple
of points by adding a there-and-back to this one. We didn't
of course, but that's because I'd marked the score against the
wrong control, oops! See you next year
Simon Caldwell
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This was my first LAMM and admittedly it's taken me longer
than it should have to get on board. I think I was previously
intimidated by the 'serious' nature of the event and thought
it might be too big/popular. I now realise just how much I've
been missing out! The set up is fantastic - keeping things simple
at the overnight camp means you can get to some genuinely remote
camps and helps to reinforce the principles of 'leave no trace'
for the participants which I think is really important. I've
had experience of organising outdoor events on a smaller scale
and can imagine just how frought an event as complex and prestigious
as the LAMM could be. So a big thanks to you and your team for
all the hard work and I look forward to future LAMM events!
Craig Burry
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This is just a short e-mail to thank you and your team for
once again organising such a brilliant event. It always amazes
me how such a small group of people can put on such a large
event. This was my wife's first lamm and she found the first
day of the b course particularly tough (she was the runner who
sat and cried for 10 minutes between the finish and download,
largely from the relief of finishing). However, it was well
worth sticking it out and doing day two as it was far more runnable,
we loved the last three legs. As an aside, quite by chance i
was at the arrochor campsite used as the lamm hq on the weekend
of your first event on a munro bagging holiday with a friend.
If i'd known then how good mountain marathons were we'd have
competed too. All the best, and maybe see you at the next one
(it's a long drive from Chepstow).
Matthew Lawson
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Many thanks for an excellent LAMM at Strathcarron. This was
my first LAMM but it definitely lived up to its reputation of
being the connoisseurs' MM - fabulous scenery and challenging
route choices. The excellent weather was a bonus. Hopefully
I'll be back again in the future. Particular thanks to all your
helpers but especially to you for organising a fantastic event.
Helena Burrows
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Just to say thanks for organising such a great weekend and
for all your hard work (to everyone involved). Hope to be back
next year! Cheers!
Jonny Midgley
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Big thanks to organisers and volunteers for a great weekend.
Really enjoyed it. Not too many midge bites!
Andy McRae and Brad Black
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What a wonderful 20th edition of the LAMM that was (I can say
that now its over!)
Alison Holt
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Thanks for a great weekend. I am still recovering but have
many great memories - superb weather, great views and interesting
courses. We were one of those teams that had to dash to the
airport and hence miss the prize giving. I think we were the
first vet team on the B.
John Dowty
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Thank you very much for a superb event again. The weather certainly
helped - keeping the midges at bay nicely - but as always the
organisation was faultless. That is all down to preparation
and hard work from you and the whole team. Thank you.
Alastair Marshall
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First of all thanks for another great event. It was my 8th
since 1999---I was the one wearing the Blackmount shirt that
you spotted at the prize-giving. So far as I could see, everything
went very smoothly. I really can't see how what you offered
could have been improved. Although peripheral, the mobile app
wasn't worth using and didn't yield many photos worth looking
at. I found the noise of the quad-copter on day 1 to be an irritating
intrusion---although my partner was excited by it and I was
interested to chat to the photographer about it at the mid-camp.
What I really like: Other than the chance to get a weekend
in the highlands away from work and family and confirm that
I've not yet gone into serious mid-life physical decline, the
great thing is meeting up with folk I know and encounters with
random strangers who have been enjoying doing what I do. For
someone who doesn't stop often enough, the mid-camp is (usually)
an opportunity to spend a few hours not doing anything in particular
in a beautiful setting. I hope there will be a LAMM 2015 so
that I can finally run the A class!
Julian Hall
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Thank you and everyone involved with this year's LAMM. What
a great team you have- brilliant event. Many thanks
Denise Martin
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Many thanks for staging such an excellent event. I do keep
saying never again…. I don't do modern things like PhotoStream
but one of my better pics attached. Golfing tonight so muscles
might be a bit sore!
Colin Matheson
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Many thanks again for a fab LAMM - as ever, one of the highlights
of the year! I hope it all went smoothly behind the scenes!
Ian Whiteside
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Thank you very much for organising yet another great LAMM.
We forgot to mention at mid camp that we had spotted a Golden
Eagle gliding gently over the ridge as we were approaching the
1st check point on the D course on Saturday.
Andrea Stanbridge
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Thank you to the whole of the LAMM 2014 organising team and
everyone who helped along the way. This was my first LAMM and
we had a fabulous two days of racing. Elite competition and
elite organisation. Hoping to make it an annual fixture in our
calendar!
Helen Cassidy
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Could you pass on my thanks to Arrochar Mountain Rescue for
their help on Sunday. Also to everyone who expressed their concern
and offered to help, subsequently informing Mountain Rescue
about me as I hobbled along the Ling path. It's good to know
how kind LAMM competitors are. I have in fact broken my ankle,
currently on crutches, non weightbearing..... Better luck next
year. Still was a really good weekend, Thanks again,
Anne Plenderleith
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Congratulations for a brilliant weekend at the 2014 LAMM. It
was a pleasure to be around for the prizegiving and to listen
to your passionate summary of another fantastic event (and we
didn't get lost this year).
Charmian Heaton
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I see from the results we boobed on check point 5. Just so
we know what not to do next time, can you let me know what we
did wrong? Nikki forgot to dib when we got to 5. She remembered
as we ran away and ran back and dubbed. Is it because there
was a delay between us dibbing? Should we both have run back?
Great event. Superb route. The climb up Chean dearg was a total
swine! Loved it! See you next year.
Ben Robson
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Many thanks for what was once again a great event. The organisation
was amazing - I dread to think how long it all took! And the
area was just stunning! Again the LAMM stands out as my favourite
event of the year. The 20th anniversary bits at the end were
great as well. Many thanks
Patrick Brien
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I've just read your collection of thanks to various people
for this year's event, but of course the biggest bundle of thanks
should go to you. I've organised enough smaller-scale things
to appreciate the huge effort of co-ordination that is required,
even if you've got wonderfully skilled and efficient folk doing
a lot of the doing for you. I take my hat off to you.
My last LAMM had been the ill-fated 2004 one, so I was delighted
to find myself back in the same area this year, and we had a
superb time on the Score course, making our own circuit round
the main block of hills, and enjoying fantastic views into Torridon
etc. all the time - we thoroughly enjoyed it, even if we were
horribly late on Saturday (fast young running partner not so
used to rough terrain!). The snipe to counteract snorers at
the midway camp was lovely, and my partner Jenny would like
to thank the planner with the sense of humour to put the control
in the re-entrant SW of the overnight camp (014533?), with the
person-eating bog just on the approach line. This provided her
biggest laugh for many a year, as I jogged forwards then suddenly
disappeared up to my waist. If my body holds out (not looking
forward to being 60 next year!) I'd like to give it another
go. Thanks again and very best wishes
Hilary Quick
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Thanks for another great LAMM, it was much missed by many people
when you took a sabbatical in 2013!
This was my 7th LAMM, and possibly my favourite in terms of
wild mountain scenery in the southern Torridon hills, with some
great views north to Ben Alligin, Liathach and Ben Eighe. I
had harboured faint hopes that this 20th anniversary year might
be located in the Fisherfield "Forest" region, with
a midcamp at Carnmore or Letterewe, but I guess that the difficulty/impossibility
of getting vehicular access to the midcamp make this impractical?
It would certainly make a fine area for a future LAMM if the
logistics are soluble in some way!
Paul Armstrong
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Overall it was another great event. We did the B course for
the first time having done C before. The course was interesting
with some control points hard to locate, keeping it interesting.
Organisation wise the waterproof route card was a great help.
The only negative was the toilets at mid camp. With slit trenches
for peeing only that left 100s of people queuing over 30 minutes
for 8 toilets, causing us and many to start late on Sunday.
We had one control point not working, we noted the code but
perhaps worth saying that to people as not everybody may know
to do that.
Malcolm Streeton
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Thank you very much for organising this year's LAMM and for
arranging near-perfect weather for the event. I confess the
D course was rather tougher than previous MM's and I would put
a plea in for a less physically demanding D course in future
years. Thank you also to your wife for her very kind offer to
lend me her shoes for the second day. Your duct tape worked
wonders and my shoe performed better than my legs on the second
day.
Jenny & Mark Grenfell-Shaw
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I just wanted to say thank you to you and your team of helpers
for a top weekend at the LAMM. Rob and I really enjoyed our
comeback. Well, perhaps there were moments on the Saturday when
we were questioning ourselves but finishing a few places up
on Sunday and enjoying the after-race atmosphere really made
the weekend.
As you can see from the email below that I sent round my office
yesterday, the weekend had a highly positive emotional impact
for me (and I think for Rob). It's been a long four years for
us both and the accident has left some permanent marks and memories.
However, I'm very pleased to say that getting out into the hills
remains a real enjoyment - and one which was totally reinforced
by Strathcarron 2014! I must admit I had kept our running of
this LAMM quiet from most of my family, friends and colleagues
for fear they'd worry too much. Now, I hope they'll remember
all the good stories we brought back from this weekend. We're
looking forward to next year's race already! Thanks again for
everything.
Martin Potter
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Just wanted to say thanks for a fantastic weekend martin Great
event, much better than the OMM.
Mark Pike
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What a great two days again. Thanks to everyone who was involved
in planning, organising, marshalling etc. It was a perfect event.
Best wishes
John Lyon
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Thanks for an amazing event. See you next year.
Dan Stowers
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Thanks very much for another excellent event. This is the only
one Marcus and I do and, amongst busy lives and small kids,
it is a welcome bit of madness, much more than just a race.
All the best and see you next year.
Adrian Jowitt
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A good event though i would make a few comments regarding the
score class. Don't take these as negative s i enjoyed the event
and will be back next year. The overnight camp was too far from
the start and finish. Ok for elite runners but who are your
bread and butter score competitors? The score class could have
been bussed. This years Highlander had a similar problem. The
score and short line course camp should be around 15km from
the finish. Safety! The area around Maol Chean dearg was very
dangerous. The score class was routed through the hilltop then
the temptation to descend off the buttresses. Good job the weather
was favourable!
All in all a very good event and a well done event centre
Mike Stewart
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Miriam and I really enjoyed this year's LAMM. I had been slightly
worried that the D course might be too easy - simple controls
along paths. My fears were unfounded! We enjoyed the challenging
terrain, the navigation and the route choices and the fact that
the course included a Munro. All the controls were on good features.
Luckily we realised there was a problem with a grid reference
on Day 1 and delayed starting until it had been clarified. The
D course was a bit long. We got round but had expected that
it would be rather shorter. We hope it will be shorter next
time. A few more loos at the overnight camp would have helped
- given that the trenches were only urinals. A very small point
from the final details - I couldn't remember whether we could
use our own SI cards so I carefully checked the final details
where it says (under Registration) "At registration you
will receive your TWO SI-Cards." I took this to mean that
we would be issued with SI cards which we had to use, so we
left ours at home and then had to pay extra to hire cards. Perhaps
the wording could be clarified. Overall a great weekend.
David Rosen
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I thought this was a very well run event overall, the setup
at Strathcarron was excellent both ends of the event and at
mid-camp it was fine despite the slight shortage of toilets.
All aspects of the organisation seemed to go well from my point
of view, good food and atmosphere, so well done to everyone.
On the planning side of things I did the D course so you can
probably guess what I'm going to say! Day 1 was obviously a
lot longer than we anticipated and it seems clear that something
went slightly awry with the planning of that leg. I had friends
on the C course and from comparing notes they had a marginally
softer day than we did on Saturday. Although this was my first
LAMM I've done plenty of walking and climbing in the NW Highlands
so the long day wasn't a problem per se, particularly as the
weather was good. My partner found it tougher as he is more
from an orienteering/running background, but thankfully we were
not on our last legs at the end of the day. If the weather had
turned earlier in the day however maybe it would have been a
bit more serious for a few folk and the number of retirements
suggests it was too much for some teams. The middle part of
the route from controls 3-5 was a particularly tough section
for anyone after the ascent to Maol Chean Dearg with a tricky
descent from the summit and then a long traverse to controls
4&5. Anyway, I'm sure you've discussed with the planner
and any lessons learnt will be factored in for next time.
Thanks for organising the event, I hope to do another one and
will be better prepared next time!
George Hare
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