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First,
a slight change to the planning philosophy
mentioned earlier, which applied to the
area we were then going to use. ! Despite
Martin's best efforts, we were not able
to secure at our original area, an event
center and an overnight camp that were compatible
within the constraints of the course lengths.
Therefore, no longer will the Elite bods
have one awesome leg of 18k, with most other
courses not far behind. However, the area
now secured poses perhaps more route choice
problems, particularly on day one. Day two,
competitors will need to concentrate, when,
after some initial climb, most competitors
will find themselves on some quick, more
technical terrain with bunched controls,
towards the finish. Get into the wrong crocodile
because you're not doing your own navigating
and you'll waste valuable time.To add zest
to this, Martin may have an added incentive
for chasing starters. Incidently, to let
more of you savour the delights of the chasing
start, it has been increased to a full hour.
In several MM's, its only half an hour.
The competition area includes a number of
Munroes, the tops of which are generally
rocky but allow good running, should you
find yourself up there. The upper slopes
are generally of lower calf height heather,
not always as slow as you might think. These
are managed for grouse shooting and often
have many trods which can be used to advantage,
as can the many burnt patches you will encounter.
If steep streams on the map run in V-shaped
contours, it can generally be assumed that
they are ravine-like in nature and therefore
not a good line of ascent/descent. Using
the ravine shoulder, 50m away, is the best
option. However, streams on lower slopes
can often be a very quick way of getting
through the heather and it will pay to go
a little out of your way to use them or
the many stalkers paths. For those of you
who insist on carrying your water in a platypus
or similar, you should find ample places
to fill them.
Day two has a 14K stretch of extremely fast
sheep-nibbled high ridge, leading to the
finish. As Martin doesn't want you back
at the finish before he is, you obviously
won't be running nicely along the top of
it for very long ! If you find yourself
running too quickly, pick up some of the
deer antlers which appear to proliferate
in the area.
There's also a delightful piece of terrain
that only the Elite will visit in the middle
of their course. . . . . . .I can't quite
remember the Controllers words for it. .
. . . .
Although we have had a number of e-mails
begging us to ensure that the overnight
camp is up to the usual MM standards, I'm
afraid we were not able to find a suitable
bog/large tussock/steep slope/heathery boulder
field to camp on. Neither could we find
a warm, hardly trickling stream for your
water supply. You'll
therefore just have to make do with bowling
green we've found, complete with running
water (and plenty of it). Remember swimming
'au naturel' in the sea on Jura ? Well,
a similar opportunity may also await you.
ANDY
CREBER
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