![\"OMM](\"https:\/\/www.alananna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/OMM.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThe OMM is a weekend fell running race. Kind of orienteering on steroids I guess. It\u2019s held at different venues each year and you don\u2019t get to know the course until you cross the start line. From there it\u2019s all about picking your route, finding checkpoints and covering the distance between them as quickly as you can. You also have to carry all the kit and supplies you\u2019ll need to spend a night in the mountains so that you can do it all again the following day. All we know at the moment is that it will be in North Wales somewhere this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The official OMM website<\/a> says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe OMM is designed to test your abilities in the mountains. Anyone can get up Scafell Pike on a sunny day, but can you make good decisions when the clag comes in, visibility has gone, you\u2019re tired, you\u2019re wet, cold & there\u2019s no paths to follow?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Sounds like fun hey? <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two varieties. First is a \u2018line course\u2019 where you have to get from point to point visiting checkpoints on the way in the shortest time possible. The other option is a \u2018points course\u2019 where the map consists of a whole load of checkpoints each worth a varying number of points. The challenge here is to gain as many points as you can in a set period of time. Both varieties of the OMM have a choice of distances\/durations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m not really sure what I\u2019m capable of these days. Certainly not what I used to be before my heart attack<\/a> so I didn\u2019t want to bite off far too much. We\u2019ve therefore signed up for the ‘short points’ course. This feels less like a race than the line course as there is the option to visit as many or as few checkpoints as we can. It\u2019ll be a challenge however we look at it, but the points course gives us more options depending on how we (I) feel on the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The short course is 5 hours on the Saturday and 4 hours on the Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Again, back to the official OMM website which says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHeld at the end of October to guarantee bad weather. To compete you\u2019ll need a team mate, mountain experience & dogged resilience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s all about decision making, what kit you\u2019ll need, what route to take, how hard to push & what to do when you get lost\u2026 which you will.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Based on that I\u2019m expecting first to spend more money than I have on lots of new ultra-lightweight technical mountain kit. After that, I\u2019ll expect to get cold, wet, muddy, tired and grumpy!! I guess the subsequent discomfort will be a small price to pay for the preceding retail therapy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, the OMM website sums it up by saying: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s not easy, at times it\u2019s soul destroying, but the experience is unmissable!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t really know Lawrence that well. I\u2019ve never done any running or hill walking with him. I only know him from the beach where he is often out kitesurfing while I\u2019m windsurfing. I\u2019d chatted to him a few times and get on well with him but that was about it. He did also offer to come out and help me replace the anemometer on the weather station just after my heart attack when I was unable to get up the pole myself. (He was actually the perfect candidate for the job thanks to the fact that he runs Vertica Ltd<\/a>, a company that specialises in \u2018Rope Access and Height Safety solutions\u2019.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n He\u2019s obviously into Watersports too and doesn\u2019t shy away from the crazy full-on days when it\u2019s blowing a hoolie and pouring with rain. He\u2019s also into slightly more hardcore pursuits such as sky-diving and seems to have spent quite a lot of time in the mountains too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I was therefore a little worried that I\u2019d be a bit of a disappointment to him as a team-mate. I\u2019m not used to being the weaker link in an event like this but Lawrence knows about my recent \u2018issues\u2019 and doesn\u2019t seem to mind. He says he\u2019s just happy to be out there \u2018doing it\u2019 without worrying too much about the competitive side of things. We’ll see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I might not be quite up to scratch as far as my speed, stamina and strength in the mountains are concerned. I do think however that Lawrence was quite pleased that I not only said yes to doing it but that I then immediately organised to get out in the hills for a run with him. It might not have been a fast and furious run, it may not have been particularly hardcore from a terrain perspective. But, we were out there \u2018doing it\u2019 and that\u2019s what it\u2019s all about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We met on a suitably cold, gloomy and wet Sunday morning for a 7 mile loop in the hills above Machynlleth. It\u2019s a route I\u2019ve done before and is essentially a climb to the top on muddy trails followed by a fire-road descent. Nothing too long or challenging and it certainly pales in comparison to what we\u2019ll face in the OMM but we have to start somewhere. I did take a small rucksack with me just to make it a little bit more OMM specific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
OMM Flavours<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What to Expect<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
Suitability<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Getting Out There Training for the OMM<\/h2>\n\n\n\n