Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more
Information => Outdoor News and Events => Topic started by: LandyLiam on June 27, 2013
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That's me now signed up for my 2nd attempt at D class, doing it with my younger son this year as he's now come of age :) (but he's faster than me >:( ) anyone else up for it?
www.mourne2day.com
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I'd love to have another crack at it but work commitments and other sports stuff have conspired against me this year. It's the best event that I did last year (and I tried alot of them!) Did the class C and loved it: was pound for pound the toughest event and the most enjoyable: have fun!
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Just how hard a course is this for the C & D classes? I'm currently badly out of shape and suffering from a possible long term back injury (need to see a doc as up to now I just have a cup of tea and get on with things). Providing all is well I'm aiming to get out as much as possible and get into some serious training so was thinking this could make a nice goal marker.
Course if anyone would want to partner up on this one that would be handy too. 8)
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Here's last year's route cards:
http://www.mourne2day.com/app/webroot/files/File/Route%20Cards/RouteCards%202012.pdf
Class D Day one looks like it was: Tollymore - Trassey Track - Hares Gap - Ben Crom Reservoir shoreline - Blue Lough - Annalong river - Annalong Wood (17.0km / 770m)
Easy enough route, fairly good paths.....but it's a fair ould dander as well :)
edit: to include pic
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8449/8007104929_f42ef28be1.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/53426598@N02/8007104929/)
D1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/53426598@N02/8007104929/) by mourne2day (http://www.flickr.com/people/53426598@N02/), on Flickr
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Thanks for that Chuck, that route doesn't look too bad then as far as elevations go. So I'll have a chat with the doc on monday and see what he thinks about my back issues.
Providing all is well I'll be on the hunt for a team mate for a Class D/C 8)
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If you can do the 7 7s with a light daypack then you'll be ok for class D, maybe even C if at least 1 of your team can navigate well.
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pm'd ya there rich
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This is definitely on my calendar again. It's about that time of the year when I email my team mate and see if he's up for it (we don't actually know each other outside of the mmm)!
Try and convince him to tackle elite this year. ;D
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For those of you still thinking about entering the event., don't forget that the entry fee goes up by £10 after 31st July.
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entered today!
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Elite class :o karma for bravery ;D
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LOL ... provisionally, if we just aim to finish and I'm prepared to drop to B if my partner doesn't feel up to it come September. See how the training goes. I did 4hrs today and I'm wrecked!
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Just got my confirmation email from them for the class C for myself and clairebear from here. Time to start upping the ante on time outdoors me thinks.
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first time doing it so any useful info would be greatly appreciated......bring it on.
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How's your navigation?
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This is something I wouldn't mind trying. I would like to think I can easily walk 15 miles at a good pace and my navigation is fine. Tempted.
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(http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTUMjkeUrft3oKCsnz6qwIswR-hjgn83twPPLHDsdWLAqRThFki)
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Anyone looking for a partner for C or D class? I did C last year but my partner can't make it this year unfortunately.
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Well just under 24hrs to go now, getting a little nervous, although i think that more to do the the cars MOT today than the MMM :) . So just have to get my scales out the afternoon and get that kit as light as possible, then fill the gaps in the rucksack with alcohol ::) (will sacifice the fire log though)
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Ill keep an eye out for ya Liam. Also gonna get as light as possible and then allow for a bit of mr Jack to help me sleep!
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Packed and with food, water and all I'm on 10kg.
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All the best folks. I'm looking forward to hearing how you get on. That's a good weight Claire.
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Got them butterflies going now but will be good to get to have a chat to some of the other NI Wild folks.
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That's me packed also. Sitting at 5.3kg before water (or the map/compass which will be in my hand)... although 2.3kg of that is food ;D
I lost energy near the end of day 2 last year so am carrying more calories. Ditching the ipod shuffle, air pillow, gas can legs, and the spare socks (& just wearing the required 3/4 instead of shorts) is about all I could do to lighten up... actually, all that would save about 400g from the bag... but it'll be too hot for the 3/4 legs and the other bits help me to be fresh and ready to go so I'll shirk eliteness and carry them anyway.
Ho hum, I'll be flying light on day 2 when I'm done eating :)
I'll be wearing a yellow cycle cap so do say hello at camp (or if we cross paths en route).
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GL everyone :)
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All ready to go. C Class again for me and Mrs M. Not expecting to retain our Mix Vet title as an injury has hampered training and decision to run was only made two weeks ago. Looking forward to a slightly more relaxing run.
Packs totalling 9.5kg - banking on it being a warm night! Good luck to everyone.
...now where's my pasta!!
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That's me packed also. Sitting at 5.3kg before water
:o you must have sewn the sleeping bags together to save weight 8)
Well the new car passed the MOT so time to start packing, aiming for 10kg each all in (will start with 2kg water each, not fussed on drinking from streams)
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I went with extra cals so I don't die on day two. Will be wearing a white cap with a big tall Englishman as my partner. Hope to get a yarn with some ni wilders
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Phew, finally finished packing, I HATE PACKING >:( ended up with 10kg (incl all food and water) each (35L packs) so no beer :-\ 2kg each of water so could swap some for beer but its looking quite warm tomorrow so maybe play safe and drink the beer now :) 2kg of food, hope thats enough (mainly dehydrated stuff & cereal bars), not sure if i'll pack a lunch or get a big fry on the way there in the morning ??? Had to sacrifice the sleeping mats due to lack of space rather than weight, have packed a couple of reflective mats though. Hopefully it'll be a soft field, if not i'll be the one carrying bales of hay from a neighbouring field ;D
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Just had a look at the entry list, I see there's only 25 in my class (D) so i'm going to aim for a top 10 finish (27th on last attempt in 2011), or maybe i should just aim for a finish.
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Good luck to all of you taking part today
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Good luck to everyone doing this, have fun :)
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Just home and about to wash my stinking self then go for a feed! Great event took a good few pics will post tomorrow when I get time.
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Well done Claire & Rich on completing the long slog in C class. We did rather well in D class, 2nd on day 1 :) but 4th on day 2 :( so we just missed out on 3rd spot and a prize by just over 2 minutes, I blame whorya!!!! met him on day 1 and chatted for about 3 mins ;D ,actually I can't really blame him, I met a few others I knew and chatted away freely as I wasn't being competitive, imagine my shock when I got to end of day 1 and saw we were so close :o So we pushed it on day 2 knowing glory was within reach, our navigation was near perfect, our pace strong (walking, not running) but unfortunatley a few other teams did better on day2 as well so they deserved to beat us. Pics later.
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What price courtesy?...3rd place apparently!
Well done chum, was just looking up the times online when you posted. A none-too shabby performance.
and well done Rich and Claire, and Twentyclicks too, you've all earned a good rest tonight.
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ah poor auld twentyclicks has gone from hero to zero after coming last in elite class ;D (he'll probably bum and blow about being in the top 10 though ::) )
here's me pics
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/P1020365Small_zpsc276e8e7.jpg)
lots of map plotting at the start line, maybe next year it'll be somewhere with picnic tables
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/P1020367Small_zps5f806167.jpg)
here's team twentyclicks plotting thier maps, obviously they don't trust each other :)
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/P1020373Small_zpsc2ecf8e2.jpg)
a chance meeting with whorya
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/P1020376Small_zpsa3e85c31.jpg)
my team mate trying to keep his feet dry (a lost cause!)
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/P1020387Small_zps6d9a4c3d.jpg)
my turn and a running jump after throwing my rucksack across (actually the mournes were very very dry, this place is normally a LOT wetter)
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/P1020392Small_zps897cf69c.jpg)
when the cloud broke the views were spectacular
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/P1020407Small_zps02f3facc.jpg)
the old road at Spelga Dam, never seen it this low
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/P1020432Small_zps00ad4c04.jpg)
me at the Silent Valley, end of day 1
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/P1020441Small_zps102474e7.jpg)
yes of course i managed to squeeze a few in (to my sons rucksack ::) )
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/P1020449Small_zps32da84bb.jpg)
subtle
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/P1020458Small_zps6444c214.jpg)
yum yum here comes the scrum
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/P1020460Small_zpsd98b14df.jpg)
yuck, thats supposed to be chicken curry and rice!!!
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/P1020479Small_zps876778ad.jpg)
what a view
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/P1020499Small_zps78c3db5a.jpg)
Twentyclicks arrives back late after 9 hours in the hills! then promptly spills his dinner all over the front lawn :( just before this happened I said watch you don't spill that, then he said "its an MSR, they know what they're .... oops"
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/P1020502Small_zps2a9d51d1.jpg)
balloon animal time
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/P1020505bSmall_zpsf5ae08c9.jpg)
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/P1020512bSmall_zpsc50de212.jpg)
everyone else had gone to bed but I stayed up to get a few night shots of Doan from the Dam wall, waited and waited for the cloud to dissappear for a really good shot with the bright moon to light up the hills but to no avail, this is the best i could do
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/P1020522Small_zps496a157f.jpg)
Day 2: Binnion, the steep way!!!
was pushing hard from here on so didn't take many photos
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/P1020543Small_zps47b32f71.jpg)
LandyLiam & Son at the finish, woohoo, its all over :)
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Super pics and I tip my hat to you and everyone else who took part well done guys....
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Kicking back today after a hard weekend. 12th for us in the C - which is our best performance yet. Good clean run Day 1, hit everything first time. My lack of fitness told though and I bonked going up Muck and had cramped up going down the east side. 8th after day 1 was a big surprise but i guess our clean navigation saw us through.
Day 2 was tough heading up over Moolieve then on up Binnian where it felt like the whole of the C and B class passed us. Then I think we did the cluster the hard way and the climb back up the to north tor was tough. After that a contour round Lamagan, Cove and Beg, up to Slieve Corragh and down the hill over Lukes and into Tollymore was ok. 26th day 2 was disappointing but we were only 20mins down on 10th.
Great effort by twentyclicks and partner completing the Elite. That is some serious outing.
Camped beside Landyliam who managed to scoff ALL those beers himself!
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Well done madmickie, apologies for omitting you earlier. That is a great result.
Looking at the results it sees like some people really ought to push themselves a bit further and go up a class. It's a bit like some who enter the 7 7s as a walker then run the whole thing - and I mean really run it.
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Quick couple from the weekend for Clair and myself., First was at the top of Muck as the mist came in and one of my lungs finally went awol. Second at the end of the last hard climb for us just off from Diamond Rocks, by this stage I was running on caffine and adrenaline with nowt else left.
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Also recorded our weekend to see how our route ended up both days here.
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Well done everyone that took part :)
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lol Liam, yes - I managed top 10 without even trying :P
We had quite a few adventures. Day 1 we delayed our start as long as possible chatting to people (as for some reason my partner thought it would be easier with the sun out... I like a bit of patchy mist to keep it interesting). We also decided to leave the 'wildcard' until after the cluster rather than after CP1. Later on, both these decisions would stare at us ominously.
By CP2 we learnt that the co-ordinates given were not very accurate and the description was the closer thing to go by, having wasted 5mins on the wrong side of a river ravine.
Soon we hit Kilbroney and all the map corrections for 'elite only' came into play. Wanting to avoid bog, or mountain bikes yelling at us, we chose the middle way of an old fire break that had been drawn in on the corrections to join the MTB trail further up. It was straight an' all... tussocky grass got thicker and the trees grew closer until we crossed a river and the grass was up to our waists. I finally devined the way and we kept discovering the trail around this tree or through that one. It all seemed magical and you just had to keep the faith, but eventually the mushroom spores must have wore off and we were surrounded by impenetrable forest: trees thick from ankle height with no light beyond. We gave up and backtracked nearly 2km before risking the MTB trail (there must have been signs at the trail head, as none seemed surprised to see us jumping off the trail).
Any competitive notions were dashed early by that unfortunate decision, but we were happy the open mountains would not impede us further and could finish with a respectable time (with delays added on ;) ). Eagle mountain decided not to be so open. The map shows a gap in the crags so we thought we'd have a look rather than run right around the south end. It was mostly a grassy scramble but the slick crux brought on a Michael Burke voiceover and thoughts of helicopter rescue. We chatted to at least 1 other team who took this gully, and we agree all time and energy saved running around was lost through nerves and trepidation. If anything John should have injured himself here....
but he left it until 20mins later at Windy Gap when I heard a holler and looked back to find him upside-down in the scenery. He had got a bit fuzzy and really did his ankle in. It turned out not to be the sort you can run off and the rest of our weekend became a long walk. This is where we still had to pick up the wildcard... and 2 more checkpoints before the time cut-off... now looming due to our late start and mis-adventures!
Thankfully the terrain had improved underfoot and we could at least walk steady. My nav is pretty excellent when I try, so we just dropped straight onto the controls and made the cut-off with 30mins to spare. That just left a nice climb up and over Muck, and that other one by Silent Valley before a late dinner. We laughed at all the fast teams stuck down in Silent Valley missing the spectacular views in the golden sunset ;D
Much to our disappointment, we were still ahead of last place by 18mins; so, still needing to finish to contend for the wooden spoon, John drugged himself up on Day 2 and we marched off to take on a cluster of 7 controls! 4 of these were scattered all over Binnian, and extended as far as Bernagh. I was happy with my nav and route choices and think we could have been very fast if able to run. The slower team dropped to B as they were worried about missing their flight home (although it was as long as the elite Day 2), and a fast team dropped out mid-day (must have been injury) so in a war of attrition we bagged both 10th place and dead-last...nobody remembers 6th 8) Although 'A-' might be more appropriate than 'elite'... must try harder!
John's ankle looks like a tennis ball so although mine are bit stiff this morning I'm not complaining! It is what it is. Our 2 years of successes almost seem better now we've been reminded that it is demanding and everything has to go right to stand a chance. A great challenge, amazing weather (I slept outside NI-wild style), and great fun with all the other competitors and volunteers.
Well done to all the other NI-wild crews and familiar faces of the MMM! See you next year.
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Great to see the routes Rich, reminded me to download mine.
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/gpsrouteimage-day1-640w_zpse2e63ebc.jpg)
DAY 1
(http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/landyliam/gpsrouteimage-day2_zpsd5c37c78.jpg)
DAY 2
On reflection I must say I was fairly happy with my preparation. Could have done a couple of hills the week before but the recent Mourne Wall attempt was great practise for this. I have next to no pain today and would happily go up the hills again (in fact I may do one tomorrow morning ;) )
I'll be moving up to C next year (assuming I do it with same partner but he currently never wants to see a mountain again 8) ) so I'll have to get that kit down from 10 to 8kg, maybe splash out on a lighter (& better fitting) rucksack, carry less water and use the streams more. Could get a lighter tent (mine is 2.6kg but its a 2/3 man so loads of space for 2 plus ruscksacks so i'll stick with it. I did sacrifice the sleeping mats this year, I did sleep badly, but thats normal for me :( if it was colder i'd be tempted to add them next year, maybe at the expense of the beer ::)
Food wise we carried a little to much (approx 2kg total). Couple of bananas for breakfast on day 1, then cereal bars during the day at regular intervals washed down with water and the odd nuun tablet to keep the electrolytes up (I really liked the taste of these). This seems to have worked well as i'm prone to cramping and only got 2 little cramps while at the campsite, and none when getting in and out of the sleeping bag (this normally has me squealing like a little girl). Dinner was a travellunch dehydrated meal, Matthew had Chicken Curry & Rice which was pathetic, I had Pasta Carbonara which was great. This wasn't enough to fill our rumbling tummys but fortunately I had brought supernoodles too. Knocked down a few more cereal bars for dessert to save us carrying them all home. Then beer :) . Breakfast on day 2 was porridge (apple & sultana by Mountain trails - very tasty) then cereal bars again through the day at regular intervals. I also had a packet of nut and dried fruit mix in my pocket which I kept nibbling at. After the event we still had 2 packets of porridge left and about 6 cereal bars (so total extra weight of approx 500g)
Gear wise I felt very comfortable. I wore Salomon mid approach boots, grip wasn't that good but they were comfy and you can run a little in them, they are goretex but soon filled with water when crossing the bogs, wasted to much time trying to keep them dry, will use the fell running shoes next time. Matthew wore an old pair of Walshes fell shoes, amazing grip but it was his first time wearing them and they gave him sore feet so he suffered. Many people wore shorts and had the legs cut off them, I wore Montane Terra trousers and they were brilliant (they have zip side vents on the thighs to aid cooling), they're very light and dry very quickly. It was quite warm so just wore a t shirt and threw a lightweight running jacket on too when the wind picked up near the summits. I think good footwear is the key component.
I'd definitely get a good altimeter if going to class C, I have a cheapo handheld which I didn't even bother taking out of the rucksack all weekend as I hated having to stop and take it off. A wrist one would be the ticket.
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+1 on the footwear there. For me I will have to invest in a set of Salomon trail shoes. Was out this time in a set of lightweight minimalist running shoes. Lucky for me I spend 70% of my time in very little or no footwear so my feet were fine, but the grip was terrible. Managed one descent at reasonable speed and all the others were slow steady plods to avoid going downhill on my rear all weekend.
Won't bother bringing any socks next year though as the ones I had didn't get worn. Some of those bogs were total bliss for hot feet, was like a free cool mud bath for the toes.
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+1 on the altimeter. line feature and altitude and you know exactly where u are. Great for contouring too of course.
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here's a great write up from another competitor
http://markrobsontravels.wordpress.com/2013/09/23/mourne-mountain-marathon-2013/
and if you look at the pics closely you'll see an niwilder, in fact you'll see rather more of him than you really want too 8)