This year’s Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon is over for another year. The four gruelling courses set around Glenfinnan near Fort William proved testing for all the two-member teams taking part in the annual overnight race. Hot sunshine on both days provided exhausting conditions with a wet and misty start on Sunday morning bringing the midges out in force. A couple of the top teams made mistakes or had equipment failures that meant the final results didn’t fully reflect their efforts – but such is the challenge of the LAMM.
The day was a triumph for some teams, as they extended their leads. For others it was a disaster, as they blew it with navigational mistakes.
Tim Higginbottom and Chris Near richly deserved the LAMM trophy. Having started 20 minutes ahead of Alec Keith and Brendan Bolland in the chasing starts, they finished 44 minutes in front.
On the A course, Dan Duxbury and Matt Ready maintained their leading position. However, John Earl and Jon Davies mis-marked their map and failed to find their eighth control. They came in without punching it and were disqualified. Sam Grummit and Ian Scott, who had been fourth overnight moved up to win the A.
Course C leaders made an “embarrassing” mistake out on the hill and dropped to 13th place. Winners were John Tansley and Trevor Wade, who rose from fourth overnight.
D overnight leaders, Ben Wallace and Paul Warnock stayed in front, extending their lead. First back on the Novice were Andrew Taylor and Jamie Aarons, who overtook David Bentley and John Ellaby.
The prizes were presented by Alistair Gibson, the estate manager at Glenfinnan, who provided much support for the event. The finish line position meant competitors had to run underneath the impressive Glenfinnan viaduct, a fantastic finish to an epic event. Anyone mad enough to consider entering the event next year (the location is always kept secret until just before the weekend) can register with the LAMM website to receive updates on the event -just don’t forget the midge hood!