Alp conquers Mountain for COT!

Trust Supporter Robert Alp and the Original Mountain Marathon (OMM) Challenge

"This year was my 7th OMM and after the disappointments of last year, when the event was famously cancelled due to horrendous weather, and in 2007 when we didn't finish the second day, we were determined to have a better result!

The omens however were not favourable; the Elan Valley in mid-Wales comes with a fearsome reputation for bogs, tussocks, and bad weather - how wrong they were!
 
We had a mid-morning start time so bacon butties for breakfast set us up for the day. The forecast was for improving weather after a wet start then nice and sunny for Sunday. When we got to the start and were given our maps we saw that the course looked very straightforward.

The next 4 hrs or so were spent running, bog trotting and walking across the hills as we recorded our best Day 1 time for many years coming in 46th at that stage.

The only problem I had was a lack of water. Although the reservoirs of the Elan Valley supply water to Birmingham, there was actually little readily available water to drink from streams on the go. As a result I was rather dehydrated and that slowed me down.

Rob and Mike on Day 1     click to enlarge

A cold, windy, night saw little sleep but with an early start on Day 2 we were hoping to improve on our Day 1 position and get home early. The weather improved as forecast and conditions under foot were on the whole pretty good. Although bogs continued to present a challenge and some were deep, we managed to overtake quite a few other teams and ended the day in 26th place and 40th overall.
 
Navigation over both days had been straightforward due to the good weather but had the mist come down it would have been a very different story!
 
It's been a good OMM this year. After a few weeks off I'll be back in training for 2010!"

Mike and Rob on Day 2     click to enlarge

You can still sponsor Robert by visiting his Justgiving page ­ www.justgiving.com/RobertAlpOMM2009

We would like to thank Robert for his fundraising efforts for COT in 2009 and whish him every success for the 2010 OMM.

Founded in 1968 the OMM is the original 2 day mountain marathon event and is for teams of 2, carrying all clothing, equipment, tent, sleeping bag, food for 36 hours, navigating one's own route and including an overnight camp. The reputation of the event is worldwide and every year they have entrants from over 12 countries. For more information visit the OMM website.