LAMM 2012 Ben Cruachan, 9 & 10 June

LAMM 2012, Ben Cruachan

A few years ago, long before I joined the Harriers, Rod and I used to cycle with a bunch of friends from Littleborough who also ran on the fells and I was puzzled by their obsession with “doing the lamb” when there were clearly other options for a nice roast dinner.  Eventually I cottoned on and “doing the LAMM” took on a completely different meaning, but not one I was likely to actually have to experience……

Fast forward to December 2011, several years of fell running and two mountain marathons later and the call eventually comes – Lins is looking for a partner for the LAMM 2012.  June seems a long time off (doesn’t it always?) so of course, I say yes.  We’ll be doing the C class, as Lins is a previous winner of the D class (running with Becky).  I then put it to the back of my mind and carry on with a reasonably good winter season of training with the Glossopdale gals and pals, getting out most weekends for longer runs with shorter stuff during the week.  This includes some horrendous days out reccying bits of the HPM and the Edale Skyline, a couple of nav events and then, in May, our epic Cumbrian Traverse.  So a fair amount of running and I do feel fitter, but the little voice of doubt whispers “Will it be enough, the mountains are very big and Lins is even fitter?”  Shut up, little voice.

Just after the Cumbrian Traverse, it turns out that Adele and Sue have decided to enter as well, which immediately solves one problem – how to get there.  Lins is sorted, having had the foresight to (a) book a family holiday in Scotland and (b) buy a camper van.  So we just have to make sure we rendez-vous at the event centre in time to stow her kit in the base camp tent and get to the start.  Which is what we manage to do, meeting as planned next to the marquee at 8am on Saturday 9 June.

8.15am – fighting off midges, we climb onto a bus and are driven for about 20 minutes to Cruachan dam and the true start of the LAMM.  Day 1 begins with marking up the map and then we set off up the hillside in the warm sunshine, clear skies providing magnificent views over Loch Etive and mercifully, no more midges.  Lins is slightly worried she may have tired legs after completing the ascent of Tower Ridge on Thursday (including Tower Gap, with both daughters) but it is quickly apparent that she is climbing well and is as strong ever.  We slightly overshoot CP1 and have to drop back to find it but navigationally, this is our only mishap all day.  However, the terrain is incredibly challenging with a lot of ascent and some long contouring sections which aren’t runnable.  We do well on the descents, keeping together and overtaking other teams but I am slow going up and Lins ends up carrying most of the team kit to try and even things up a bit.  On the ascent of Ben Euniach, I manage to keep on going without a stop so whilst I’m some way behind Lins, its not as bad as in the Saunders last year when poor Jude was waiting for ages whilst I dragged my sorry ass up the hills!  As the day progresses, I feel I’m steadily improving and we finish strongly, with a long, long descent to the mid-camp, with teams even standing aside to let us pass!  Our time for day 1 (23km and 1500m of ascent) is 6 hours 33 mins.  Once everyone has finished, we are 35^th overall, 5^th female team and 1^st female vets. 

The mid-camp is in splendid setting, a flat field to the side of River Kinglass and the odd flurry of rain and rising breeze keeps the midges off for most of the evening.  We pitch the tent and get the stove on.  I recognise the first signs of bonk as a sudden wave of nausea assails me and I force myself to eat one of the sandwiches I’ve carried all day, thankfully this does the trick.  Lins discovers she has forgotten spare socks and she is incredulous that I will be relying on a John Lewis bag and the foam back out of my rucksack as a mattress.  We prepare our sumptuous feast (SuperNoodles – me; Ainsley Harriot cous cous – Lins) followed by custard and choccy cake (I can’t begin to describe how lovely this tastes) then Adele and Sue come to visit, until the midges begin to manifest themselves and they beat a retreat to their own tent.  By 8.30pm, we’re tucked up, nice and cosy, listening to the snorts and other noises from our neighbours….

…to be woken at 5am, not by a piper but by the guy in the next tent popping his balloon mattress! Well, I suppose he didn’t have much choice but he could have done that last.  We can hear the exclamations about the murderous midges before we took the plunge and cracked the tent open and they were bad.  Still, there is nothing to be done and we get on with breakfast preparations: tea and porridge; replenishing water supplies; washing up; visiting the facilities (I do sometimes share some of my hill experiences with work colleagues, but that is not one of them).  By 7.45am, we are ready for the off as are Sue and Adele.  Our respective routes diverge immediately after the start, with me and Lins retracing our steps up that lovely long descent from yesterday, wearing our midge nets all the way.  Without trying, we are steadily overtaking people who seem to be much wearier than us.  My little voice has decided I can push myself today to keep up with Lins and for once the legs and lungs seem to have listened.  (Nice one, little voice).  CP1 takes an hour to attain and CP2 is another hour.  Lins is troubled slightly with blisters but the compeed plasters work wonders.  We eat after an hour and then more or less every half hour thereafter – fig rolls, jelly babies, dates, one energy gel and half a cheese and chutney sandwich (now 48 hours old but still tasty).  There is a lot more runnable terrain today and we are running it.  Lins is still ahead of me on the ascents but not by much and I am able to trot out at the tops to catch her up.  Only one guy passes me on the gruelling ascent of Ben Mhic Mhonaidh, and as he goes by he says “You’re bloody good down hill!”   At about 11am the rain and clag descends and we put our jackets on.  As we head to CP6, Lins comments she isn’t sure about this one but we carry on across a rather featureless traverse to a fence and some knolls where we (and everyone one else) is expecting to find the point.  One group suddenly hurtles off towards the next ridge but we aren’t convinced and scout around for a while until deciding they are probably correct.  Sure enough, the point is on the next ridge (not really a knoll).  We ruefully agreed that we should just have followed the others as we began the long descent.  Never mind, the end is in sight and we hurtle down to CP8, at a gate and then sprint past the two ladies in front to the finish!

Hang on!  You’ve spotted what happened there (which we didn’t until the data was downloaded) - CP6…CP8.  Yep, we had completely forgotten to visit CP7.  Bum.

So, our elation at such a good second day, which we had completed in 5 hours 29 minutes was somewhat diminished by this faux pas.  We very briefly contemplated going back up the hill but by that time we were half way through portions of Wilf’s veggie chilli and we couldn’t face it.  We chatted to other competitors, including Jasmin who had dragged her brother out for his first fell run, finishing 5^th team on the B course.  Sue and Adele arrived, got changed and ate and then we packed everything up and headed south.  For the record, our final time was 12 hours 2 minutes and we would have been around 32^nd overall, 4^th female team and 1^st female vets.

So now I have been LAMMing too, well – almost.  As Lins said “Unfinished business”!