The OMM Galloway

 It would be our 20th/18th OMM respectively. Galloway- oh dear, renowned for awful weather. Closer to the event the forecast became dire with two named storms due to hit. At this point I was grateful for Rowena insisting on a shorter course and we had entered the B. I guess Score would have allowed us choices to avoid the tops better.

Event Centre 

We hatched a plan. Took more gear than usual but were both more than a little anxious about the wind and rain, especially the wind. If the mid camp was not very sheltered even cooking in the tent might be tricky. I arrived at Rowena's house in time for a last minute gear check and for her to add a layer and the Lowe Alpine waterproof cosy hats we won at the LAMM a few years ago. Not sure I had ever worn mine before!

No Friday night tents for us now

The drive up was uneventful although there were strong winds over Shap etc. We got to the Event Centre and registered without getting wet or muddy. After studying the blank map and questioning/ chatting with Colin and John who had both been up there all week we went off in search of our AirBnB - we decided a few years ago that we are now too old and soft to camp on the Friday night. A good hot meal and brew and were settled to more kit faffing and added more gear! I was anxious that I only had my lightest sleeping bag plus a liner but thought having two primaloft jackets plus hoods would be enough. I had packed warm gloves, waterproof over mitts and a second pair of warm and water resistant mitts for the Sunday. We didn't sleep well in a soft bed and with worries about the forecast. all over the UK events seemed to be being cancelled. Knowing this was the OMM we thought full on cancellation was unlikely.

Our Saturday start window was 9-9.15 so we had a leisurely start and in fairly OK weather. The sky was an amazing red with towering clouds. It seemed a shame not to have been able to start an hour earlier and benefit from this. We were fairly certain it would be the slightly shortened bad weather courses today- after all if they plan these and don't use them this year when will they ever use them. We met Drew and Ciaran on the way to the start. They had already made the decision to do a few controls and return to their van. Luckily the start team were happy for us to start early so there was no hanging around getting cold- we were only a few minutes early anyway.

The big forest track soon ended and there was a significant ford which meant wet feet very early on. I had bought new waterproof socks and hoped what I could feel was just the cool of the water and not actual wetness. CP was very easy but then things got confusing- there were two wall crossings not even shown on the map and we had to back track slightly at one. The marked crossing was actually a fence much higher up the hillside. Once across we tried to use to forest off to the left to gauge which of the many lumps was our knoll for CP2. 

Found without much delay and off on uphill to CP3. We had been told that there were good unmarked paths along many ridges and we certainly found one that led pretty much all the way to the control.  The best way to control 4 looked to be back to our path and continue up the ridge. We planned to use the big cairn to know where to turn but in clag and distracted by putting on gloves we went a little too far. A short back track and we were on our intended route again. It wasn't a perfect run as we ended up just a bit along the eastern shore of the lochan but it only cost us a minute or two. 

Control 4-5 we messed up quite badly. I think in our eagerness to reach lower ground we set off to fast and got pulled too far NW by the easiest terrain. Once we realised our mistake and trudged westward all was good again.  The drop to the crossing point was fine and we followed a trod by the wall up the other side and then soon found a decent route to the top. Up here the weather was considerably worse with driving rain and a howling gale. Bad weather courses meant we could skip CP7 and 8 but getting to 9 still meant a long spell on the tops and with some technical terrain through countless small crags on boggy ground and with quite a drop below us. We were blown over several times and fortunately landed on soft ground.  It was a joy to be running down the spur despite lumpy ground as we were getting warmer now we were out of the wind. We knew it might be tricky knowing when to turn north off the main ridge and yes we ran too far. Once lower and the clag cleared a little we could see the forest and realised our mistake- it meant a short track NE and a small climb but was not too serious (those coming from above had all been looking too high up so perhaps not as bad as we thought).

Somewhere soon after control 6 we passed a casualty. There was already a crowd helping and so need for us to stop. We later found this was the only issue on the whole event and not really weather related- a broken lower leg/ankle. Mountain Rescue with some of the OMM hill team got the runner off the hill. No helicopter possible in those winds. OMM always make a contribution to the local MR whether there is a call out or not.

Phew we were nearly finished and it would be much more sheltered. Sadly descending meant more and more waterlogged and boggy ground. Getting to Control 10 was bad but from 10-11 much worse until we reached the forest. On this short section I fell and snapped our dibber (although I did not know this until the last control). My fall gashed my knee through my over trousers which now have a slit and through my tights too. It was sore but I hoped that if I kept going it wouldn't stiffen up.

Tapes led us through some scrubby forest and onto clearer tracks and finally lovely path. At Control 11 we realised we had lost the important part of the dibber and so needle punched to map. Easy running led to the finish where clearly we could not dib. By the time we had explained this and gone inside to the download team and told Martin the Si guru we had lost a couple of minutes but were just pleased to be believed and know that we had completed Day 1.

Not quite as big as it looks but better than my old laser

It was now raining quite hard so we were keen to get the tent up and get cosy inside. The forecast gales were still worrying us so we picked a spot away from most, behind the toilets and with the shelter of trees. The river was close but looked too far below to be a concern of flooding in the night.  We stripped off all our gear and found we were pretty much soaked to the skin. We had enough dry gear and were soon toasty with a brew and our millionaires shortbread treat. The rain continued for a while so we just hunkered down. Later it eased and we dashed to the loo and to check the results. It seemed we were 25th, 2nd F and 3rd V so we were quite happy with that. We got our dibber replaced and retreated to the tent for more food. We should at this point have dared to hang some wet gear in the trees but were worried about the wind and loosing it into the river.  Having had shortened courses meant even longer in the tent, plus the extra hour from the clocks changing as usual on this event. We both fell asleep at some point and then cooked the rest of our meal. 

The night passed relatively peacefully. We cooked with no real danger and the campsite was much less windy than some we have had. True the worst of the gales were meant to come overnight but all seemed well. We tried to find out a plan for tomorrow but it seemed that had not yet been decided. We studied the map and tried to decide what to do. We knew that today we had managed, just, but that the winds for Sunday were due to be much worse. My knee was stiffening badly too. We had several plans- one was to go to the start, study the map and decide how much of the course to do. Then we found that we had made the chasing start and so it would mean a crazy early awakening which seemed daft if we might not do the course anyway. Amazingly we had signal at the camp so I used OS maps to plot a low level route back. We decided this is what we would likely do. It was the right decision for us. The bagpipes played at 6am so we had a leisurely brew and big breakfast.

As it happened by the time we were up and about at 8am we found the OMM team had decided nobody was going up on the hills. Instead we would all have the same mandatory route back with 7 compulsory controls- it was effectively the route I had planned. 

It was untimed and so long as you finished then your Day 1 results would be used for the prize giving. I think this was the best decision they could have made. 

Such cheerful volunteers despite the weather and long shifts

It was easy nav and the line of people made it even easier. 

Yep even some blue sky between the hail storms and despite the gale

The first section was the Southern Upland Way and with the wind on our backs we happily jogged along. My knee was no worse for running which was a relief. The waterfalls were amazing and the views we had of the lochs  (Loch Dee) beautiful. Somewhere towards the end of this section the weather got worse with heavy rain and hail. As we turned south we lost the lovely track and started climbing to what would be the highest point of the day.

The rest was a mixture of bog, paths that had become streams, streams swollen but that we jumpable, rivers that were just about OK to wade across and more and more boggy ground with masses of mud and standing water. The remaining controls would have been on our Day 2 route if the weather had been good.

The last difficulty on the route was the ford. A rope had been added and a few marshalls- suspect they were waiting for somebody to fall in. The water was not that deep or fast flowing compared to the rivers already crossed. It seemed to take longer than expected to jog along the forest track to the finish field. We dibbed in seconds over 3hrs and although todays effort was not a timed race it was satisfying to have completed it in a reasonable time.

A big bonus was no kit check even though we were likely prize winners. It is always such a faff when you are cold and wet. Even better was the row of OMM mugs full of steaming hot tea- perfect and so much slicker than waiting for people searching for their own mug. The food was ready and wrapped in foil- again steaming hot and very speedy. I still miss the cake though. We ate and then chatted to friends and waited for the various prize givings. 

So glad of this hat overnight and on Day2

They were trying to do these as teams finished and completed the podiums but with a microphone that didn't always work there was some confusion. It was getting chilly and the nearest heater was aimed at the back of a pile of gear! Eventually it was our turn- 3rd Vets and 2nd F so not too bad. 

Wendy completed her 50th OMM and she with Sarah won the Vets on our course. Hope I can still enter at 75 in 10 years time.

Need a trip to the OMM shop now

Chatting to John B he suggested we got the car out asap so we shot off.  Neither of us got changed to save time and knowing we might need to leap out. The mud was deep and we watched several vehicles get very stuck. Luckily Rowena's car is tiny and light. 

This was Saturday night- so much worse on Sunday

She did a great job and with minimal pushing from me and two guys we were out, onto the mats and then out onto the forest track. We stopped in the first layby on the real road and got changed. So much wet muddy gear!

The journey home was interesting with lots of tree debris on the roads and a couple of small obstructions where trees were down. Fortunately they were all passable with care and google maps alerted us to them in advance. A quick stop for fuel in Gretna and we were soon heading down the M6. Thanks to Rowena for driving, and for being a great partner again all weekend.